By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
IRVING — It was baseball, in a sense, that first took Walker Alsobrooks away from the Mass — packing his Saturdays and Sundays so full that his parents stopped taking him to church each weekend — but it was baseball, too, that had a hand in leading him back, according to the newly baptized University of Dallas student athlete, who was initiated into the Catholic Church this Easter Vigil.
Now a junior at the University of Dallas, Alsobrooks said America’s pastime has long been a treasured pursuit of his — not simply as a competitive outlet but as a truly “beautiful game” and even, in some ways, as a kind of metaphor for life.
“It’s a game of failure: You fail more than you succeed. Out of 10 at bats, you could get four hits,” the athlete, 21, explained. “I feel like it translates to life.”
So, as Alsobrooks began scoping out potential universities following his graduation from Round Rock High School, he looked for schools that would allow him to continue playing the sport into his college years. This pursuit eventually landed him at the University of Dallas, where he joined the baseball team as a center fielder.
According to his own description, Alsobrooks lived a worldly lifestyle as a new university athlete, pursuing partying over piety. Even so, as a student at a Catholic school, Catholicism was always a small, quiet presence in the back of his mind; it was not until he began studying abroad at UD’s Rome campus last year, though, that this quiet curiosity about the faith gained solidity, taking shape as a true conversion.
“I just wanted to go see the world; and I’m glad I did, because it’s a big part of where I am right now,” Alsobrooks said. “That’s really where my faith journey started — going to the Vatican, seeing St. Peter’s Square, all the different beautiful churches and basilicas all over in Florence, Siena, Assisi.”
Alsobrooks recalled packing into St. Peter’s Square to hear papal audiences, walking through the Holy Doors during the Jubilee Year, and frequenting Mass in and around the Eternal City, taking wisdom from the readings, the Gospel, or the homily; but the most important catalyst for his conversion, the student suggested, was not the place but the people — particularly some seminarians he befriended abroad.
“The seminarians — I saw how joyful they were,” he recalled. “They would just always preach the good news; and they were always talking about how beautiful everything is and how beautiful God is, really, and how loving he is and merciful and all these things; and I just kept hearing it over and over and over again.”
Witnessing the faith beautifully lived out in his friends — as something alive and jubilant and efficacious — he left the Rome campus changed; and by a few weeks into the following semester, now back on the Irving campus, he had decided he wanted to become a member of the Church.
“I wanted to join, like, really badly, but I was nervous,” Alsobrooks said. “I didn’t feel worthy enough.”
With the encouragement of his baseball teammate Gabrian Maldonado, though, Alsobrooks soon took steps to begin the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, an important process of joining with other prospective Catholics to learn about the faith, ask weighty questions, and grow in love of Christ and his Church — a process that Alsobrooks took very seriously, according to Jason Schwartz, volunteer coordinator of the Church of the Incarnation’s OCIA.
“Walker is genuinely and visibly in love with Christ and his Church,” Schwartz said, noting the student athlete’s commitment to the classes even amid his other obligations. “Despite his busy schedule with academics and baseball, he deliberately puts his relationship with God first.”
Along with the OCIA classes, Alsobrooks found another source of spiritual guidance in a bible study group, led by FOCUS Varsity Catholic missionary Ryan Chacon, which served as a vibrant example of faith lived joyfully, wholeheartedly, and in community.
“He needed God in his life; but he didn’t really know what that meant … He kind of had one foot in both worlds at that time,” shared Chacon, recalling Alsobrooks’ early days in the bible study group; but after mentored Alsobrooks, conversing with him about virtue, and teaching him to turn to God in prayer, the missionary said, “I’ve seen him just become on fire for his faith.”
To some peers, Alsobrooks said, his newfound zeal for the Catholic faith was a shock. After all, he had lived a worldly life; now, his life was for Christ.
“The surprise turned into support,” he said, “and it also turned into people being intrigued by it.”
Soon, teammates began asking him questions about the Church. He started talking about God at practices, inviting teammates to pray with him in the chapel, and connecting friends with the resources they might need to learn more about the faith or to join the Church through OCIA.
“What I have heard is that he was a catalyst for conversion within the baseball team,” said UD campus minister Deacon Ryan Sales, citing Alsobrooks’ influence in bringing at least one other person on his baseball team — possibly more — into OCIA through his personal invitation.
“It’s very rare that you meet somebody who is as excited and as fervent in their approach to coming into the Church as Walker. It certainly touched my heart,” the deacon added. “It was like seeing a groom in the weeks before a wedding, you know, just absolutely excited.”
On April 4, during the Easter Vigil Mass at the Church of the Incarnation in Irving, Alsobrooks finally received the sacraments of initiation — accompanied by his teammate turned sponsor, Maldonado — and officially joined the Catholic Church.
“I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time, and it’s been a long time coming,” the newly baptized Catholic said, before expressing his deep gratitude to God — for his mercy, his forgiveness, and his unfailing love.
“I do not deserve that love, but he gave it to me,” he said. “I feel so blessed.”
Cutline for featured image: Walker Alsobrooks, a University of Dallas junior and baseball player, smiles for a photo at the Irving campus March 31. Alsobrooks was received into the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil on April 4 at the Church of the Incarnation after a faith journey shaped in part by his experience as a student athlete who studied abroad at UD’s Rome campus. (AMY WHITE/The Texas Catholic)
