Summer IS Here!!

I'm drawing on blank on finding anything interesting to blog about so I'm just going to post pictures until I feel moved to write something worth reading! I'm going to give a witness talk at the next CRHP weekend so maybe I'll post that - if I can get it to less than 4000 words :) Until then, here's the kids at the very beginning of their summer break:


Murphy

Keagan

Briege

Summer is Almost Here!

Briege

Murphy

Keagan

Pray, pray, pray

May we all just take the time today to say at least one Hail Mary for the conversion of President Obama on the issue of LIFE. May we also say at least one Hail Mary for the return to TRUE Catholicism for Our Lady's University!

Pray, pray, pray!

Changing the Blog

I know! I know! I change my web page too much! I just feel like I need to change it with the seasons and since I have my obligatory flip-flop tan lines from the Little League park, I thought that this would fit where I am best! Then there are the very cute flowers that "sprung" up around my house that only lasted two weeks, they deserve their time at the top of my page, right? My kids? Well, they aren't nearly as delicate but they probably, sort of, kind of, maybe deserve some face time at the top of the blog too, right?

Shins!

Sometimes I can't believe how my kids can have me floating on a cloud one minute and hurt, angry, disappointed... in the next moment. I am sure that I did (and still do) this to my own parents a time or two but I can't remember how they handled it. I recall getting grounded a time or two and getting a look from my dad that was worse than being grounded but I wish that I could recall the situation from their perspective.

I never feel like I'm a grown-up! I feel like it when I have to pay my bills and do household "stuff" but when it comes to discipline and adult things, I am always looking over my shoulder to see what I should do. Am I too lenient? Am I too strict? Do I correct the kids in public or do I wait until we're in private? All this and more and then I'm left with wondering why I feel like crap now that I am on the receiving end of my son's (yeah, it seems to be one son in particular - and not the one you think) disrespect.

Did my mother feel like this when we kids hurt her? Did she want to kick us in the shins and just drive off into the sunset? Did she want to go tattle on us to a higher authority? Because, I am feeling this way! It's frustrating on many levels but I am trying to discern if my son (you know the one)is testing me because it's just me and I don't have Dad for some tag-team. I also wonder if I am too available, you know? I attend as many events as I can because I enjoy watching my children perform in sports, put on a play on stage, or just interact with their friends. I have tried to not create a situation where they are dependent on me to be at everything because I want them to thrive with a sense of independence. I'm just not sure what's going to happen next and how to deal with the things when they do happen.

I often observe other boys, with their mothers in particular. There is one boy who is just very even-tempered and he has that relationship with his mother too. I really admire her approach to parenting. She is hands-on when she needs to be but she always knows when to be hands-off. She is the mother of 3 boys (holy crap, 3 boys!) and yet, manages to maintain a healthy balance of discipline, silence, gentleness, and humor that I can't seem to do. I wish she'd write a book because she's who I want to be when I grow-up - whenever that is!

As for right now, I'm going to pray that I get over the urge to kick the shins! Serenity, now!!!

It's a love/hate thing!!

Bravo!!!

April 27, 2009
The Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President
University of Notre Dame

Dear Father Jenkins,

When you informed me in December 2008 that I had been selected to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, I was profoundly moved. I treasure the memory of receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1996, and I have always felt honored that the commencement speech I gave that year was included in the anthology of Notre Dame’s most memorable commencement speeches. So I immediately began working on an acceptance speech that I hoped would be worthy of the occasion, of the honor of the medal, and of your students and faculty.

Last month, when you called to tell me that the commencement speech was to be given by President Obama, I mentioned to you that I would have to rewrite my speech. Over the ensuing weeks, the task that once seemed so delightful has been complicated by a number of factors.

First, as a longtime consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame also planned to award the president an honorary degree. This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops’ express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles” and that such persons “should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” That request, which in no way seeks to control or interfere with an institution’s freedom to invite and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it.

Then I learned that “talking points” issued by Notre Dame in response to widespread criticism of its decision included two statements implying that my acceptance speech would somehow balance the event:

• “President Obama won’t be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal.”

• “We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the president and for the causes we care about.”

A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision—in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops—to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.

Finally, with recent news reports that other Catholic schools are similarly choosing to disregard the bishops’ guidelines, I am concerned that Notre Dame’s example could have an unfortunate ripple effect.

It is with great sadness, therefore, that I have concluded that I cannot accept the Laetare Medal or participate in the May 17 graduation ceremony.

In order to avoid the inevitable speculation about the reasons for my decision, I will release this letter to the press, but I do not plan to make any further comment on the matter at this time.

Yours Very Truly,

Mary Ann Glendon

Mary Ann Glendon is Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. A member of the editorial and advisory board of First Things, she served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican from 2007 to 2009.