There is a class of third-graders in California that has adopted the University as something of learning partner, teacher’s aide, and mentor. These young lads and lasses call themselves the Notre Dame Class of 2029. I enthusiastically applaud this kind of bold, audacious vision and aspiration; after all, in 1842, I declared a mildewed log cabin on the Midwestern American tundra to be a University. Didn’t go from mission to school to college – never used the word ‘impossible’ – didn’t bother to ...
History
Good Fridays w/Padre: Being Generous
In this season of giving, in what I’m told is now a Year of Mercy, the Alumni Association is giving away lanterns to people who “Be the Light.” I’m not sure if this is a command, a wish, or slang. But vague grammar aside, it is a very nice idea to send lanterns to those who light up your days and nights. I would have loved it if someone had sent me a lantern or two around Christmas of 1842 – my log cabin was quite dark and things growled outside the door at night, seeking entry and food. I have ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Working Mercy
Pope Pope Pope Pope. Is no one aware that we have a football season underway? Well, certainly not the Pope, since his idea of a football is round, you can’t touch it, and you play with it on a pitch. Yes, for Catholics (and, strangely, also for non-Catholics) a Papal visit is very exciting. It is an element of our religion, of our belief system, to recognize the supremacy of the Pope. But it’s also an important element of faith for both Catholics and many, many others, to recognize the supremacy ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Candid Dates
There’s been a lot of talk in the last few days about the debate among the candidates who want to be President. I was President and I didn’t have to debate anybody for the position – I just had to buy the land, build the buildings, bring in students, burn it down, start over…you know, those sort of things. When I retired, I became Superior General so I could give the President orders. I highly recommend this course of action to those seeking higher office. The only debate I had while I was ...
Pre-Friday w/Padre: Book Report
It may be cool and cloudy here in beautiful Notre Dame, Indiana; but there is warmth and sunshine to be found at the Bookstore in the piece of light reading which I have written for students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and friends of Our Lady’s University. The book is called Father Sorin Says. I didn’t select the title, the publisher did (though, to be honest, “Sorin Says” was a game students and I played on the quadrangle…and in the dormitories…and in the classroom...and in ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: The Best of Times
I don’t watch a lot of television, primarily because I have yet to be convinced that it’s not largely the work of the devil. But every now and then I pass by a working television machine and something catches my eye. Most recently, I saw a promotion for some carnival-esque sideshow called “Best Time Ever.” Well, Freshmen, let me tell you that NBC is blatantly lying. THAT is not ‘the best time ever’. You are now experiencing The Best Time Ever – brought to you by ND. If you don’t believe ...
Memory
I took my daughter to see Inside Out yesterday, and when we walked outside, it was drizzling, and as we drove home, the drizzle turned to rain, and as we drove further, to a downpour. Rain always makes me nostalgic and I thought it fitting, for Inside Out is very much a movie about memory. Which got me thinking about Notre Dame, inarguably the most memory-focused of the FBS schools. The Victory March doesn't get out of the first verse before we're promising to "ne'er forget her." A couple of ...
Officer Tim McCarthy: A Notre Dame Football Legend Retires
The end of an era has come. Officer Tim McCarthy of the Indiana State Police is stepping down from his post as driving safety liaison for Notre Dame home football games according to a post from WNDU. McCarthy, the man who makes Mo Rocca blush with witty quips and puns during his late-game safety advisories has ended a 55 year run in the press box. The former Indiana State Trooper also served as a traffic cop, helping to alleviate congestion from the post-game exoduses away from Notre Dame ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Bad Ideas
Like the icicle that starts to form at the corner of the roof, it slowly grows until it’s a heavy, sharp, pointed thing that will impale you without warning. It was fascinating to behold at one time, but it became a lethal sculpture that plunged through the window and left your room cold and wet. This icicle is a metaphor for a Very Bad Idea, and many of them are forming at this time of year. Not surprising that an athletic conference, the source and summit of bad ideas, is the water ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Era’s End
So the Freemasons have won. Or the Illuminati, Rosicrucians, Elders of the Priory of Sion – let’s just call them the E-lders of the S-ion P-riory freemasoNs. They and their Rodent Overlord enjoy a complete victory; they have taken over college football and forced the creation of the playoff system that they have long wanted, and will long broadcast, for lots of money. I mourn the passing of an era. Gone are the days when the leading teams from regional affiliations of colleges would compete ...