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.