Remembering Kobe Bryant: Formed and saved by his Catholic faith

  • Thread starter Thread starter TK421
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

TK421

Guest

On Wednesday, April 13, 2016, Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest athletes of all time, ended his 20-year basketball career with a bang, scoring 60 points in his last game.

While Bryant’s stats can be recited by many — five-time NBA champion, two-time Olympic champion, 18-time All-Star and the third leading scorer in NBA history — few know about the role his Catholic faith played in helping him through one of his darkest hours.
 
may he and those who died with him rest in peace

O MY JESUS, forgive us our sins, save us
from the fires of Hell; lead all souls to
Heaven, especially those in most need of
Thy mercy. Amen.
 
If someone ever lived multiple lifetimes in one, it was Kobe Bryant. Extremely talented as a player, entertainer, storyteller, and most importantly, he seemed to be an even better father, husband, and man of God. The man will be deeply missed, but now he and his beautifully talented daughter Gianna reign in eternal happiness. Prayers for all his close friends, family, and especially his wife and kids. His determination and work ethic is something that every single person can learn from. RIP
 
7am Mass. In front of what was supposed to be a busy day, he made time for himself and his daughter to do that. Further, that was likely not the first time. As busy as he continued to be in retirement from basketball, he still had this committment.
 
Would that we all would get to receive our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in the hours before our death.
 
While I am happy his Catholic faith is being recognized the idea that we canonize him or say he is in heaven is beyond our scope of knowledge. Did he do good works? Sure. Did he do evil, yes. His fate is in God’s hands now and we should pray for his soul. But we cannot say he is in heaven, or hell, or purgatory. We can pray for justice and mercy. And we can pray for his alleged victim(s) as well.
 
Last edited:
I think you are jumping to conclusions here. Nobody said he went straight to Heaven or canonized him. He did commit grave sin (as many of us did) but he was able to turn his life around, saved his marriage and rediscovered his Catholic roots. Honestly a famous man who takes the time to go to Church at 7am with the daughter, without showing off and receiving devotedly the Eucharist (read the article) is not very a common sight; it says a lot about the type of man. I wish God in His Mercy will allow me to get Holy Communion just before my own death.

 
Last edited:
Check out college Catholic’s post. Or any social media posts even the Catholic ones. Odd that no one knew he was such a devout Catholic until he died.
 
Yes when one searches for that now it exists. If you asked anybody even posters on CA to name faithful Catholic athletes before last week Kobe would not have made the list in the top 100.
 
Can I ask you something? Why bothers you so much that Kobe was Catholic? Just rejoice that he found in the Catholic Faith strength to change his life and comfort just before death.

30 But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your [property] – he and his loose women – you kill the calf we had been fattening."
31 'The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours.
32 But it was only
we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”​
 
Last edited:
Mrchatsworth said:
Check out college Catholic’s post. Or any social media posts even the Catholic ones. Odd that no one knew he was such a devout Catholic until he died.
Click to expand...
Actually, I feel that his practicing his Catholicism quietly tends to suggest he was probably a better Catholic than someone who would have been advertising his Mass-going. God told us not to pray on the street corners.

As for what he did during his life/ where he has ended up, the man is dead, let’s just pray for him and the others who died in the crash, and for the living relatives as well, and for the woman who was involved in the past legal action.

It’s not the time to be discussing the ups and downs of a man’s life when his wife and three kids, one a baby, are mourning his unexpected death, and the poor wife has lost a young child as well.
 
Last edited:
The thing is that when you think of Authentic Catholic athletes like say Philip Rivers or other athletes you know their Catholicism especially as a Catholic. Speaking at conferences, interviewed on EWTN or talked about on forums etc. Not so with Kobe. Kobe’s faith was not public until his death. And superstars like Kobe have their public relations and image managers where every move, statement, and photo op and interview is calculated. If there is a message they want to get out to sell shoes or spread the Gospel, they can get it out. Kobe invoked his faith once in a GQ interview in defense of his rape and choking assault allegations that he settled out of court with the victim. And while he admits the infidelity, he used his Catholicism to counter a rape allegation.
Honestly I think Kobe had tried to amend his life after basketball and his downfall. And I hope and pray it was enough and authentic. But we have no idea his state at death, or his relationship with God and justice and mercy. It is incredibly sad that as an avid sports fan and someone who followed Kobe’s career with mild interest that his Catholic identity is coming to light now, We should pray for everyone. But we should not rewrite reality just because we feel sentimental that someone in the public light died.
 
Last edited:
It would never ever bother me that Kobe or anyone else was Catholic! It should be the faith of every living person in the world. What bothers me is that his Catholic biography is being written after his death and not by him. I remember when mother Theresa and Princes Dianna died a week apart. And the WORLD mourned Dianna and the Church canonized Mother Theresa. It is the long game that is important here, not the social media reaction of a celebrity that none of us knew and was hardly a saint.
 
I will add that we should pray for Kobe, not to Kobe. For he may need us now.
 
Explain how one can pray to Kobe?

perhaps you are adding an l to the name. We can pray for Kobe and to Kolbe.
 
Praying to someone in hell or purgatory is fruitless. And praying for someone in hell is fruitless. So we charitably assume that those who have died and are not canonized need our prayers and intercession in purgatory since they are powerless. If you wish to invoke a prayer TO Kobe, I guess that is between you and your relationship with a Kobe. But honestly he needs prayers FOR him right now. As do the thousands of souls who died the same day that you will never have heard of because they weren’t rich and couldn’t dunk.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top