Reviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D.
My Father played for the Brooklyn Dodgers as a short stop years ago. At home we listened or watched every game. We sometimes had two games to watch at the same time! Baseball as well as Church were the two main variables of our home life. Fr. Burke had the same variables and a perfect game plan for his life: he was going to become a Major League Baseball player. As a star infielder for Mississippi State with a game-winning grand slam to help his team reach the College World Series, he was well on his way to the career of his dreams. But little did he know that his life-changing call would not be from a recruiter to join the Major Leagues –it would be from God to become a priest.
In this page-turning memoir, Fr. Burke takes readers on an intimate personal journey- from his childhood outside of Chicago, to his success in baseball, to his conversion to Catholicism, and finally, to his acceptance to his vocation. Amid severe doubt and personal loss, he learned to embrace his fundamental identity- not as an athlete, but as a beloved son of God and a spiritual father to God’s people.
Fr. Burke’s story is a powerful reminder that God’s plan for us is so much greater than or own; that it fulfills our dreams in ways greater than we could have imagined; and if we only have the courage to say yes, every moment is an opportunity for a grand slam for God. In the forward, Mike Sweeney writes: “Since meeting Fr. Burke almost ten years ago, he has become a brother, a best friend, and even the Godfather of our sixth child, who was named after this heroic priest that my family and I love. The home run-hitting slugger from Joliet, Illinois, has become a power hitter for Christ. He has replaced his baseball uniform with a black cassock and a Roman collar, his bat with a rosary and his briefcase with a Mass kit.”
On page 134-138, Fr. Burke has questions about each of the chapters for reflection and discussion. For Chapter one: Where did your identity and worth come from? He has posed stimulating questions for each of the chapters that would be great for a youth group or young adults in your parish and for those who have a fond love of baseball and the Church.