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To the Class of 2013,

Well done.

You’ve done what it takes to get into one of the best institutions of higher education in the world. You are going to love it here.

Awareness of nature’s seasons – their ebb and flow, their hues and tones – is the result of patient and careful observation. Appreciation of personal growth – the development of the intellect, the attunement of the spiritual senses – is the fruit of an education that is expansive, deep, and…

Last month, I taught a course entitled “Contemplation and the First Year Experience.” Its main learning objective was that of enabling first year students to consider and incorporate a range of contemplative practices into academic life. One of the tools used in the course was the set of nine educational…

It was a delight to share this past weekend with so many students, parents, and families. Those of us in the First Year of Studies, our residence halls, and other units on campus are honored and humbled that you have chosen to make Notre Dame your new home. I left…

It is hard to believe that the fall term is over, Thanksgiving is past, and the traditional twelve days of Christmas are drawing nigh. Thus far, my experiment with “blogging” has taught me several important lessons. One of the more important is that the production of concise and informative prose,…

I don’t recall when it first happened. In truth, it may have started when I browsed freely, as a child, through the books in my home, and those of my grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Perhaps it was the frequent excursions to the bookstores dotting the Baltimore landscape on which my…

My wife reminds me of this whenever my patience with those moments of disorganization and confusion that inevitably occur in day-to-day life wears thin. I’m glad she does, because it’s easy to forget that from time to time, circumstances arise that one is unable to control through advance planning or…