A Hope Beyond Borders
Rev. Tom Eckert, Director of the Holy Cross Mission Center, celebrates a hope beyond borders in Resurrection of Christ by Noel Coypel.

Such large crowds gathered around [Jesus] that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables.
– Matthew 13:2-3a
The University of Notre Dame is a place filled with stories. From its humble origins when Holy Cross religious arrived at a snowy log cabin to the countless number of people who have come to this special place in the years since, stories have always connected us. Narratives of faith, connected to the Gospel, bind us together in a special way that nothing else can. Here, we share a collection of lives and stories that are meant to bolster our faith and move us to uncommon virtue. We are blessed to share them.

We invite you to listen as we hear from members of the Notre Dame family as they discuss living out their individual vocations and the universal call to holiness.
A Hope Beyond Borders
Rev. Tom Eckert, Director of the Holy Cross Mission Center, celebrates a hope beyond borders in Resurrection of Christ by Noel Coypel.
The Same Tension
Nohemi Tragesser, Master of Divinity student, reflects on the tension of Mary’s trust even through sorrow in Mother and Child by Käthe Kollwitz.
The Ultimate Sorrow
David Rae, a philosophy and theology major, challenges us with our call to die to ourselves so that we may rise with Christ in Christ on the Cross, by the Fraken Family.
Our Own Complicity
Allison Magera, Master of Divinity student and FaithND Intern, reflects on our complicity in Christ’s suffering and mission of restoration in Christ Crowned with Thorns by Aert Mytens.
Christ-Like Virtues
Logan Edwards, Master of Divinity student, reveals the importance of cultivating Christ-like virtues in Samson Fighting the Philistines by Jean Louis Ernest Meissonier.
A Meaningful Submission
Sr. Paula Van Thienen, S.S.M., a Master of Divinity Student, reflects on surrendering our lives to Christ’s mission in The Madonna by Gustave Dore.
Extravagant Love
Caroline York, a theology major and Raclin Murphy Gallery Teacher, encourages us to see the gifts of profound love in Adoration of the Magi by Eduard Steinbruk.
Caught Between Devotion and Doubt
Rev. Paul Kollman, C.S.C., professor of theology, reflects on the contradictions we face in our human nature in the sculptural pieces of Philip Julian Leighton Rickey.
The Fearless Devotion
Rev. Shohag Gabil, C.S.C., a Master of Theological Studies student from Bangladesh, reflects on preparing the way for Christ in our lives through Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth and the Infant Baptist by Fra Paolino.
Called to Contemplation
Martha Cleary, a liberal studies and theology major from the class of 2026 reflects on Mary’s contemplative pondering in Mater Purissima by Frederick Goodall.
A Final Assurance
Br. Ben Sasin, CSC, a Master of Divinity student, reflects on God’s presence through grief in The Raising of Lazarus by Lucas van Leyden.
The Father’s Timing
Daniel Jung, a business analytics major and theology minor, reflects on Christ’s patient submission to his Father’s timing in Crucified Christ by José Rafael Aragón.
Our Lady of Tenderness
Isabelle Camilleri, an art major at Notre Dame, reflects on Mary’s tenderness in embracing sorrow in Madonna and Child by an Italian artist.
That Rising Hope
Soikat Kulentuno, C.S.C., a Holy Cross seminarian from Bangladesh, reflects on the joy and hope of Laetare Sunday in Spring by Natalia Goncharova.
God’s Hidden Plan
Rev. John DeRiso, C.S.C., Director of the Office of Holy Cross Vocations, reflects on God’s hidden plans in Saint Joan by Paul Jacques Aimé Baudry.
Hope in Our Sacrifices
Shea Nowicki, a Master of Divinity student, reflects on the hope in Mary’s faithful yes in Annunciation by Giorgio Vasari.
Chalice of Eternal Life
Maureen Schweninger, a Master of Divinity student, reflects on a gospel writer’s unwavering faith in the portrait Saint John the Evangelist by Artus Wolfaerts.
These Faithful Stewards
Caroline Mezzalingua, an art major from the class of 2028, reflects on faithful stewardship in Harvesting, Late Afternoon by Leon-Augustin Lhermitte.
In Humble Service
Brother Jacob Gorman, C.S.C., religious brother and Master of Divinity student reflects on St. Joseph’s quiet strength in Holy Family by Simon Vouet.
Citizenship in Heaven
Katy Orenchuk, Regional Director for University Relations, reflects on the grandeur of heaven in Kneeling Angels by Bernardino Lanino.
Beyond the Image
Adeboye Ifaturoti, a Master of Theological Studies major reflects on the virtue of honest self-examination in The Head of Cain by Fernand Cormon.
Anchored in Love
Cozette Brown, liberal studies major from the class of 2027, reflects on that which anchors us in love through this portrait of Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Bernardino Luini.
The Bondage of Sin
William Farrell, an Economics and Theology student, reflects on freedom from the bondage of sin in The Compassion of Pharaoh’s Daughter for the Infant Moses by Benjamin West.
Invitation to Transformation
Rosa Ramos, Master of Divinity student in the class of 2027, reflects on Dimitri Hadzi’s exceptional processional cross scultpure entitled Crucifix.

A daily Advent journey featuring daily video reflections from alumni, students, faculty, and staff.