Harrison Butker is undoubtedly the most well-known Catholic in the National Football League. It is clear that Butker takes his faith very seriously, but many will be surprised to learn that this Super Bowl season was his greatest trial of faith.
Kansas City Chiefs kicker and Super Bowl champion Harrison Butker is a champion on the field and in the spiritual life, where he says he wants nothing less than to become a saint.
“If we want to be saints, we must die to ourselves,” Butker said in an interview with CNA on Wednesday.
During his team's stunning Super Bowl victory on February 12 against the Philadelphia Eagles, players were slipping all over the field, leading many to change their cleats during the game. Butker himself experienced a slip, but of a different kind.
Butker's scapular made a timely appearance, slipping out from under his jersey as more than 100 million fans worldwide watched him line up to attempt a 27-yard field goal with 11 seconds left in a tied game.
“I think it was our Blessed Mother asking for the spotlight to be on her and reminding me that all the glory goes to God and to her,” Butker said. That kick sailed through the goalposts, securing the win for the Chiefs.
The scapular, which consists of two pieces of brown wool worn hanging on the chest and back, is a sacramental from the Carmelite tradition that anyone can wear as a sign of consecration to Mary.
It was only during the 2022-2023 season that Butker began wearing his scapular 24/7, after realizing he needed to take a leap of faith and entrust himself to Mary at all times through this devotion.
Chosen in college, Butker's scapular has sparked conversations about his Catholic faith in the Chiefs' locker room, with some players asking:
“What's that brown necklace you're wearing?”
Butker said he has had “very good conversations” in the locker room and that his scapular has given him the opportunity to testify to the power of devotion to Mary and the Catholic faith.
He added that it is important for Catholics to be open about their faith in their work, even if it makes them seem “weird” or “different.”
“We cannot be ashamed of our faith because, if we are Catholic, we all know the fruits that Our Lord has given us. And if we hoard those fruits and do not open them to those around us, especially in the workplace, where God wants us to evangelize, then I think we are doing a disservice to Our Lord. And we are not being charitable with our time in sharing the Gospel with those around us,” he said.
Undoubtedly the most well-known Catholic in the National Football League, it is clear that Butker takes his faith very seriously, but many will be surprised to learn that this Super Bowl season was his greatest trial of faith.
“My entire career, I've been a 90% field goal kicker on the field,” Butker said, adding that this season “I was missing a lot of kicks. So it was the first time I felt like a lot of people had a lot of negative things to say about me.”
Furthermore, in the first game of the season – on the same slippery field of State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where he would ultimately kick the Super Bowl-winning field goal – Butker slipped on a kickoff and suffered a devastating ankle sprain, sidelining him for weeks.
If it were up to him, Butker would stay healthy and every ball he kicked would go through the uprights.
“But I always say that God's will is better than my own will.”
God certainly had a plan for Butker, and that plan involved the prayers of a member of the College of Cardinals who was watching the game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Not knowing if his sprained ankle would be healed in time to play, Butker invited Cardinal Raymond Burke, Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, who is a friend and role model to him, to a home game against the Buffalo Bills.
Through God's providence, Butker returned to the field that same week. He then set a personal and Chiefs franchise record by kicking a 62-yard field goal, which he attributes in part to Cardinal Burke's prayers.
Cardinal Burke congratulated Butker after the game, and Butker explained why he wanted the cardinal there that night.
“The holiness of this man, the amount of virtue he possesses, and his insight into the spiritual life are incredible. And I want to take as many opportunities as possible to be near him, because I want to be surrounded by people who push me to become a saint and to be better,” he said.
Butker told CNA that he is “intentional” about the people he spends time with.
“And at the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves, is this person pushing us to be a saint and to be closer to God?” If the answer is “no,” Butker said, then the friendship should not necessarily be cut off, but it is important to find other friends who “will push us to grow.”
“Iron sharpens iron,” he added.
Butker's field goal percentage for the 2022-2023 season fell to 75%, well below what he typically achieves each season as one of the league's top kickers. In fact, he said this season presented him with “the greatest suffering” and “the greatest adversity” he has had to face. He is grateful for it, as it pushed him to rely on God and grow in humility.
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“When you suffer, how can you get through it? You can only get through it by leaning on that foundation, which is Jesus in the Holy Sacrament,” he said.
“So it's funny, it was the greatest suffering, the greatest adversity I faced, but I'm also the most grateful. And I'm just excited for what God has in store for my life,” he added.
This article was originally published by the National Catholic Register (Article Link). It is republished and translated with the author's permission.