by Gordon Nary
Gordon: When did you attend Benedictine College in Atchinson Kansas , what degree did you earn, did you play sports there, if so which sport?
Thomas: I transferred into Benedictine College in 1998 after a year at the University of San Diego. I played a season of football at USD and jumped into rugby at Benedictine. I finished with a BS in Biology.
Gordon: When did you attend Augustine Institute, what degree did you earn, what was your favorite course and why was it your favorite?
Thomas: I was part of the first graduating class of the Augustine Institute: 2005-2007. It was awesome. My favorite course were Church History.
Gordon: When and where dis you serve as Team Director and what is one of your favorite memories when served as Team Director?
Thomas: My 2nd year in FOCUS I was promoted to be the Team Director at Illinois State University and then the next two years at Seton Hall University. I loved leading the teams, and serving the pastors at each location. I had the blessing of working with student-athletes at both campuses. I think this helped in eventually launching Varsity Catholic.
Gordon: You are a popular author. Please list the books that you have written and an overview of their content.
Thomas: I have authored two books: Compete Inside and Purusing Freedom. Compete Inside was designed to serve the busy life of athletes. It is 100 one-page reflections to help them deepen their faith life. Pursuing Freedom is written to men. It launches from the passage of Gen 2:15 where God tells Adam to "till and keep" the garden. The word "keep" in Hebrew has a few translations. I think the best is "to guard or protect". From there, I discuss how men can live in the freedom to fulfill this calling to guard and protect while using stories of saints as a practical guide.
Gordon: Please provide an overview of your responsibilities when you were with Our Sunday Visitor.
Thomas: They published my book Pursuing Freedom.
Gordon: Please tell us about Varsity Catholic.
Thomas: Varsity Catholic is a division of FOCUS that serves the needs of student-athletes. We launched in 2007 and have FOCUS missionaries dedicated to the work of Varsity Catholic on around 100 campuses.
Gordon: When did you start serving as Senior Director of Affinity Outreach and Marriage/Family at Focus Catholic and what are your primary responsibilities?
Thomas: A few years ago I was promoted to Senior Director of Affinity Outreach. We group our work with student-athletes and those in the Greek System (fraternities and sororities) as affinity outreach in FOCUS. I am blessed to oversee those efforts. We also have over 100 missionary couples serving on campuses. Since that is a prime target for the evil one, we are working to invest more to help those marriages flourish while they serve directly on mission. We launched that effort about 3 years ago.
Gordon: When did you attend Benedictine College in Atchinson Kansas , what degree did you earn, did you play sports there, if so which sport?
Thomas: I transferred into Benedictine College in 1998 after a year at the University of San Diego. I played a season of football at USD and jumped into rugby at Benedictine. I finished with a BS in Biology.
Gordon: When did you attend Augustine Institute, what degree did you earn, what was your favorite course and why was it your favorite?
Thomas: I was part of the first graduating class of the Augustine Institute: 2005-2007. It was awesome. My favorite courese were Church History.
Gordon: When and where dis you serve as Team Director and what is one of your favorite memories when served as Team Director?
Thomas: My 2nd year in FOCUS I was promoted to be the Team Director at Illinois State University and then the next two years at Seton Hall University. I loved leading the teams, and serving the pastors at each location. I had the blessing of working with student-athletes at both campuses. I think this helped in eventually launching Varsity Catholic.
Gordon: You are a popular author. Please list the books that you have written and an overview of their content.
Thomas: I have authored two books: Compete Inside and Purusing Freedom. Compete Inside was designed to serve the busy life of athletes. It is 100 one-page reflections to help them deepen their faith life. Pursuing Freedom is written to men. It launches from the passage of Gen 2:15 where God tells Adam to "till and keep" the garden. The word "keep" in Hebrew has a few translations. I think the best is "to guard or protect". From there, I discuss how men can live in the freedom to fullfil this calling to guard and protect while using stories of saints as a practical guide.
Gordon: Please provide an overview of your responsibilities when you were with Our Sunday Visitor..
Thomas: They published my book Pursuing Freedom.
Gordon: Please tell us about Varsity Catholic.
Thomas: Varsity Catholic is a division of FOCUS that serves the needs of student-athletes. We launched in 2007 and have FOCUS missionaries dedicated to the work of Varsity Catholic on around 100 campuses.
Gordon: When did you start serving as Senior Director of Affinity Outreach and Marriage/Family at Focus Catholic and what are your primary sensibilities”
Thomas: A few years ago I was promoted to Senior Director of Affinity Outreach. We group our work with student-athletes and those in the Greek System (fraternities and sororities) as affinity outreach in FOCUS. I am blessed to oversee those efforts. We also have over 100 missionary couples serving on campuses. Since that is a prime target for the evil one, we are working to invest more to help those marriages flourish while they serve directly on mission. We launched that effort about 3 years ago.
Gordon: You have a popular podcast. Please provide an overview of the podcast.
Thomas: I am one of the co-hosts of the Man Catholic Podcast. The three of us have a ton of fun working on getting practical content out there for men and helping them live a more authentic Catholic life...as men. You can find our podcast on, likely, whatever platform you listen to your other favorite podcasts.
I am one of the co-hosts of the Man Catholic Podcast. The three of us have a ton of fun working on getting practical content out there for men and helping them live a more authentic Catholic life...as men. You can find our podcast on, likely, whatever platform you listen to your other favorite podcasts.
Gordon: Please comment the relationship of sports and their fans.
Thomas: The relationship between sports and fans depends on the level or sport. If we are talking about professional sports, we recognize it is part of the entertainment industry. If we are talking about anything else, we all have to understand that supporting young amateur athletes (as "fans) is more important that how well we are entertained. I think that should shape our mindset while we watch.
Gordon: Please comment the relationship of sports and their fans.
Thomas: The relationship between sports and fans depends on the level or sport. If we are talking about professional sports, we recognize it is part of the entertainment industry. If we are talking about anything else, we all have to understand that supporting young amateur athletes (as "fans) is more important that how well we are entertained. I think that should shape our mindset while we watch.
Gordon: Thank you for a great interview.