come holy spirit

two sundays ago i was lucky enough to attend mass in alumni hall, where father hesburgh was presiding. that was the second time that i heard him speak that week, but still managed to learn a very valuable life lesson during that short hour.

before mass, father hesburgh said his intention for the mass was to pray for all of us and our vocations. typically, especially at notre dame, vocation refers to those who are being called to serve the church as priests, but father hesburgh brought new meaning to the word:

each one of you will be called by God to a specific vocation. hopefully, some will be called to life as a religious, but for most of you, this calling will be different. for some a doctor, for others a lawyer. teacher. mother. husband. wife. no matter how stressful the search for that calling is, always remember that God has a plan for each and every one of you. while they are not all the same, they are all equally significant.

needless to say, this got me thinking before mass even started. i have been doing a lot of refocusing lately, trying to get things in order, and this was exactly what i needed to hear.

then, during his homily, father hesburgh told us about one of his "secrets to life." he told us that no matter how stressed or uncertain he is about something, all of his troubles seem to disappear with three small words:

come holy spirit.

he told us that every morning before we get up, we should say "come holy spirit" and invite God's presence into our lives. in times of trouble, in times of success. either way, he told us to give it a try. he said that it had never failed him in a difficult situation and that he promised that it would do the same for us.

well, over the past few weeks i have made a sincere effort to making this a daily happening. every morning, before i get out of bed, i close my eyes and say "come holy spirit." again, before i go to bed, i do the same thing.

this has honestly made a huge difference for me ... stress seems to disappear and things seem to run so much smoother.

so if ever in doubt, stressed, or just needing a little help, try it out.

like father said, i promise it will make a difference.

made with love.

for those of you that don't know, i have a slight obsession with coffee. i drink countless cups a day and spend ALL of my flex points on starbucks.

for christmas, dad bought me a new coffee pot, which has already been used too many times to count ...

with that being said,

meet mr. coffee:

AND

meet justine:

Prologue:

over the past few weeks, my love of coffee has shifted to a love of tea. luckily, mr. coffee has many talents and can also be used to heat water for tea...or hot chocolate...or whatever your heart desires.

so, after a FREEZING walk back from dinner, justine (who lives right across the hall) and i decided we were going to make some tea while we did our homework. little did i know that my dependence on mr. coffee was about to pull someone else in: justine.

Chapter 1:

today, after a long day of hobbling around on my crutches, i had a lot of homework to do.

since justine lives right across the hall (and has a very COZY futon), i decided to do some reading with her in her room.

again, we decided to make use of mr. coffee.

after making the tea, she handed me my sparkly ND coffee mug and said:

"here's your tea pookie ... nice and warm and made with LOVE"

Moral of the story:

My friends are the best.

I love the ND fam.

PRAYER AT THE GROTTO

Dear Mother,

it is good to be here with you,

to come sit with you,

to rest in your presence

and leave all worries and anxieties in your lap.

Thank you for welcoming me with love.

Mother, my life is full with due dates, expectations,

and faces of those I love.

I come to you with a full heart,

so that you can lift me up and offer me to your Son.

I am filled with peace when I come here.


The candles, the people praying,

the trees and tolling bells

help me clearly feel your love and prayers for me.

Please hold me close to you and place your son in my heart.

Amen.


Lighting a candle at the Grotto.

Despite the cold, She is always there to hear our prayers.

Today I took a trip to the grotto. Without a doubt, it is my FAVORITE place on campus. I always feel so at peace and so relaxed. Despite the cold, it was a great time to reflect on everything in my life and realize how blessed I am to be here.

If you ever are having a hard time or just need someone to pray for you, just let me know ... I am always willing to go and light a candle for you.

One Last Thought.

At the end of the presentation, Father Hesburgh asked that we all join together to say a Hail Mary for Martin Luther King. It was an amazing moment to share with other members of the Notre Dame family. We all joined hands and said the prayer for his soul and that we can continue to pursue his dream of equality.

Father Hesburgh

"Life isn't always perfect. Life is messy. It is not always easy to do the right thing, but in the end, it always pays off. Life is a constant struggle to live the way that God wants us to. To help others, to invoke change, and to truly make a difference," - Father Hesburgh (during his presentation on January 15, 2009)

Earlier this week I found out about a presentation that Father Hesburgh was giving on his experiences with Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. For those of you that don't know, Father Hesburgh is a Holy Cross Priest who was an undergraduate student at Notre Dame, a professor of Theology, and was President of the University of Notre Dame from 1952-1987. He was appointed as a member of the Civil Rights Commission in 1957 by President Eisenhower and then became Chairman of the Commission in 1969 until he was dismissed by President Nixon in 1972. Anyways, I could go on forever about his man because he is absolutely amazing and has done so much for the Catholic Church and humankind in general.


Well, I heard that he was giving a presentation and thought that it would be a really great experience to go and hear him talk. The presentation was a panel discussion in a small auditorium in the Snite Museum on campus. The panel was lead by a History Professor, Richard Pearce, (Dad, that is the man who gave the talk to "Press On."). The discussion was about an hour long but was an absolutely amazing experience.


The basis of the presentation was this picture taken of Father Hesburgh and Martin Luther King Jr. during a prayer service in Chicago:




Even though Father Hesburgh is 92 years old, I was in complete awe of him the entire time he spoke. He was so composed and sincere. He told us about MLK as a person, the dreams he had, and what Notre Dame was doing to try to fulfill those dreams. He discussed his relationships with the US Presidents and told us about his struggles on the Civil Rights Commission.


My favorite part was when he asked what his most glorious experience had been throughout his 92 years and his response was:

"My greatest joy is moments like this ... sharing my experiences with members of the greatest University in the world."

He really reminded me how lucky I am to be here. I have dreamed of being here my whole life and constant business of day to day life it is very easy to get caught up and forget how truly blessed I am to be here. I can only hope that I can have a fraction of the success that Father Hesburgh has experienced and that I can continue to pursue a life of helping others and solving social issues.

Fall '08

Okay, so I know I am a little ... okay, VERY... slow at updating this thing, but here is a recap of the fall semester.

ND FAMILY. Fall 2008.

Justine. Claire. Maria. Brianna. Casey. Christie. Me. Erica.

Cirque du Lac.

A CARNIVAL TO BENEFIT HANNAH AND FRIENDS.

Duda. Me. Maria. (Carnival Coordinators)

Football Games.

LOVE THE NOTRE DAME!
Group after the Alma Mater.



Track team on the field! (the fam was here for this game)

Birthdays.

Claire. Christie. Me. Casey. Me.



Casey. Molly. Christie. Me. Maria (bottom). Christie. Me. Claire (bottom).




Me. Christie. Casey. Claire. Me. Christie. Casey. Erica (bottom).

Dances.

GETTIN' FUNKY!

Fisher Boys. Lyons Girls.


BEST FRIENDS.
Casey. Christie. Me.

Family Visits.

TAILGATE. GO IRISH!
Dad. Me. Mom. Me. Tyrel. (Domer in Training)

Christmas is Love.

PAJAMA PARTY.

Casey. Me. Claire. Christie. Maria.

UGLY SWEATER SEASON.

Me. Christie.

Welcome Home!

It is the start of another semester ... I can't believe that I haven't updated this in forever! Things got so crazy last semester that I completely forgot about it ... it is one of my goals for the semester to do a better job of updating this, so hopefully I can keep that goal!

I arrived back "home" on Sunday night and it literally has not stopped snowing since I have been back. It is crazy! I love the snow and think it is beautiful, but it is absolutely FREEZING. Tomorrow there is supposed to be a high of -8 degrees. No joke. With a wind chill as low as -35. Seriously? Hopefully, I can stay bundled up ... I am definitely going to be making a lot of stops to warm up on the way to class tomorrow!

Here are a few pictures from around campus with the lovely, fresh snow ...

The stadium...

Jordan Hall of Science ... (walking back from practice)

And Fabulous South Quad ...

These pictures are just a glimpse of how pretty campus is this time of year ... despite the bitter cold, this place has become home and it is moments like these that make me realize how truly blessed I am to be here.

I will have more updates shortly ... and also a recap of last semester since I was SO bad about posting! I hope everyone is doing well! Love you!

GO IRISH!