Reflection / John Shaughnessy

A call to continue to grow, to begin again

When I saw the sign, it made me smile.

The sign caught my attention as I was driving along a two-lane road leading into the Jersey Shore community of Sea Isle City, where I was vacationing with our extended family in July.

At the side of the road, a small church offered this invitation on its message board: BEAT THE CHRISTMAS RUSH! JOIN US NOW!

A touch of humor never hurts in trying to bring people closer to Christ.

Of course, a combination of humanity and God’s love always has power.

That combination flows through one of the wisest and shortest pieces of advice that I heard this summer.

The words of wisdom came in a conversation with Gordon Hayward, who had a remarkable career in basketball at Brownsburg High School, Butler University in Indianapolis and with several teams in the National Basketball Association before retiring in 2024.

The wisdom is concise—wisdom that Hayward first heard from former Indianapolis Colts quarterback, Philip Rivers, a fellow Catholic.

In sports and in life, Rivers follows an approach that he captured in the Latin phrase, Nunc coepi, which translates into English as, “Now I begin.”

Hayward recalled how he embraced that approach during a challenging time.

“It was the hardest part of my basketball career—being injured and having to sit on the sideline, in 2017-18,” Hayward shared.

“Seeing Philip talk about that phrase and what that meant to him was really inspirational to me. So I started wearing it on my wrist, just as a re-set. You get caught thinking about dissecting and analyzing every play that goes on in your mind that you did wrong, and it’s a chance to just give yourself a re-set. ‘Now I begin,’ and let’s start over.

“It applies not only to sports but faith as well.”

For Hayward, the wisdom of these three words also captures his decision to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church in 2024, 11 years into his marriage with his wife Robyn, a Catholic. Embracing that the Eucharist is truly the body and blood of Christ was a new beginning for Hayward.

In its way, “Now I begin” can take a place of importance in our lives similar to other essential three-word, personal pronouncements: “I love you,” “I forgive you,” “I am sorry.”

For anyone who plays sports, like Hayward and Rivers have, “Now I begin” offers a mindset to move onto the next play quickly, no matter how good or bad the previous play was.

More importantly, those three words offer everyone endless opportunities for growth:

To strive to become a better parent, spouse, child, sibling or friend.

To pursue a new educational or career path.

To reach out to someone who has hurt you or you have hurt.

To do something you’ve always wanted to do—take music lessons, write a story, lace up your running or dancing shoes, take that trip or make that first stroke on a canvas.

To bring joy or comfort to a neighbor, a stranger, someone in need.

“Now I begin” can also be a path to open ourselves to a deeper relationship with Christ, who always welcomes us, who is always willing to forgive us— countless times.

And when the mistakes, failures and setbacks come—as surely they will—there’s still the opportunity to start again.

That reality reminds me of another saying that crossed my path this summer: “Keep going. You did not come this far just to come this far.”

In these waning days of summer, let us strive to continue to grow.

Now we begin.
 

(John Shaughnessy is the assistant editor of The Criterion.) †