The Inspiring Conversations Series featured a discussion about faith and mission with guest speaker Fr. Dan Groody C.S.C., VP and Associate Provost, Notre Dame. This virtual event was led by Chris Stevens, co-founding director of the Inspired Leadership Initiative. Through this discussion, Groody demonstrated how to enhance connection, how to ask the deepest questions of life, and how to find meaning in a polarized society.
In the beginning of the conversation, Fr. Groody touched on his past and his education at the University of Notre Dame. He grew up on the East Coast. In 1982, he decided to go to Notre Dame, thinking his future was international business or law. However, when he discovered liberal arts education, he came to know the life of the mind. Through his education at Notre Dame, he gained a larger vision of life. Ultimately, this unrest in his heart would lead him to priesthood.
Next, Fr. Groody spoke about the course he teaches at Notre Dame, “The Heart’s Desire”. This course was created to dive into the deepest questions of life: “What matters deep down? What is beautiful? What is true? What is good?”. Through delving into the themes of these questions, the class studied how to integrate the “deep desires of the heart” with “the needs and challenges of the world,” the building blocks to finding their lives’ meanings. Ultimately, Fr. Groody compared himself to a cardiologist, aiming to listen to whatever lies deep within the hearts of humanity.
In the next topic of the discussion, Fr. Groody answered the question: What role do you see Notre Dame playing in efforts concerning international migration and refugee issues? Fr. Groody, an acclaimed writer in this area (He has authored a few books, including Globalization, Spirituality, and Justice: Navigating the Path to Peace), explained that Notre Dame fosters the development of students’ gifts in the service of the world and its needs. He explained that although the ideological and theological issues of migration are incredibly important, it was the people themselves that sparked his passion and interest in the topic.
Fr. Groody demonstrated how to have faith amidst all the difficulty that the year 2020 brought to humanity. He explained that the Chinese have a word for crisis, which is a combination of the words “danger” and “opportunity”. He encouraged looking at this year as, not simply a time of crisis, but a time of opportunity—an opportunity to do a deeper search. In the most challenging times to have faith, it is incredibly important to show the beauty of God and faith, inviting people to a deeper encounter with God.
In the Q&A part of the discussion, Fr. Groody touched on several subjects, including immigration as well as the pandemic’s effect on mental health. He described immigration as “a problem of soul,” saying, “If we close ourselves off to the needs of people who are suffering that much, then —ironically—we become the aliens.” Additionally, he encouraged his audience to look to the pandemic as an opportunity to have a deeper journey into solitude, ultimately enhancing connection with others.
In the final part of the conversation, Fr. Groody called everyone to understand who we are before God and how we are called to serve one another and Him. Through understanding these questions, you are one step closer to whom you were meant to be from the beginning.
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