Desert Dangers

A few more stories from the Arizona desert:

I almost forgot to mention that my first day here, I had a surprise encounter with this little fella:

Okay, so you probably can't really see him, but it was a SCORPION. I think he'd made his home in one of my shoes overnight, and I was less than pleased about this roommate. I must have made an example of him, though, because I haven't seen any since!

My second brush with danger happened on our hike this afternoon. We decided to make it to the top of one of the nearby hills/mountains, so we set off on our trek. We brought with us a newfound friend, Fr. Peter Sweeney. Fr. Sweeney is a 76-year-old Irish priest, and meeting him might just have been the highlight of the entire trip. Throughout our hike, he regaled us with stories and jokes, and he set the brisk pace for us. When we made it to the top, we paused for a photo:

The view was spectacular:

 Fr. Sweeney informed us that before a saguaro cactus can grow an "arm," it must be at least 75 years old. So when you see saguaros that have many arms, they could be hundreds of years old! Fascinating!

Fascinating... and dangerous. At least, it's shorter, pokey relatives are... As we were getting ready to head back down, I had another surprise encounter - this time with a cactus. I got stuck badly enough that I couldn't get it out myself, so Fr. Sweeney came to the rescue. Don't worry - at this point, only my pride is hurt.

We're nearing our last few days in Arizona! Sounds like it's extra cold in Kansas (-5 degrees, I saw on the forecast, and that's not even factoring in the wind chill!). I may be in for a shock! But I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Desert Domers

Hello from Tucson, Arizona! The Domer adventure continues, but this time in a much different environment. (This is probably for the best, because it sounds like 0-degree temps and ample snow have been in the forecast for South Bend lately.) Here we are at the Redemptorist Renewal Center, surrounded by nothing but desert. Cacti abound - including the magnificent saguaro cacti. As challenging as this place is (by its very nature: quiet, desolate, and virtually distraction-free), it is probably the perfect environment for an intensive class. There are 14 of us studying "Jesus and the Spiritual Life." Our days have a consistent rhythm of Mass, class, meals, community prayer, exercise, reading, and some down-time. I quickly remembered from last year feeling as if I was able to get a glimpse into the monastic life - living in community. It's been great reconnecting with the rest of the Catholic Extension girls, as well as some summer ND friends. 

So we've been learning together about the necessary connection between religion and spirituality, and how the doctrine of the Church is truly a safeguard of, not a hindrance to, the spiritual life. We've done this by examining Christological developments throughout our Church's history. We started by reading about the Trinitarian controversies of the early Church, including the works of Athanasius and Gregory of Nazianzus (or G-Naz, as our professor affectionately calls him). We've also read some texts by Augustine, and we've discussed the development of the creed. These past few days, we've been learning about St. Bernard of Clairvaux, which is an extra blessing because our professor is an expert on this particular Saint. We'll conclude the course by discussing Bonaventure. It's been a lot of information to cover in a very brief period of time, but it's been an excellent course! 

When we're not reading or studying, we do have some down-time. Some of us girls have been taking advantage of this unbelievable weather and going on daily runs. We've also had the chance to take some hikes up in the Picture Rocks National Park, which is right next to the retreat center. 

It's been a great time here in Tucson, but I look forward to returning home and seeing all of you! Hope all is well, and I'll see you soon!

Another summer in the books...

15,391 pages (rough estimate, of course) later, here we are! In some ways, the time has flown by. In other ways, it feels like we've been here forever. Either way, the experience has been incredible, and I'm so thankful to be here! At the same time, I'm excited to come home! Kansas, here I come! Just 722 miles away!

While I'm at it, let me share a few more photos... Here's a beautiful view of St. Mary's Lake with the Golden Dome and the Basilica in the background (photo taken during one of my runs last weekend):

Here's a picture of the Golden Dome, which I walk by every day on the way to classes and/or the dining hall:

A shot of the Hesburgh Library (with the famous Touchdown Jesus):

Until next summer, South Bend! I was reminded of how thankful I am that our winter session class takes place in Tucson, AZ, rather than Notre Dame, IN, when I saw this sign in the parking lot:

And then... we went to Canada.

Hello again! We're in the final stretch, and it definitely feels like the last week. Eyes are drooping, backpacks are heavier, minds are overflowing... but the Spirit is propelling us forward, one way or another!

I figure I better take some time to briefly catch up on past events...

A week and a half ago, I went to Detroit with my friends Julie and Gene to take in a Tigers baseball game. We had a fantastic time! Justin Verlander almost pitched a no-hitter! Nevertheless, the Tigers came out with a win, and we enjoyed cheering them on!

After the game, we went to nearby Greek Town for a bite to eat. (We found the most authentic-looking Greek restaurant, and everyone ordered something that came in a pita.) And then... we went to Canada. Believe it or not, all that separates Detroit, Michigan, from Windsor, Canada, is a river. So we went over the bridge, and I had my first international experience!

After a slightly frightening encounter with the Canadian border patrol (they're just very vigilant, which is probably good), we made sure to put first things first... and stopped for donuts at Tim Horton's. I had some TimBits (donut holes) and an iced coffee, and it was fantastic! Gene swears that the donuts are fresher and better in Canada, and I was inclined to agree with him. 

We walked around town for a bit, taking in the Canadian air. Here's a picture overlooking the river, with the Detroit skyline in the background:

We were only in Canada for a couple of hours, but it was SO much fun! Thanks, Gene and Julie, for taking me on this adventure! I feel very blessed to have met some great friends here at Notre Dame!

The Grotto

Just wanted to introduce you all to one of my favorite places here on campus... I don't visit it nearly as much as I would like to (and probably should), but it is a beautiful, peaceful spot. It's called the Grotto:

It's patterned after the grotto where Our Lady appeared in Lourdes, France. I don't know that I've ever been there when it was completely empty - seems like there's always someone there praying. One of the gems of Notre Dame!

Blog Link

One other item to share, in case anyone is interested... Catholic Extension just posted a blog entry about our road trip adventures on the way here. Here's a link if you'd like to check it out!

http://www.catholicextension.org/blog/2013/07/08/road-trip-remember

Independence Day

Happy Belated Independence Day! I hope you were able to celebrate and enjoy a mid-summer break.  

The timing of the holiday was pretty perfect for us here at Notre Dame. We wrapped up our first module of classes July 5th. The day off on the 4th was a great opportunity to finish up papers, projects, etc. 

As always, my classes this term blew me away. Catholic Social Teaching has truly changed the way I look at the world. I realized how easy it is to look at situations objectively -- when we objectify the people involved. When we look instead at each person as a person, created in the image of God, with inherent human dignity that deserves to be protected, our view is suddenly much different. I think this really hit home to me when we were discussing the death penalty, and our professor had us read an excerpt from Sr. Helen Prejean's book about visiting prisoners on death row. I just started reading her first book, Dead Man Walking, and it’s been extremely eye-opening.

I’ll be posting more about this new module, as well as last weekend’s adventures in Chicago, soon, but I want to catch up on some of the other happenings here in South Bend. It’s been wonderful getting to know “the Girls” in the Catholic Extension program. A couple weeks ago we were able to go to Fiddler’s (one of my favorite places in the world) for some authentic live Irish music. Here’s a picture of almost all of us:

Another night, a group of us went to tour the “Four Horseman” brewery here in town. I’m not exactly sure what we were expecting, but our mental image definitely did not match up with the reality of this place. We drove up to what looked like an office building on the outside… and that trend continued on the inside. Here’s what we saw when we opened the door:

 

Despite the strange outward appearance, it ended up being a great place. We enjoyed our tour of the brewery and were able to sample some of their beers.

Now it’s definitely back to the grindstone for Module 2! Stay tuned… hopefully I will be more timely with the next posts!