My favourite prayer: A Reassuring ritual

TORONTO - CFL football player Jude St. John has prayed the Lord’s Prayer before each game ever since he started playing football.

“It’s reassuring that it’s part of the tradition and the ritual before I play a game,” said St. John, an offensive guard with the Toronto Argonauts since 1998.

The Lord’s Prayer is his favourite pre-game prayer because of the comfort it brings him. He’s made it part of his pre-game routine in the locker room before going onto the field.

“Football is a pretty ridiculous game in a lot of ways and your prayer would be that God would somehow get glory from playing the game.”

St. John was raised Catholic and learned the Lord’s Prayer as a child. For the past 14 years he has been an active member of Church in the Oaks, a Pentecostal congregation in London, Ont.

“My personal view is that God’s not too concerned about the outcome of a football game. His concern is people. I don’t pray to win, I pray that I can play to the best of my ability.”

Prayer “helps me to put things into perspective. I have my faith, my family and my football and my football is a distant third,” said St. John, father of five and husband to his wife, Nicole.

“Whatever it is that I do, football or teaching or parenting, I use God’s help as much as possible in whatever I do,” he said.