August 07, 2012: Carlos Ballve, known as ‘Litus’ plays defense on the Spanish field
hockey team that is competing in the London 2012 Olympic Games. But as soon as the
competition ends, he will head to a Belgium seminary to begin the process of becoming
priest. According to the Spanish daily El Pais, even though he always considered
himself a believer, it was only in 2005 that he became aware of the importance of
God in his life.
In the summer of that year, everything began to change while
he competed at the under-21 World Championships. “We began the competition terribly.
It was so bad that one Sunday I went to Mass and made a deal with God: I told him
that if he fixed that Championship, I would go to Medjugore (where the alleged Marian
apparitions took place) with my father. We made history. Never before had a U-21 team
won a medal, and we came in third,” he said.
Ballve kept his promise and visited
Medjugore. However, he said his life still did not change, as he continued “to go
to parties with girls, spend money left and right, and had little or no intention
of praying.” But “something inside of me said, ‘Litus, you are free and you can do
what you want, but right now you are not happy.’”
Although he was at the top
of his game, he decided to quit again and go in search for God. “I told him, ‘I don’t
know what’s wrong. Strange things are happening. I want to come clean with you, so
here I am, do what you want.’” His life began to change, and he only asked the Lord
to let him fulfill his dream of playing in the Olympics. Ballve called his time
at the games thus far “an incredible and precious experience.” He said he hopes “not
only to win, but to grow in my living of the faith, sharing this with people from
other parts of the world,” the newspaper reported.