the exotic bomba

Tonight our women's prayer group from St. Pius celebrated Easter at a new Italian restaurant in town called Carmella's. It was wonderful! Dessert was the best... a few ordered "the magic square" which was kind of like a gourmet klondike bar. I had the "exotic bomba" which was passion fruit sorbet covered in a white chocolate shell drizzled with dark chocolate. Yum.

It was a great night with great friends & a great start to celebrating the 50 days of Easter. (I knew we were in good company when we saw
Fr. Hesburgh at a table on our way in.) Thanks Terry, Angie, Alli, Lisa, Beth, Theresa and Beth for a great night!

(My favorite picture of Fr. Hesburgh)

see the morning

Saturday night I attended the Easter Vigil at St. Pius X with Amy, Alli and Beth to help welcome Beth's good friend Stephanie into the church. The whole experience was very moving, and I was definitely struck by Fr. Bill's explanation that "easter" is a nautical term meaning "to turn east towards the rising sun." As those about to receive the Easter sacraments turned towards the east -- the place of the sunrise and of the light-- to profess their faith, the word "Easter" took on new meaning for me.

I thought more about this today, and of the connection with one of my favorite CD's "See the Morning", which Chris Tomlin wrote inspired by the idea that God's ongoing work is provoking new beginnings. As he explains,

See The Morning expresses the idea that God's as faithful as the rising sun. Though your life may be shifting all around you and it may be dark, there is hope... morning is an incredible symbol in scripture. Morning is brand new. It's fresh. It's new life. That while the darkness came and was for a while, light is breaking through into morning. That's the hope I want to help people grab with this album.

As he puts so beautifully, and I leave you with on this Easter Monday... "This is life’s resurrection by the hand of God: Dawn always breaks into morning over humanity’s dark night of the soul."

Have a beautiful day today, and a blessed 50 days of Easter.

See the morning!

Alli, Stephanie and me after the Vigil enjoying the snow!!

dream big

thanks to beth and allie for introducing me to my new favorite song...

nd on youtube

Notre Dame enters the world of youtube with a video about the Center for Global Health and Infectious Disease, of which the Haiti Program is a vital part.

Check out the other ND videos here.

restavecs

While in Haiti I was impacted greatly by the reality of "economic orphans." Basically, when parents cannot afford to feed their children, they are often sent away to work for a family in exchange for food and shelter. In reality, this situation often becomes a form of slavery, as the children live in conditions of grinding poverty, enslaved to their hosts. These children are called "restavecs" which comes from the French phrase "reste avec" meaning "stay with."

The BBC has just this week published a story on these children, Haiti's hidden child slaves.

My new Haitian friend Gary was once a restavec, and he is one of the most beautiful little guys you would ever hope to meet. I've heard the story of how Fr. Tom met him in the hospital in Leogane after he had run away from his life of this kind of slavery, and was hit by a car. After a year of living at the hospital, Fr. Tom took brought him home to the residence in Leogane, where he has lived since.

Jean Robert Cadet , a Catholic educator who lives in Cincinnati, has written an autobiography called Restavec: From Haitian Slave Child to Middle-Class American. I just bought the book, and would be happy to lend it to anyone who'd like to borrow it. Free the Slaves is a good site for learning more as well.

james 1:27

I am back in the US, and beginning to process the experience in Haiti. I will write more soon, but wanted to share a few pictures. I mostly took video, and hopefully will have much to share with that soon. As I've returned home the thought has been with me all day yesterday and today about Dr. Dayane' s dream of opening a home for the orphans. I really believe it can happen. Any thoughts out there? More to come soon...

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world." - james 1:27

Children on the shores of Leogane

A market in Port au Prince. (I noticed after I looked at this picture that the man in the foreground is carrying home a chicken.)

Schoolchildren in Leogane excited to greet us.

An all too familiar scene in Port au Prince... a street and waterway
lined with trash.

"what the eye sees moves the heart"

hello there everyone...

we arrived in port au prince yesterday after our time in leogane, and i just wanted to check in to let you all know that we are doing well. i'll be leaving for miami this evening, and will be back home tomorrow. you all remain in my thoughts and prayers, and your prayers have definitely been very present to me. i cannot thank you enough for thinking of our group and of our time here in haiti.

from a place and a people who endure so much suffering, there is a love and spirit that is teaching me so much. streets lined with trash, staving children, orphans, victims of diseases of poverty... we have seen it. but even greater we have seen the love and the spirit of people who are living proof of the strength and the beauty of the human spirit.

i will write more when i return, but one quick story for now before i go. yesterday i was talking with dr. madsen, a beautiful haitian man who is the director of the LF disease elimination program in leogane. his wife, dr. dayane, runs the hiv/aids program as well, and fr. tom told me that her dream is to open an orphanage for children who have been orphaned by aids. they are such beautiful people, and have two small children ages 3 and 6 months as well. in talking with dr. madsen i asked him how he finds strength to stay in haiti and continue his work. he looked me in the eye and told me that he would give his life for the people of haiti. he said "yes, i have children and my family, but i have most of all the hope that my children and my country will have a better future." and i heard in my heart, "no greater love has one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

please pray for dr. madsen and dr. diane and all of the people like them who lay down their lives day after day for the people they love so much.

may we all know such passion and dedication.

may we all know such great love.

lots of love to you all,
nicole

an update from my sis

My younger sister Christy just sent a little update about her Americorps service project that I wanted to share. You are doing an awesome job with these kids Christy, and I'm really proud of you!! As for the update here, I'm leaving tomorrow for Haiti and will be back on Thursday. You will all by in my thoughts and prayers as I make this journey. I'm hoping Beth will write another guest blog in the meantime, and I'll see you all back here soon...

Dear Family and Friends,
Greetings from Northern California! As you all know, this past school year I have been working in a grade school as the second grade teacher in an after school program. Since the beginning of March, my class has been collaborating with the rest of the after school program to see how far we can run. At the end of May, our program will be taking a field trip to Safari West (a simulated African safari), so the goal is to “run” to Africa.

My class is responsible for running 1500 laps, and my students came up with a really incredible idea. To integrate our run to Africa with a service learning project, they decided to try to raise money by running and then taking a class trip to grocery/supply shop for a local homeless shelter. We hope each student will have at least one sponsor for each lap he or she runs (students will be running approximately 100 laps). Any amount will be greatly appreciated, and I will keep you updated weekly on your child’s progress. Thank you so much for your time and all of your support.
-Christy Shirilla (and Miss S’'s second grade class)

st. patrick's day

A few pictures from St. Patrick's Day in South Bend!

It was great to see Mrs. Rizzi & Kara!

Allie, Beth & me

Allie & her brother Mark

true beauty

A good thought for the day just shared with me by an ND student who is a "true beauty" and one of the sweetest persons that I have ever met. Thanks Jordan!!

"Time Tested Beauty Tips"

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

(Thanks to Anthony for letting me know that this was written by Sam Levenson, and was a favorite of Audrey Hepburn.)

do both...

"Africa, your sufferings have been the theme that has arrested and engaged my heart... Your sufferings no tongue can express, no language impart."
- William Wilberforce
Speech on a motion for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, April 2, 1792

Last Friday night I went to see the movie Amazing Grace. This movie has stirred much that I have been thinking about all week. I know it's a long post, but I really want to share this.

Amazing Grace is the true story of a man named William Wilberforce, elected at age 21 to the House of Commons in England. Facing so many injustices in the world at such a young age and place of privilege, William wonders if he should use his gifts to "praise the Lord, or change the world?" A friend humbly proposes that he can do both. John Newton passionately agrees, and William proceeds to dedicate his life to the abolition of slavery.

Amazing Grace was released this month to celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Britain. While there is much to celebrate, there is much more work to be done...The fact is that modern day slavery exists, and the movie has prompted a movement called The Amazing Change. It is definitely a site and a cause worth checking out.

Relatedly, this week I have also been learning a great deal about Haiti in preparation for my journey there next Saturday. What I have learned has startled me.

Haiti was "discovered" by Columbus in 1492, and the original inhabitants of the island, the Arawkas, were decimated in about 25 years. The Spanish claimed what now is the Dominican Republic, and the French claimed the land that they called "The Pearl of the Antilles". It was a beautiful paradise island, and made France the envy of Europe. For over 100 years Haiti was France's most important overseas territory, supplying it with sugar, rum, coffee and cotton. How? At the cost of thousands and thousands of people forced into slavery from Africa. At the height of slavery near the end of the 18th century, some 500,000 people mainly of western African origin, were enslaved by the French.

The following excerpt I read from the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti startled me. (This was written regarding the International Donors Conference held in Madrid in November '06) Much of Haiti's current situation-- they are the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere-- is based upon an immoral debt once required by France in exchange for the freedom of the slaves who inhabited the island. I know it's long, but I believe this is worth reading...

"On November 29th, international diplomats and financiers will gather in Madrid to coordinate the disbursement of aid to fight poverty in Haiti over the coming years. The November meeting follows on the heels of a July meeting in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where the international community pledged $750 million in aid. Those generous commitments will build badly need roads, schools and hospitals that will make a real, short-term difference to ordinary Haitians – the poorest people in the Americas. But the commitments are based on charity, not human rights, and are not likely to make a sustained reduction in the daily deadly violations of Haitians’ economic and social human rights. What Haiti really needs to permanently end centuries of misery is not the world’s charity, but its justice.

The November donors’ meeting will not be discussing the one fair and lasting solution to Haiti’s grinding poverty: enforcement of Haiti’s right to the restitution of the independence debt imposed by France in 1825. The debt – calculated at $21 billion in current dollars – dwarfs current aid commitments (the pledged $750 million is less than a year’s interest on $21 billion). Its payment would allow Haitians to develop their economy according to their own priorities, without the attached strings that keep poor countries dependent on international aid.

Haiti won its independence from France in 1804, becoming the second independent country in the Americas and the only independent nation in history born of a successful slave revolt. But world powers forced Haiti to pay a second price for acceptance into the “international community.” Not a single country would recognize the Black Republic, and French warships remained off Haiti’s coasts, threatening to invade and reconquer the island. After twenty-one years of insisting on its right to respect and recognition, Haiti finally paid for it: in exchange for diplomatic recognition, Haiti agreed to pay the French government to compensate French plantation owners for their loss of “property,” including the freed slaves. The agreement required the compensation to be paid with a loan from a designated French bank. The debt was ten times Haiti’s total 1825 revenue and twice what the United States paid France in 1803 for the Louisiana Purchase, which contained seventy-four times more land.

Haiti’s poverty is inextricably linked with its history of slavery and the independence debt imposed by France. The debt was a crushing burden on Haiti’s economy, as the government was forced to redirect all economic activity to repay the debt. Up to 80% of some years’ government revenues went to debt service, at the expense of investment in education, health-care and infrastructure.

Haiti did not pay off the independence debt to the banks until 1947. Over a century after the global slave trade was eliminated as the evil it was, Haitians were still paying their ancestors’ masters for their own freedom. After the debt was paid, Haitians were left with a chronically undeveloped economy, rampant poverty, and a spent land- today relatively minor environmental stresses like tropical storms cause catastrophic damage in vulnerable Haiti....

A human rights-based approach to Haiti’s poverty would start with restitution of the independence debt. A just repayment of the debt would allow Haiti to develop the way today’s wealthy countries did – based on national priorities set inside the country. It would also right a historical wrong, and set a strong example of international cooperation based on justice and respect for international law. If the international community really wants to help Haiti, repayment of the independence debt will be at the top of the agenda, not off the table.

William Wilberforce worked to break the chains of slavery, and on March 13th (this past Tuesday) a bill was introduced in the US Congress to break Haiti's chains of debt.

Praise the Lord or change the world?? I humbly suggest that we can do both...

"God is with the poor" -bono

be yellow

"I just found out there's no such thing as the real world, just a lie you've got to rise above...They love to tell you to stay inside the lines, but something's better on the other side."
- John Mayer

Today's post is inspired by my good friend Ryan O'Connor, whose motto in life is "Be Yellow." After a number of years working in the business world, Ryan followed his dream to be an elementary school teacher. He joined the ACE program, which brought him to St. Marianne school in Los Angeles, and now he and his fiance Sarah are teaching in Guatemala. They are having awesome adventures, and living life to the fullest. Happy Birthday Ryan! You are a true inspiration.

By the way, Ryan is the best teacher I've ever met. Watch this, and you'll see why...

we finally see the sun!

It's pretty much a perfect Saturday here... a completely relaxing day and plus the sun is shining. A pretty good combination if you ask me!

I got an e-mail from my friend Annie (hi Annie!) who said that she reads the blog, which made me smile. Annie is currently in a neurosurgery rotation at Creighton Medical school, and she is loving it. (Are neurosurgeons anything like they are on tv? ) Way to go Annie! You are amazing. (The picture is of Annie and her husband Anthony at their wedding last summer. Beautiful!)

In her e-mail Annie asked why I was in LA, and I realized that I never really explained why I went. It was a big surprise actually... and the first surprise I've ever really pulled off in my life. My friend Danielle Rose was going to be singing at the LA Congress. Because of some vocal injuries, Danielle hasn't sung publicly for about a year, so when she told me that she was going to be singing in LA, I knew I really wanted to be there. (This is a picture of Danielle receiving a blessing from Pope John Paul II in 2004.)

As it turned out, several other really close friends from ND, Michael Downs and Beau Schweitzer, were planning on going to the conference as well, and the weekend turned into a beautiful reunion. Beau has just recently returned to the States after serving over three years at the Farm of the Child in Honduras. Michael had just finished defending his thesis at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley that Friday. Danielle's parents Dan and Rosey, her sister Aubry and Grandma Marion (who celebrated her 75th birthday that weekend) were there, as were many other friends from Notre Dame and ACE. We had much to celebrate!! Danielle sang two new songs from her upcoming CD that is dedicated to Mother Teresa, and she sounded beautiful. It was an amazing weekend, and one that I will remember for the rest of my life.

After the conference, Mike and Beau and I got to have dinner with our good friend Anthony Brannan, and also had a great visit with Ben Hunter too. It's still hard to believe that I got to see so many good friends all in one weekend, but God is just that good!!

In other news, I finally got to say hi to everyone's favorite ND safety-turned-boxer-for-charity who boxed last week for his charity as well as Hannah and Friends. He has lived in the apartment right below Alli and Beth all year, but I hadn't run into him until this week. He was moving out, but not before I got to wish him good luck next season. That was a highlight of my week, as you all can imagine! As Kelly Clarkson put it so well... "Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this." (And if you want to sing it for yourself, check out the karaoke version. Just don't get too distracted by the random fish and monkeys jumping across the screen. You'll see.)

That's it from here... there have been over 1800 visits to the blog, which is exciting. Please sign the guestbook if you haven't already. It would be great to know who stops by!

the newest little nd fan :-)

Today I found out the most wonderful news... Katie and Craig are having their second baby in September!!!!! Please send lots of prayers for Katie and her baby for a healthy and joyful pregnancy. Thank you!!

Abby will be the best big sister ever, and teach the new baby all about cheering for her two favorite teams, I'm sure!!

conversions and connections

"Happiness isn't measured by how much you can acquire, you know. I think it's maybe how much you can let go of. The more you let go of, it seems, the more you have.."
-- Gerry Straub, documentary filmmaker, San Damiano Foundation

Many beautiful things happened while I was in Los Angeles this past weekend. God continues to work in mysterious ways, as I had the chance to connect with a wonderful man named Gerry Straub. Gerry used to be a network television producer in LA, but left it all behind after a powerful conversion in 1995. Gerry now heads up the San Damiano Foundation, and lives to put the power of film at the the service of the poor.

Mr. Straub has lately felt particularly called to Haiti, and so our conversation was both rich and exciting, as I stood back in awe of how the Holy Spirit is ever-present and at work for the life of the church.

Check out his story of conversion and testimony to the fullness of life that he has found in giving his all to Christ. Thank you Gerry... you are an inspiration.

ice skating...guestblog

As Nicole headed out to LA to visit her friends she asked me to guestblog. I tried and then with some quirk in the internet i thought i had deleted the blog...now after a brief tutorial i feel cautiously optimistic in reposting.

So as Nicole enjoyed time in the warm and balmy weather with her friends in LA it was in the 20s here in the Bend but Amy, Beth P, Alli and myself tried to make the best of it. We headed to Barnaby's for some pizza and then to Howard Park for ice skating. It was a great time, if you could ignore the fact that snow was rapidly accumulating on the ice. Here is a picture from the event:



Even though it had been since the last millennium since some of us had been on the ice we made it around the rink more than once and nobody even fell, quite an accomplishment. Amy by far performed the best even making 1/4 of a lap backwards!

While i would much prefer to be enjoying the sun in so-cal the end of winter should be near! Although it is not here yet unfortunately, as Nicole left my place tonight snow had accumulated during her short visit. Spring cannot arrive fast enough for me (or Nicole based on her frowning face as she left tonight!)

Also don't forget to check out the guestbook on the top or bottom of the blog. The questions will be changing every now and again so be sure to check back often!!

Think Spring :)

blessings

I just returned from an amazing weekend in California with some of the people I love most in this world...
It was hard to leave after such an incredible reunion with people I love so much and see far too infrequently, but I know that I will never forget this weekend. In the words of Kahlil Gibran, "When you part from your friend, you grieve not; For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain."

Thank you to Danielle, Beau, Michael, Jenny, Anthony, Ben, Naomi, Christina, Cliff, Dan, Rosey, Aubry, Grandma Marion and many, many new friends for a beautiful, unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime weekend!!

paint well

Some friends and I were talking the other night, and someone mentioned that The Fray ("How to Save a Life") is a Christian group. Today I found this article about them that I really liked. I especially like what Isaac Slade (the lead singer) says about how important it is to meet people where they are at when it comes to faith. My favorite part of the article is when he says, "If you're a painter, paint, but you don't have to have Jesus in every picture. Paint well, and if you paint well enough, they might ask you why you do that."

I thought it was really well said, and just like St. Francis who said
"Preach the Gospel at all time. Use words when necessary."

The lives we live will often say enough...

we need spring!

All of my plans for today were pretty much canceled because of the ice/snow that we got... bummer. So I'm watching the Oscars now, and just saw a commercial for making your own M&M. Pretty crazy! Another great way I found to pass some time is to pop online bubble wrap. No kidding.

From my last two posts, can you tell I'm ready for spring? :-)

On a more meaningful note, tonight I also read a great reflection by CS Lewis on my friend Ryan's website. Thank you Ryan for sharing the gift of your sincere faith-- I love reading about how you and Sarah are doing in Guatemala, and I'm really looking forward to seeing you this summer. (We'll have better weather for you by then!!)

saturday update

**UPDATE** We started off watching '30 Going on 30' and then watched 'Notting Hill', 'My Best Friend's Wedding', and now we're finishing with 'Sleepless in Seattle.' Delilah would be proud!!

"matty, matty.... it's thriller!!"

Today is my kind of Saturday... just sitting here with my roommate Amy about to do nothing for the next few hours. We decided to watch one of my favorites... 13 going on 30. My favorite? The thriller scene of course.

Looks like I'm not the only person who likes this scene... I couldn't believe when I found this!



Check out the whole dance, and this one is good too. Gotta love youtube!

inspiring nd students

One thing I love most about working at Notre Dame is getting to know the students. Brennan, one of our student workers in the Haiti Program, just sent us a link to her interview with Dr. Paul Farmer when he was on campus with Jeffrey Sachs for the Global Health Forum in September. Dr. Farmer founded Partners in Health, and works to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. Brennan did an excellent job with her interview!


I've also recently been able to meet Meg who has helped to found the Touching Tiny Lives Foundation to care for HIV/AIDS impacted children in Lesotho. Reading the stories of the children they have helped is truly incredible. Meg just won a Marshall scholarship and plans to work on building peace through international health.

It's such an honor to work with students like Brennan and Meg, and they are both an example of why I love Notre Dame. It's a place full of people who inspire me everyday. What a blessing...

jimmy carter

About a month ago I started working with the Notre Dame Haiti Program. Today a student I work with sent me a link to a very moving article about Jimmy Carter's work to end riverblindness, which is an infectious disease in many ways similar to lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), the disease our program is working to eliminate in Haiti.

The article states, "After leaving the White House, Mr. Carter ended up “adopting” diseases like Guinea worm disease, river blindness, elephantiasis, trachoma and schistosomiasis that afflict the world’s most voiceless people. These are horrific diseases that cause unimaginable suffering, yet they rarely get attention, treatment or research funding because their victims are impoverished and invisible."

This morning I wanted to share this article and awareness about these horrible diseases caused by the conditions of extreme poverty. May God bless those who suffer from such diseases, and inspire all those who can work to change the situation.

imix

I just made my first imix. I started out with over 150 songs I wanted on it, but eventually got it down to 20. Anyway, here are some of my favorite songs (and if you want the other 130, just let me know!!)

love

1. I saw this today, and had to share. Hope you all have a wonderful day!
   
   "For God so loVed the world,
   That He gAve
   His onLy
   BegottEn
   SoN
   That whosoever
   Believeth In Him
   Should Not perish
   But have Everlasting life"
   - John 3:16

chris tomlin

Last night I had the chance to go to Chris Tomlin's concert in Chicago. I've been looking forward to this for a long time, and it was incredible...
I was sitting in the 3rd row, and could see all the joy and peace on his face as he was singing. It's something so genunine that comes from a heart full of love for God. It was truly beautiful, and I had to share these few pictures that I took.



Tonight he's at the Grammy's, and up for two awards. Good luck Chris!

open hands

I read this the other day, and had to share it...

"To wait openhandedly is an enormously radical attitude toward life. So is to trust that something will happen to us that is far beyond our imaginings. So, too, is giving up control over our future and letting God define our life, trusting that God molds us according to God's love and not according to our fear. The spiritual life is a life in which we wait, actively present to the moment, trusting that new things will happen to us, new things that are far beyond our own imagination, fantasy, or prediction. That, indeed, is a very radical stance toward life in a world preoccupied with control."
- Henri J. M. Nouwen

I am learning how to use "youtube" and just posted the first video that I made from my trip to Rwanda in '03...

a great weekend

This past weekend I got to help lead NDE (Notre Dame Encounter with Christ) #92. It was a wonderful experience, and I am just amazed at how incredibly awesome the students are who I got to know over the weekend. Here's a picutre of the "purple group" at the end of the retreat. Thank you all for an awesome weekend!!

getting to know your friends '07 edition

I just got an e-mail that I thought would be fun to answer on my blog.

"Welcome to the 2007 edition of getting to know your friends. Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to a whole bunch of people including the person who sent it to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends, if you did not know them already."

1. What time did you get up this morning? around 7:00
2. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? we are marshall
3. What is your favorite TV show? alias (still sad it was cancelled), 24
4. Favorite cuisine? italian
5. What is your middle name? marie
6. What food do you dislike? hot-dogs and coleslaw
7. What is your favorite CD at the moment? norah jones
8. What kind of car do you drive? a white saturn (148,000 miles and still running!)
9. Favorite sandwich? turkey w/tomatoes and mustard on toasted rye
10. Favorite item(s) of clothing? right now it's my new winter coat, because it was -10 degrees with the wind chill today!
11. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would you go? italy
12. What color is your bathroom? white
13. Favorite brand of clothing? banana republic
14. What was your most memorable birthday? turning 21 at the grotto
15. Favorite sport to watch? football and baseball
16. Favorite saying? hmm.. maybe "coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous."
17. When is your birthday? may 17th
18. Are you a morning person or a night person? a little of both
19. What is your shoe size? 8
20. Pets: none but would love a golden retriever some day.
21. What did you want to be when you were little? annie. other than that, i think a teacher or a ballet dancer
22. What is your favorite candy? does cherry garcia ben and jerry's frozen yogurt count as candy???
23. What is your favorite flower? tuilps and roses
24. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? hmm... february 10th- chris tomlin concert in chicago

trick plays, proposals and potatoes

My good friend Ryan O'Connor takes a break from his adventures in Guatemala to break down "the state of the (ND) nation" in his latest blog. I know a lot of ND fans, but Ryan takes it to a whole new level...


While I'm talking football, I have to take the chance to wrap up my '06 season comments. There's not too much to say about the Sugar Bowl, but on the brightside I did get to watch the greatest bowl game ever complete with a thrilling last minute TD to take the game into overtime, a coach that went for the win and came up big, and of course, the after-game marriage proposal. My new favorite? Jared Zabransky. The best part about him? He grew up on a potato farm, and his claim to fame is that he can throw one 80 yards. A potato that is.

I know I'm probably guilty of jumping on the bandwagon with this one, but looks like I'm not alone. As the Boise State president recently said in a press conference, the admissions office has seen a 135 percent increase in online inquiries and graduate school applications have soared. “The week after New Year’s normally produces about three to four applications a day for graduate school, this week 30 to 40 applications arrived at our door every day.'

Do you think they have a med school?

the work of Christmas

I am reminded every year in the days following Christmas by this poem I found a few years back that "the work of Christmas" begins again each new year. I pray that 2007 will be a blessed year for all of you!

The Work of Christmas
by Howard Thurman

When the star in the sky is gone,
When the Kings and Princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins.
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry
To release the prisoner,
To teach the nations,
To bring Christ to all,
To make music in the heart.

cutdown '06

Back in October Beth told us about her family's tree cutdown tradition, and we had to check it our for ourselves. This is why I love the midwest!

favorite day

I've been out of town for the last week and haven't had a chance to write in awhile, but I wanted to be sure to remember one of my favorite days of all time, December 5th, 1842. One hundred and sixty four years ago this week Fr. Sorin wrote these words to Fr. Moreau, and so many lives have been changed forever because of it!


December 5, 1842

Beloved Father,
When we least dreamed of it, we were offered an excellent piece of property, about 640 acres in extent. This land is located in the county of St. Joseph on the banks of the St. Joseph River, not far from the city of St. Joseph (Michigan). It is a delightfully quiet place, about twenty minutes from South Bend. This attractive spot has taken from the lake which surrounds it the beautiful name of Notre Dame du Lac. . . . It is from here that I write you now.

Everything was frozen over. Yet it all seemed so beautiful. The lake, especially, with its broad carpet of dazzling white snow, quite naturally reminded us of the spotless purity of our August Lady whose name it bears, and also of the purity of soul that should mark the new inhabitants of this chosen spot . . . . We were in a hurry to enjoy all the scenery along the lakeshore of which we had heard so much. Though it was quite cold, we went to the very end of the lake, and like children, came back fascinated with the marvelous beauties of our new home. . . . Once more, we felt that Providence had been good to us and we blessed God from the depths of our soul.

Will you permit me, dear Father, to share with you a preoccupation which gives me no rest? Briefly, it is this: Notre Dame du Lac was given to us by the bishop only on condition that we establish here a college at the earliest opportunity. As there is no other school within more than a hundred miles, this college cannot fail to succeed. . . . Before long, it will develop on a large scale. . . . It will be one of the most powerful means for good in this country.

Finally, dear Father, you cannot help see that this new branch of your family is destined to grow under the protection of Our Lady of the Lake and of St. Joseph. At least, this is my deep conviction. Time will tell if I am wrong.


E. Sorin