SEC Baseball Star to Catholic Priest- Father Burke Masters

I was listening to the Sportstap show when a commercial caught my ear. The SouthEastern Conference is celebrating its 75th anniversary. As a part of that they are highlighting people in what they call stories of character. Well last night they had a segment about a baseball player from MISSISSIPPI STATE. He is now a Catholic Priest. That caught my attention.

Here is the SEC page on him at Burke Masters, Mississippi State, 1987-90(AWESOME video and audio at the Link)
After his standout collegiate baseball career at Mississippi State, Burke Masters found his true calling in helping others find their true path in life.

A four-year letterman on the Mississippi State baseball team, Burke Masters led the Bulldogs to an impressive 187-77 overall record, including a 67-37 mark in conference competition as MSU won two SEC regular-season championships and two tournament crowns. Bulldog fans will never forget Masters’ dramatic at-bat against Florida State in the 1990 NCAA South Regional. With his team down three runs and the bases loaded in the ninth inning, Masters blasted a grand slam over the Dudy Noble Field fence to gave Mississippi State a trip to Omaha for the World Series.
An All-SEC performer, Masters twice earned academic All-America honors and was a three-time academic All-SEC selection. While playing minor league baseball, Masters received a calling that he could not ignore. Today, Burke Masters is a Roman Catholic priest who serves as director of an educational development program for a diocese in suburban Chicago, helping other young people discover their true calling in life.

Wow what a great story. In the South College Baseball is huge and I wanted to find out more. Partly because I love LSU baseball and no doubt I saw him out on the field In doing my research I found this great site I was unaware of called Catholic Athletes for Christ.

THey had a great story on him here at From The Diamond To The Pearl Of Great PriceBaseball helped lead Fr. Burke Masters to the Catholic Church and to Priesthood . Here are a few excepts:
Fr. Masters was not raised Catholic; his childhood was largely “un-churched.” While his parents both believed in Jesus Christ and lived very moral lives, they shied away from organized religion. It was baseball that led young Burke to his first experience with Catholicism. Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, Illinois had a strong reputation for both academics and athletics. He chose to attend Providence both to receive a good education and to launch his baseball career.
Burke discovered there as well the treasures of Catholicism, most notably the Eucharist. It was his passionate desire to receive Christ in the Eucharist that led Burke to join the Catholic Church during his senior year....

Great story.

In another story I found From Baseball Cleats to a Roman Collar:

It was at Providence that I first encountered priests, nuns, Mass, and the Catholic Church. I was intrigued by my theology classes and found myself drawn to the person of Jesus Christ. I was very intrigued by the Catholic teaching of the Eucharist. How could Jesus be truly present in bread and wine?
One day I was at a Mass with a small group. Because of the size of the group, the priest brought Communion to each person and said, “The Body of Christ,” as he placed the Eucharist on the tongue. As I opened my mouth to say, “I’m not Catholic,” the priest, not realizing that I wasn’t Catholic, placed the Eucharist on my tongue.
At that moment I felt the most powerful presence of Jesus in my body. I remember thinking, “Now I understand what they have been trying to teach me.” I began to believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. My desire to receive Jesus in the Eucharist spurred me to join the Catholic Church. With my parents’ blessing, I was baptized, confirmed, and received my second Communion.
I went on to play baseball at Mississippi State University. My Catholic faith was challenged in the Bible Belt. I visited the churches of many friends—Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Evangelical, Pentecostal, you name it. And even though the preaching was very good and the music was often outstanding, each of these churches was missing something—the Eucharist. I found myself returning to Mass to receive Jesus’ Body and Blood in the Eucharist and decided at that time I would be Catholic forever.

How I wished you could have stayed in the South and had been a priest down here.