good guys finish first...

Today might possibly be the greatest day of my brothers' and dad's life. (Well, only after being almost the worst... which is saying a lot if you're a Brown's fan.) But the Browns did it and (in dramatic fashion that I thought was going to give my brother Jeff a heart attack) drafted Brady Quinn. For kids who grew up trading blue & gold on Saturday for orange & brown on Sunday, and who knew "Bernie, Bernie" and the Notre Dame Victory March before we knew our ABC's, this is a huge deal.The day got off to a rough start, but all's well that ends well in the land of the Irish Brownies. Jeff won't be quitting the
Pittsburgh Browns Backers , and Brady gets his childhood dream come true after all (and showed a lot of class in the meantime.) Looks like what Brady signed on my jersey back in October was the best advice after all, and it looks like I'll be digging out my orange and brown on Sundays again too...

We love you Brady!!

saint gianna

"With simplicity and equilibrium she harmonized the demands of mother, wife, doctor and her passion for life."

Today is the third feast day of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, a woman of deep faith, a wife, doctor and mother from Italy canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 16th 2004.

Gianna believed in the sanctity of life, and ultimately gave her life so that her child, Gianna Emanuela, might live. In 2005 Saint Gianna's daughter Laura came to the March for Life in DC and shared that this "was not an isolated act of heroism, it was the crowning of a whole life of sanctity as a physician, spouse and mother."

As the website dedicated to her explains:

Gianna made a heroic choice, but it was something her family members and friends testified she prepared for every day of her life. Her heroic virtue, genuine holiness of life, selflessness, and quiet joy remind all of us that God entrusts us with a personal vocation. Each and every day presents us with choices that have the power to prepare us to take heroic action whenever it will be called for. We can do that, however, only if we surrender ourselves and what we desire to God and His will for us.

Gianna herself said, "I have always been taught that the secret of happiness is living moment by moment and to thank God for everything that in His goodness He sends us, day after day." Moment by moment, day by day, one act of love at a time, this philosophy led to her sainthood.

So many (including me!) have already been inspired by her and someday I'd love to work in a medical clinic dedicated in her honor... we'll see what God has in store! In the meantime, I'll try to follow her example, thanking and responding to God one day at a time for the goodness He sends.

Saint Gianna, pray for us!

nice pass

check out this pass...

bluegold game....guestblog

while nicole is out visiting pitt for a second look weekend irish football was back in session here in south bend.

today was the first day we all got a chance to see the new "arms race" in action. so along with 51,000 plus of our closest friends we headed out to campus. while spring is in the air there was evidence of a definite changing of the guard as could be seen all around so after a quick photo op to help raise money for a local catholic school we headed on inside for our first view of what all the hype is about.

the game was full of familiar and new faces. lou and ara were guest coaches and charlie was given an membership to the monogram club for his efforts with the teams improved gpa. all and all it was a great time, perfect weather spent with great people.

the one to watch i think has to be junior jabbie as he by far had the best game, he won the offense mvp. lou's team won in a low scoring game and i couldn't even begin to guess who the starting qb will be this fall. the only low point, besides another mixed extra point was an injury to john sullivan hopefully it isn't serious. here are a collection of pictures from the game......

charlie, jr. and the jimbotron

the face of the new defensive coordinator

LOU!!!!!!!


jimmy and dd

the newest member of the monogram club (who knew John Paul II was also a member?)

equal time for the other qb candidates
Go IRISH!!!!!!!

honor your mother

A few years ago I had a chance to volunteer for the summer at Maggie's Place. I just received an e-mail about their Mother's Day campaign that I wanted to share. God bless you all!

"Honor Your Mother and all mothers this Mother's Day by making a gift in her honor to Maggie's Place, a home for pregnant women who are alone or living on the streets. Maggie’s Place has three homes in the Phoenix area, and serves more than 25 expectant mothers each year.

In acknowledgement of your gift of $20 or more you will receive a special Mother's Day card designed by one of the mothers at Maggie’s Place. This one-of-a-kind card can be sent to you by regular mail or downloaded from the internet. Your Mother’s Day donation provides our mothers with immediate needs of food, prenatal care, shelter and a loving community. Your donation also empowers our moms to improve their situation via health, goal-setting, education and employment. What a perfect gift in honor of your mother and all mothers who give the gift of life! Donate and obtain your cards online or call Maggie’s Place at 602-262-5555."

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!!