Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C., ’87
Discover the solace, strength, and inspiration Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C., ’87 found in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“This statue became a place of pilgrimage for me. Whenever I found myself struggling with a challenge or decision, including my decision to enter Moreau Seminary toward the end of my senior year, I would walk to the statue, usually at night, and just spend some time in silence. It is still a place of pilgrimage for me whenever I face a tough decision or need perspective. I spend some time in quiet before those outstretched arms and reflect on those words: “Come to me, all of you.”
“Just as the arms of Jesus in the statue of the Sacred Heart are outstretched and ready to receive us, may our arms be outstretched and ready to receive Him in all the ways He comes to us this Christmas and throughout the year.”
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God bless you, Father.
Bob, This is a wonderful, inspiring reflection. Many thanks for sharing your experience, and also many thanks to the Sacred Heart for giving you the humility and confidence you have as you take on the burden of leadership at Notre Dame. Those arms will always be there for you! Tom
Beautiful thank you Father for sharing your story.
Merry Christmas
Dan Strachan
Notre Dame parent 24
Beautifully spoken and moving
Father. I can see why you drew comfort from the statue of Jesus with his arms outstretched, your video touched my heart and I too will continue to seek Him daily.
Thank You, Father.
Thank you, Father. You brought me back to one of my best memories of ND which is walking campus on a snowy night AFTER finals !! Seriouly though I was drawn to that Sacred Heart statue and the Grotto more than a few times to get my head screwed on straight. Thanks for the reminder and prayers that the Holy Spirit guides your best efforts in leading our Alma Mater !!
Thank You Father
Ralph Lucarelli
Thank you, Father. Your words make me feel encouraged about the future of ND under your leadership.
Couldn’t agree more! Merry Christmas!
I can only second the words of Denis posted above this comment.Merry Christmas to All!
Thank you, Fr. Dowd. The next time I pass that statue, it will have a bigger meaning to me and I’ll stop and say a prayer. Best wishes to you as you assume the presidency of Notre Dame.
God bless you, Father as you assume the presidency of Notre Dame
Thanks, Fr. Down. Have a Blessed Christmas and may the Holy Spirit endow you with the grace and the knowledge to lead the University down the path that Jesus wants it to travel.
Fr. Bob, Carita and I wish the best at nd. We are confident you will lead the school with inspiration, love, and great spirituality. God bless!
Bless you Father and thank you.
Oh wow. Thank you Father Bob. The snowing scenes bring back memories❗️I came out to Notre Dame from Southern California. Congratulations & God bless you🍀
Good luck in your experience as President of the University of Notre Dame. I hope that you can keep us on track in the conservative Catholic ways of the school
God bless you Father in your forthcoming position at Our Lady’s university.
We enjoyed your contribution to the Advent messages.
Two family members graduated in 87′, also, the last year of Father Hesburgh as president.
I was fortunate to be a student during his first year as president.
Thank you Fr. Bob for these words of positivity and encouragement.
May God bless and watch over you as you tale on this new challenge to lead.
Thank you Fr. Dowd for your expression of faith in thoughtful and peaceful simplicity, as always……
Father Bob, you have assumed a mantle of leadership like in another in the world. How’s your shoulder the responsibilities created by father Hessberg, and leading this great institution, We can only pray that the ships to the statue of Jesus are satisfying and strengthen you. Do you have a great institution, and the charge to make it better.
Beautiful. Just perfect. Good luck to you, Father.
Thank you for a very inspirational narrative of Notre Dame from your personal experience. It was very moving. I look forward to your leadership.
With all the spiritual beauty and importance of the Grotto and Basilica, where I got married 52 yrs. ago, your message of ultimate trust and hope in the Sacred Heart of Jesus is inspiring!! As you assume your awesome responsibility for leadership of Our Lady’s University, please continue to keep our ND Family spiritually and singularly focused on your important message in this complex world we live in today! God Bless, John Guerre ’61
Thank you for sharing this Fr. Dowd, and Congratulations and best wishes to you as you become the next President of ND! My 2 great uncles were HC priests(Fr. Tom Duffy and Fr. Pat Duffy), I was educated by HC sisters in Washington, DC and Alexandria, VA, and our oldest daughter is a ND grad. Merry Christmas and Go Irish☘️!
God Bless Father, Good luck in leading ND forward. Continue the fine tradition of those before you. I believe ND is in good hands.
Fr Bob, you answered Jesus’ call to come to him all those years ago…I for one am grateful you did. I feel ND has chosen a most worthy successor to lead Our Lady’s University into the future. Continued blessings to you, and all of us who seek to answer The Call to come to Jesus.
Thank you father for your story on how the statue of The Sacred Heart of Jesus on campus inspired you during your younger age and now more than ever that you will become president of Our Lady’s University as Matthew Cartier wrote specially now that we pray that traditions and values of the Catholic Faith are being attacked and Notre Dame as a Catholic University MUST maintain. My prayers will be with you to help you in your new leadership as President
Fr Bob
Aeternum Aureum!
💛😘😘😘☘️
HND JND DBD
Thank you Fr. Dowd for your expression of faith with heartfelt thoughtfulness and peaceful simplicity, as always…….
Thank you for reminding me about the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue…
whenever I crossed campus, I usually found myself taking a path by that statue and found peace there.
Wishing you a joyous Christmas and
all the best as you take the helm at ND.
Beautiful- Thank You Father-
Well, Fr. Bob…..Best wishes on the new addition to your priestly vocation…Our Lady’s University will soon be in your hands and fortunately His Graces will be your strength and also provide the confidence needed to master the obstacles and challenges of your office……Guard your health…maintain your fitness…do not forget those who got you to this point….remember the majority of us who have no claim to fame, wealth or honors….i.e. those alum who quietly do their best to lead a Catholic life and that consider it a suitable life’s legacy….from us you will continue to receive our prayers and we know in turn that you will pray for us,….. the ND community!
.For my part, it has been an honor and pleasure to be part of the Notre Dame family and even though a member of a fast disappearing group…(Class of 1954)….those of us still living know that you will continue the mission and objectives of our University……Go Irish! Robert R. Hull, Sr. ND’54
Father,
Continue Success in your new endeavor, God Bless you….Go IRISH!!!!
Thank you, Fr Dowd, for your beautiful commitment to Christ and for this reflection, which resonates so much with my own experience on campus. Jesus is still calling people to himself through that humble, gracious statue. The inscription “Venite ad me omnes” was impressed upon me for life while standing in a spot likely similar to where you also read it and took it deeply to heart.
Thank you, Fr. Dowd. Congratulations and good luck!
Grateful for your message Fr. Bob- I too drew on the love of the Sacred Heart with a picture of Jesus and the Sacred Heart on my headboard while we were in high school.
Bless you Father as you begin your journey at the helm of our great University. Know that among your thousands of fellow alumni, you have the prayers of those among us who treasure the legacy of a genuinely Catholic university. In a world beset with a penchant for the popular and for novel interpretations of acceptable conduct, our Lady’s campus should draw the line and keep faith with our heritage.
Wishing You the Best Humanly and Divinely possible tenure as Our President. Also, please remember All of the Alumni. Many do Struggle. Some live with incomes below the poverty line. Thank You.
Thank you, sir!
Jesus comes to us through YOU.
Thank you for accepting the responsibility of your office. The University of Notre Dame is blessed to have YOU 🙏
Thank You! #GoIrish ☘️
Beautifully said. Thank you. God is with you and will continue to be.
When I was a student on campus, I often went to the Grotto. But in 2019, I visited campus and sat with my back to the statue and wept for my sister who had died in the spring. A voice said to me, “I got you.” There was no one there of course but it was a startling and amazing moment. I don’t know that Jesus is hip with slang, but I felt great relief and comfort at that moment. That place and the statue now hold a very special place in my heart.
Thank you, Father Bob. I cannot adequately explain how profound is my connectionm with that beloved statue. One of my many photos of it was featured on the program of my mother’s Mass of Birth to New Life in St. Brendan’s Catholic Church in Milton, GA. She passed to her New Life with her rosary in hand on July 13, 2018. I stop in front of or on the nearest bench to the Sacred Heart every single time that I am on campus, which thank God is still quite frequent among others for Reunions to sing in the Reunion Choir or to run the Holy Half races.
Our prayers go out to you as you begin your Presidency at one of the most sacred institutions on this earth. Know that the Univerity of Notre Dame has been and continues to be the most powerful representative in my life of the guiding forces of Our Lord and of His Holy Mother.
Yes let’s be more like jesus christ.. Let’s help others in the way he helps us.
Bless you, Father.
Thank you for your Sacred Moment Father…
Wishing you the peace of Christ during this Advent Season and beyond ☘️
Thank you, for your message Fr. Bob. I am newly divorced after 26 years of marriage. This advent has been the toughest one ever for me. Your words have reminded me that we are never alone. Jesus is there with open arms to comfort us. God Bless. Happy Christmas.
Father, I am deeply touched by your prayerful comments. Bless you. Bill Conole 67-70