Our Last Days at Notre Dame

It's Thursday night in South Bend and our week at ND Vision is almost over. My son and the other teens that came with us have had a fantastic time...and so have we adults. Here are some more highlights of the past few days: Sitting awestruck as 225 teens spent an hour together in Eucharistic adoration Praying/chanting morning prayer and Vespers in the lady chapel at the Notre Dame basilica Gazing open-mouthed at all the beautiful works of art that decorate the campus and its buildings Praying the rosary with over 225 teenagers at the Notre Dame grotto Enjoying the presence so many young, enthusiastic, spirit-filled Holy Cross priests Eating some of the best food in the world each and every meal Talking over lunch with Kevin, a young seminarian who has just finished his freshman year and has given up a month of his summer to mentor the young ND Vision participants Visiting the Notre Dame bookstore six or seven times, wishing I could just bring a tent and camp out there for a few days Trying unsuccessfully to find and shake hands with Ralph McInerney, Notre Dame professor and author of the Fr. Dowling mysteries Visiting the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend And most important, getting to spend some quality time with people who have an intense love of working with Catholic teens A couple of more quotes I will take with me as I leave this conference: Catholic teens are not "the Church of tomorrow;" they are "the young Church of today." "Joy is suffering that's been worked through." To anyone with high school students, and to all youth ministers, I highly recommend this week at Notre Dame. I've met people from New York, Texas, Florida, Wisconsin, Illinois, and various other places, and all of us have been impressed by the quality of the program and of the college students leading it. We'll be back. The conference officially ends tomorrow at noon, after which we will load up our vehicles and try to drive 600 miles to St. Cloud, Minnesota. Please pray that we have a safe three days on the road as we return to Spokane. When I get back I'll post some of the pictures I've taken and then get back to writing about books and reading. I've picked up a couple of volumes from the Notre Dame bookstore that I'm anxious to write about. Thanks in advance for your prayers.