"I was brought up with all this. It was always such a big part of our lives. If we had a thunderstorm at night, my mom would wake everybody up and say the Rosary so we'd be safe. Fifteen minutes later when the storm would end she'd say, 'see?!' In May, Mary's month, we had to come in at 7:30 and kneel down and say the Rosary along with the radio. Even if we were outside playing."
Not coincidentally, DeLamielleure says that he's "a big Rosary guy," adding, "I'm holding one in my hand right now while we're talking."
Noting that he has another interview the day after this one, DeLamielleure says that, "I always say God don't let me talk, talk through me."
His faith even played a part in what college he ended up going to.
"Duffy Daugherty (head coach from Michigan State) came to my house and looked around and saw all these rosaries and candles. The next time he came he brought Fr. Lambert with him. My dad said, 'That's it, you're going to Michigan State.' Duffy told my parents, 'If he comes Catholic, he leaves Catholic.'"
But then he graduated from Michigan State, got drafted, and instead of blocking, found what would be a temporary block in his way, although he used it to perform a spiritual self-audit.
"I flunked my physical when I got drafted by the Bills. They said there was a problem with my heart. My wife and I were scared. They found out I could play, but, during that four-week period, my wife said, 'No big deal, you could coach or do something else.' It had no bearing on her. My brother Darryl, who just passed away last month and was a great Christian, said I needed a new heart. He said it was a wake-up call to keep my heart pure and clear. It's not about material things. I realized you can't have a hardened heart."
So now he takes regular doses of Catholicism, attending Mass every day.
"I always loved the time of just being alone with God. I always thought that when I go to Mass I try to listen to the readings a lot better during the week. So I listen real intently to the words. The bottom line to me is Jesus came here to serve and by serving and have people watch Him they follow Him. What other person since the beginning of time has been number one that long? He has won all the Super Bowls. If you believe in God and serve him and do what he says to do in the Bible, you won the game."
Posted with permission from the Catholic Sports Association, an organization dedicated to highlighting Catholic sports professionals and enriching junior high and high school student-athletes with Catholic sports articles, conferences, a Web series, and other programs.