Article #7 - Sixth Series - October 16th, 2023 by Fr. Ben Daghir

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One Thing, Jesus Christ - Article #7 -  Sixth Series - October 16th, 2023 by Fr. Ben Daghir

Article:

I had the unique opportunity of seeing Touchdown Jesus in Notre Dame a few years ago. I was on a road trip returning home from Omaha, Nebraska with Luke Daghir and some other friends from seminary. 

After visiting the burial site of Archbishop Fulton Sheen in Peoria, Illinois, we headed for South Bend, Indiana. We found ourselves on the campus of Notre Dame and, in my humble opinion, the most beautiful campus in the United States. The movie Rudy, despite being one of my favorites, didn’t give the campus landscape enough justice. It’s something that one must see in person. 

I was excited to look at the Touchdown Jesus near Notre Dame Stadium. I had seen it on ESPN but, like the movie Rudy, television doesn’t seem to give the massive mural any justice. The mural was unveiled on May 7, 1964 on the wall of Hesburgh Library. This is rather fitting because Jesus Christ is “The Word of Life” and it’s this Word, the source of all truth, that students fundamentally study in that library. The Word is encountered through faith and reason and through the humanities and the sciences. 

The mural also stands at 134 feet high and 68 feet wide. Almost 7,000 pieces of granite form 324 panels which come together to form “Touchdown Jesus.” Another lesson can be learned from these numerical facts. St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). The thousands of pieces of granite would be ugly, even irrelevant on their own. Yet, these thousands of pieces come together to form something incredibly beautiful with vibrancy and purpose. In so doing, the pieces of granite reflect the diversity in skills, talents, gifts, and personalities within the Church, which is the mystical body of Christ. 

It’s one thing to see the Touchdown Jesus from a distance, but it’s a far different matter to stand at its feet. I saw my vocation to the priesthood in that Touchdown Jesus mural. Although I’m just a small piece of granite, I am in that mural and my purpose makes sense only in relation to the wider picture of the Mystical Body of Christ. I am sure that many other people have had the same experience as me in their respective vocations, sufferings, hopes, joys, and dreams. It is a great grace to see oneself, to see one’s purpose in relation to the Mystical Body of Christ. 

Lastly, I thought of Cardinal John Henry Newman who once stated “God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission….I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.” The thousands of pieces of granite are sharing the same message. What the artist Millard Sheets was able to do with thousands of pieces of granite on a Notre Dame University library wall is just a small glimpse of what the Lord has done and will continue to do with humanity. 

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Fr. Ben Daghir is a priest for the Diocese of Erie. He is a graduate of Elk County Catholic High School in Saint Marys, Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, and St. Mary's Seminary & University in Baltimore, Maryland. He considers writing one of his favorite hobbies.