IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

I am going to Jerusalem!!!! (In šāʾ Allāh (إن شاء الله), of course!)
Just bought my plane tickets, and I'm so excited!!!

Now taking prayer requests for this pilgrimage. Let me know if there's anything you want me to pray for at any particular sites!

Spring Break

This week is Spring Break for us here at Notre Dame, and as a member of the head staff, I've stayed behind to cover duty for break and also to get in some good library time (aka catch up on homework I should have been doing all semester long).

It's a beautiful time to be on campus for a number of reasons: it's super quiet, which means you can slow down and hear yourself think think again; I can spend some time in prayer because my life isn't going at the pace of insanity; I can really invest myself in my work and put together quality papers that are well thought out instead of hastily thrown together at 2am. Not to mention that campus is gorgeous right now, particularly in the early and late afternoon. First, the sun shines so bright during the day; the sky is a magnificent bright blue. Though the campus is "dead" (quiet), the warmth and light of the sun seems to make everything radiate with new life. The days are growing longer now, and it's beautiful to see the soft pinks and oranges of the setting sun reflecting off the dome and bathing campus in a colorful hue well into the early evening.

All of this makes me think about the fact that we're just about at the midway point for Lent. Though there are signs all around me of new life bursting forth (the crocuses and daffodils and hyacinth are poking up out of the ground already!), I'm wondering whether the same is true in my soul. How has my life become bathed in the light of Christ this Lent? Where are the little buds poking up through the hardened soil of my heart? How can I feel the warmth and see the colorful light of new love shining through?

In some ways, I feel like this Lent hasn't been as productive as I wanted it to be. I'm wondering if I should be doing more in the few weeks ahead. I made some Lenten commitments, which I have been following, at least, somewhat even if not perfectly. I feel I have been spending more time in prayer, though not always in the ways I feel I should be. At the same time, perhaps my heart, my soul, my spirit have begun to show signs of growth, of new life. There is still time.

Lord, help me to make the most of these last few weeks of Lent. Help me to let the light of Your love shine ever more brightly in my life. Help me to love more totally, more purely, and more disinterestedly.

12 Days of Christmas - Notre Dame Style

So I heard someone was writing a version of the 12 Days of Christmas, Notre Dame style, and the only piece of it I heard was "5 Golden Tates." This made me want to write my own version. I've pretty much finished it, but I'm still stuck on a few numbers... any ideas?

12 am parietals
11 football championships
10 Irish guardsmen
9
8
7 Heisman trophies
6 billion endowment
5 Golden Tates
4 horsemen of the apocalpyse
3 months of drama
2 two crystal lakes
1 shiny golden dome

Christ Turns Down 3-Year, Multimillion Dollar Deal To Coach Notre Dame

From : http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/christ_turns_down_3_year

SOUTH BEND, IN—Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Savior of All Mankind, and current defensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee State, said Monday that He would not accept Notre Dame's 3-year, $5.6 million offer to coach the Fighting Irish. "I love Notre Dame and respect their football legacy, but no matter what you've accomplished before coaching there, once you're a Golden Domer, the expectations, frankly, are unrealistic," said Christ, whose family has been involved with the university since its founding. "I've had people turn on Me before, and it really put Me through hell. But even more importantly, I've made a commitment to stay with the Blue Raiders through 2015." Christ denied asking Notre Dame to remove His likeness from the building overlooking their stadium, saying He liked a good joke as much as anybody.

Young Adult Brain Development

Has anyone seen the MIT Report on Young Adult Brain Development?

http://hrweb.mit.edu/worklife/youngadult/youngadult.pdf

The intro goes something like this:
"The years from 18 to 25 are a time of stunning accomplishments and chilling risks, as a roller coaster of internal and external changes, including brain changes, propels young adults from adolescence toward full maturity. Yet we are only beginning to understand how and why this all happens—and sometimes doesn’t."

The report goes on to say that there is a dramatic change that takes place in the brain from the ages of 18-25, usually becomes more and more apparent around the ages of 21, 22:

"A large and relatively new body of research is revealing that young adulthood is a time of dramatic change in basic thinking structures, as well as in the brain. Consensus is emerging that an 18-year-old is not the same person she or he will be at 25, just as an 11-year-old is not the same as he or she will be at 18. They don’t look the same, feel the same, think the same, or act the same."

This can particularly be seen in the area of risk taking and decision making:

"With this greater capacity for thinking about future consequences and regulating emotions, young adults have an easier time modulating risk-taking and making decisions about the future, including choices about health, relationships, education, and careers. They can also weigh the impact of their choices on others more effectively, in actions as simple as showing up for appointments on time or as complex as parenting a young child."

All I can say is that this is sooooo true. Twenty-one and twenty-two year olds are, as a whole, much more responsible than 18 & 19 year olds. Last night we had our Dome Dance (our Dorm's formal dance in the Main Building here at Notre Dame), and we had a more than a few IRI-SHenanigans occur as a result.

That being said, I just try to remind myself when I'm dealing with intoxicated 18 and 19 year olds that their brains aren't fully developed yet and they really didn't know what they were getting themselves into. That being said, it makes the experience of dealing with them a little easier to handle and a little funnier, too.

Late Night Rounds...

Tonight I decided to wait until really late to do my last rounds in the hall. I was walking on one of the floors when I noticed a piece of scrap paper on one of the couches in the common areas. Usually I am oblivious to these kinds of trivial details; but the silence and stillness of the hall because everyone’s gone for Thanksgiving Break makes me notice things that I otherwise normally would not notice. As I looked at it more closely, I realized that it was the instructions insert for an over the counter pregnancy test. My first thought was shock, thinking, “Maybe it is old, belongs to someone else… not one of our girls!” My nosy-ness immediately kicked in… Yes, I immediately went snooping in the bathroom – and sure enough, I found the discarded box in the trash can, right in plain sight. No luck, however, finding the student or the used pregnancy test.

While my job is usually a fun one, it’s moments like this that I realize the big responsibility that has been entrusted to me. We might have a new mother in the hall tonight. I am filled with worry, concern, and fear – for her and potentially for her unborn child. Part of me wonders – did she wait until this break – when no one would be around – to take this test? Has she been potentially pregnant for some time now? Is she getting the help she needs – if she is pregnant? Or is she going through this alone, afraid and overwhelmed? More than anything I wanted to know who she is, so that I could be a support to her in this difficult time.

And then there are even more serious worries. While the University as a whole is institutionally committed to life and provides excellent resources to support pregnant students who choose to carry their pregnancies to term (http://osa.nd.edu/health-safety/assistance-for-pregnant-students), the fact of the matter is that Notre Dame is no different from any other university. There are as many young women who have abortions here as at any other university. Part of that is because Notre Dame is such a competitive academic environment. I’d imagine that most students who do get pregnant abort because of the pressure from their families, from their peers to perform, to be successful. And to many of them, an unplanned pregnancy is one obstacle too large to face.

Please say a prayer for this young woman – whoever she is: that if she is pregnant, she will choose life, and if she is not, that she will have a conversion of heart to embrace a more chaste lifestyle; finally, pray for our staff, who will need to work to reach out to our residents, and hopefully assist this young woman whatever the situation be.

Uconn's Epic Win

So this Saturday I went to Notre Dame's final home game of the season vs. my home favorites - The University of Connecticut -- in which the Huskies handed the Fighting Irish a 33-30 loss in double overtime.

As you can imagine, it was (going into the match) quite a conflict of interests. Here was a team I had rooted for for my entire childhood up against the school that is paying for my entire graduate education and giving me an otherwise cushy life.

In the end, I decided to root for Uconn - although I did cheer when ND scored as well. Basically whenever anyone carried, threw, or pushed the ball up the field, I cheered, much to the confusion of those around me. I was also probably the only one in the entire Notre Dame student section who knew and sang the Huskies' Fight Song.

What made this game so epic? Not only were the Huskies the underdogs going into this game (pun intended), they were coming back from a several game losing streak following the murder of starting cornerback Jasper Howard back in mid-October. This was their first win since his passing. As the Coach stated in the post-game press conference, now they finally have a game ball to send back to Jasper's bereaved mother.

Not only that, but Uconn has only been in this league since 2002. Playing against legendary teams like ND has been tough for Uconn. This Saturday they finally got their chance to shine.


Uconn Husky, symbol of might to the foe,
fight, fight Connecticut
It's vict'ry, let's go!
Connecticut Uconn Huskies, victr'y again for the white and blue
so go (fight) go (fight) go (fight)
Connecticut, Connecticut U!
C-O-N-N-E-C-T-I-C-U-T. Connecticut,
Connecticut Huskies,
Connecticut Huskies,
C-O-N-N-U!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFcnQgs5V8

Idan Raichel Project

I went to an AMAZING concert tonight in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center here at Notre Dame. It was a group called the Idan Raichel Project. Here's a bit of info about them from the program:

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ABOUT THE IDAN RAICHEL PROJECT:

"Six years ago, when Israeli keyboardist and composer Idan Raichel was an unknown musician working in a home studio in his parents' basement in a small city near Tel Aviv, he never imagined that his musical experiments fusing Middle Eastern, African, Indian and other global sounds would ever result in the biggest-selling records in Israeli history and propel him into a role as a major figure in the international global music scene. The Idan Raichel Project's explosive rise saw the multicultural collaborative break sales records in Israel and perform across the globe to rapturous crowds in some of the world's most prestigious venues..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group is led by lead singer / piano player Idan Raichel, and he also involves musicians from around the world, meshing their sounds to create a sound that is unique and truly global. The Project also has the goal of spreading the message of peace and tolerance.

The concert was one of the most fun, uplifting, and interesting I have ever been to! Very enjoyable. I would recommend checking out their webpage or downloading some of their songs, although I have to say, I just downloaded some of their songs and they don't compare to hearing them play live!

I stayed for the post-concert interview / Q & A time, and it was interesting. He draws on the scriptures (particularly the psalms) for some of his lyrics (most of the songs are in Hebrew). Anyway, someone asked him why he uses the scriptures as a source for his songs. He responded by quoting someone else, basically saying "all that is useful has already been written; we simply have to go back and tap into the wisdom of what came before us. It's all in there, it's all we need."

www.idanraichelproject.com/en
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idan_Raichel

Here's a few samples of his music that I really like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH6Hs7P2xW0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJfFdcHQvKI

(the videos on You Tube are a bit weird, but music is great!)

Trendsetters

So it seems ND has started a trend of honoring Obama even though he hasn't really accomplished anything yet...

Really, are the members of the awards committee for the Nobel Prize THAT concerned about keeping up with current (and otherwise unfortunate) fashions?