JO KADLECEK reflects on her experience at an Australian Catholic retreat centre – as a FIFA Women’s World Cup match held Australia enthralled…
Sydney, Australia
No matter how firm, some rules will naturally break. Like a “rule” of silence that fills a Catholic retreat centre with peace, a rule designed to push the world’s worries behind. Waterfront trails, care-filled gardens and sandstone chapels invite such silence as a sacred and easy response.
Except when the FIFA Women’s World Cup is happening.
The tranquil setting of the St Joseph’s Spirituality & Education Centre on the Central Coast of New South Wales. PICTURE: Jo Kadlecek
I was attending a mid-August retreat around the theme of discernment, to gain new perspective from ancient practices. I joined eight other Anglican participants who had come to consider the direction of their lives, of service and calling and community. It was a retreat long-planned, many months before sporting competitions or underdog challenges made the news. Like my colleagues, I welcomed the peace of the grounds, the home cooked meals (shared in silence) and the fresh air of history that filled those seeking respite in this place.
“What I wasn’t expecting was an HD television screen in the reading room of St Joseph’s. Nor did I expect our retreat leaders to deviate from a schedule of prayer, teaching and reflection so a few rule-breakers could watch 22 women kick and pass and shoot a soccer ball. “
St Joseph’s Spirituality & Education Centre on the Central Coast of New South Wales was once home to orphan boys in the early part of the last century. Founded by Australia’s lone saint, Sister Mary MacKillop, the lush landscape has provided refuge from many weary travels. Most recently, with the number of nuns declining, it has been turned into a spiritual retreat centre for pilgrims….like me.
What I wasn’t expecting was an HD television screen in the reading room of St Joseph’s. Nor did I expect our retreat leaders to deviate from a schedule of prayer, teaching and reflection so a few rule-breakers could watch 22 women kick and pass and shoot a soccer ball.
But they did. While most of our cohort rallied around Scripture and personal stories in a conference room near the chapel, three of us rallied in the reading room around another form of inspiration: Australia’s women’s soccer team known as the Matilda’s.
A statue in the grounds of the St Joseph’s Spirituality & Education Centre on the Central Coast of New South Wales. PICTURE: Jo Kadlecek
I have always been a fan of women’s soccer. I played on my university’s club team at a time when there was no such thing as professional women’s soccer, Olympic tournaments or World Cups.
I got hooked early, because I loved the smell of freshly cut grass, the collaborative nature of the world’s ‘beautiful game’ and the power it had for building character and discipline and unity. I coached a little at schools where I taught. I watched my nieces grow through their local team experiences, their dad coaching with pride and vision. And I marvelled when I played even into my 30s in local neighbourhood leagues, a bunch of adults still able to run around the field with childlike wonder.
So now, to see its growth, its astounding popularity and the sheer delight (and awe) at skill development, I am inspired anew at what a simple game can do for dreams and, well, humanity.
I saw it all the more last Saturday when the gorgeous and resilient women who comprise the Matilda’s held the nation’s attention – and heart – in their hands. Their grit moved us all. Their teamwork made us believe anything was possible. And their tenacity in that history-making victory against the French team, lasting longer than any game should, called forth one crazy and unified cheer across the country.
Is it irreverent to say this too was a sacred moment? Perhaps made more so for me in connecting past and present, guts and grace, beauty and sweat and fun. In the sharing of those final penalty shots – which the rest of our retreat cohort now joined us for in the reading room – our hearts grew in stamina, hope and pure celebration.
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And when Cortnee Vine nailed the final penalty shot, we yelled – and seriously broke the silence rule. We cheered – and gave peace a new sound. We praised – and thanked the Giver of all good gifts for healthy bodies, inspiring moves and common joy. Yes, the Matilda’s had broken through to the semi-finals of the biggest competition in the world, but it was their rise through struggle, discipline and love for a game that redefined my idea of “together.”
Corny as it may be, that game became a new metaphor for an ancient take on the rule of silence. Commentators now claim we’ll remember where we were that night Australia’s women’s soccer team survived and gave the country a collective sigh and cry and cheer of community at its best.
I know I’ll remember where I was when it happened: at a historic retreat centre watching history with friends and breaking the rules.