When Lancaster Fisher Catholic makes 3-point shots this season, the baskets not only benefit the girls basketball team on the scoreboard but also a special cause that’s bigger than wins and losses.

Baskets for Brian was launched not long after Brian McCauley, a 2002 Fisher Catholic graduate, former theology teacher and band director at the school, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer last April.

The fundraiser was set up by John Albert, a Lancaster Basilica of St. Mary parishioner, to provide for the current and future needs of the family through monetary donations for every 3-point basket throughout the 2022-23 season and through one-time donations. 

“John Albert came to us right around the time Brian got sick last April and had some ideas about how to get St. Mary’s School and/or Fisher Catholic involved,” said Gina McCauley, Brian’s wife and the mother of their young son, Benedict. 

“He put forth the idea to do this fundraiser called Baskets for Brian. He really thought out the whole thing on his own and proposed it to us. Now, since it’s become a reality, we’re just trying to be receptive and recognize the way this amazing community has surrounded us in our own time of sorrow and surprise.”

Since the 2022-23 season started in November, the Irish had made 105 3-pointers on their way to a 12-5 record entering the final week of January and also had received more than $2,000 in one-time donations for a total of more than $5,000.

Gina McCauley visited the girls after practice on Thursday, Jan. 12 to give the team an update.

“I really just came to them today with the hope that they might see that nothing in life will ever make sense outside of a relationship with Christ,” Gina said. “I know that might sound kind of heady to them, kind of untouchable, sort of just words, but my prayer for them is that it’s this world view that might drive their lives; their relationships, academic and athletic careers.”

“That’s the message I really wish to impart on them, and from it is born the virtue of charity – to be able to love the people around us – to have eyes to see the people who are hurting or suffering. And what they’re doing for us, here at the high school, is really an example of that.”

Gina, Brian and Benedict McCauley sit in front of their home in Lancaster.    Photo courtesy McCauley family

Brian, who has a history of headaches, had gone in to have a routine CT scan last April and came away with a diagnosis much different than expected. Doctors determined that he had Stage IV glioblastoma brain cancer, a terminal disease.

He underwent surgery that month and subsequent treatments intended to improve his quality of life.

The McCauleys’ deep Catholic faith, devotion to Mass, their prayers and the prayers of many others have sustained them through a difficult situation. 

“It’s been the only source of sustenance, and our faith will never fail us,” Gina said.

Brian has served as the director of sacramental preparation and faith formation at the Basilica of St. Mary. He announced in August that he was taking a leave of absence from his work at the basilica after 13 years there.

On the Baskets for Brian fundraiser website, he’s described as having a great love for the Church and that his ability to teach and defend the faith with excellence set him apart and makes him well known in the community.

“The wonderful story behind all this is that, in all of this suffering and pain that he’s going through, the first thing that he did was he asked for just an onslaught of prayers and things that he could pray for during this time for the whole community,” Albert said. “So that’s really what triggered this.

“To me, this is how we can show that this cross is just bringing everyone together, but more importantly how we return to God in heaven through the salvation of the cross. So, we’ve got to have the cross for you to get there. That’s really the message that we’re trying to get through the kids through this encounter.”

Gina has spoken with the girls at practice several times during the season. Brian and Benedict visited the team for a photo shoot with the players and coaches in the fall.

“I think their story, and how they’ve dealt with being handed the cards of a devastating cancer diagnosis, and using it to do good for others, and using other people’s intentions in offering their suffering up, is really amazing, and it’s really inspiring for me to do that in my own life and for others as well,” Fisher Catholic junior guard Ava Albert said. 

“Just to encourage others to lift up what they’re going through.”

“It’s a really nice way to include our school and our sports in our life as young adults into something that means more than just us, something that’s bigger than us,” Albert’s teammate, senior post player Emma McCrady, said. 

Asked if the team thinks about raising money when players are putting up 3-point shots during a game, junior forward Ruby Hagy said, “I take it sometimes, and when I do I like to think about it, that it’s a good way that we’re raising money for the McCauley family. 

“And after games, when we’re talking about the 3-pointers and how much we’ve scored, it’s a good reflection on how much money we’ve earned for their family.”

Gina described her husband’s current health status as stable. He tires more easily after his diagnosis and a surgery.

“Brian is very grounded in his Catholic faith, and he is always looking for invitations from Christ to reveal Himself to him. He is certainly feeling the prayers of support from the community.”

And through his suffering exists the possibility that many individuals will strengthen their faith. 

“I hope that the exposure of our story to the people who see it, whether they come to a game as visitors or as supporters of the home team, will help them realize that life here on earth is brief and when you see somebody young diagnosed with this type of cancer, it might even serve as a reminder of the brevity of life,” Gina said. 

“My real hope is that people might grow in their desire to connect with each other and love one another well and, above all, to let the love of Christ shine through in every facet of their lives.”

For more information or to donate, visit www.basketsforbrian.com and www.caringbridge.org/visit/brianmccauley.