-- Before Church --
This morning before church, I had some extra time, so I walked downstairs into the common room at the Varsity Club where I'm staying. An older gentleman saw me dressed with a tie and asked me if I worked there. I said no, I don't work here, I'm dressed for church.
That started a conversation. The man currently lives in Florida, and came here for a lawyer reunion with a few friends, but grew up in New York and was admiring a photograph on the wall of Lou Gehrig, Knute Rockne, and Babe Ruth. In his opinion, the men in this photograph are three of the greatest in sports.
I had heard of Gehrig and Ruth, but wasn't familiar with Rockne, who was a legendary football coach at Notre Dame. He commented on how these three men were legends and great athletes. Babe Ruth was both a pitcher and a big hitter, which is an uncommon combination. Ruth had great natural ability. He smoked, drank, and caroused with women, yet still played so well. Think how much better he would have been had he not done those things.
We got to talking about our religious backgrounds. He has Jewish ancestry, yet his family is Catholic and he was raised Catholic. Whereas I was raised in a Mormon family. We each have our religious beliefs and traditions, and that is okay. We talked about the Palestinian conflict in Israel. The gentleman was well educated and articulate, and I enjoyed talking with him.
He mentioned that astronauts have commented about there being no borders when they look at earth from space. At his house in Florida, he has the following quote by Thomas Payne on the wall inside the front entrance: "The world is my country and goodness is my religion". I like that!
-- During Church --
Church was good. One ofthe speakers talked about trusting in God. We have friends that we have known for years and trust -- as well as family members. Trust is developed and earned over time, but can also be lost quickly. These people have known us for a set of years, but God has known us even longer, and is interested in our well being and development, so we should trust Him even more. It is something to think about.
During Sunday School, the discussion was on miracles, and have miracles ceased in our day. The discussion leader was a good facilitator, and the members of the class were very forthcoming in sharing miracles they have seen in their life. It was a good meeting. One of the conclusions was that the miracles are evidence that God knows and cares about us individually.
The members of the congregation were friendly and welcoming. I talked with several people at church. I didn't know South Bend was near some Amish communities. One man I talked with, who grew up in the area, works in a nearby Amish comunity and gave me some suggestions of places to visit while I am here. He also suggested I visit the grotto behind the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the Notre Dame Univeristy campus. He said the grotto is a holy place for prayer and meditation.
Surprisingly, I also met a lady who lived in Granite Bay, California, for a few years during high school, and a man who has moved around a lot in his life, and at one point lived in Folsom, California. Both are within a few miles of where I currently live, in Rocklin, California. It's a small world nowadays!
-- Notre Dame University --
I drove back to the Notre Dame University campus this afternoon, and went inside the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and visited the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes located behind the basilica. Both were quiet and peaceful places. The grotto is a small cave with candles.
I walked past the University library and I walked to and from my car. The outside wall of the library has gold engravings with Biblical and Christian themes. Moses and the brazen serpent, the tree of life, Christ as the true vine, and the fish symbol for Christians, were a few of them.
I saw the Notre Dame University Coat of Arms on a couple of buildings. I don't know Latin, so I had to look up the words.
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