Integration 3 March 1, 2022 Discerning My Own Life Well Lived Family and friends, I stand here before you as we celebrate the life of Christopher Salerno. He was loved by so many and strived everyday to make an impact on the people around him. He was a true believer in self reflection and meditation. He loved to use the quote, “the ability to gather information, which used to be so crucial, is now far less important than the ability to sift through it,” when talking about getting to know ourselves and others (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week 1). Chris did not want to just use others to get the basic information that he needed and then move on from them. He believed in getting to know everyone on a more personal level and trying to help them get through their struggles. He believed that by reflecting on our day and our lives we can see the places where we made mistakes and could have helped others. His life was not free of bumpy roads. He struggled at times, especially in college, with finding the right path. Like many of us he questions, “Is this really what I’m doing with my life?” (“Hesburgh" Produced by Jerry Barca and Christine O'Malley - Moreau FYE Week 2). Through the help of many people in this room, he learned to trust that God and his decisions would lead him down the right path. There were times when his lifelong dreams felt like they were worthless now that he had achieved some of them, but his faith and family got him through it all. He stuck through the hard times and eventually lived a very successful life. Chris’s hard work and perseverance prove to us all that you can accomplish anything despite setbacks. Chris brought joy into everyone’s lives. He loved the quote,“Happiness changes from moment to moment, day to day. Joy, on the other hand, is much deeper and much more central, it https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=10159379-7eca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9 comes from within, and it’s a genuine rightness of how one lives one’s life” (“Three Key Questions" by Fr. Michael Himes - Moreau FYE Week 3). For him, it was about finding what you were passionate about and pursuing it with your entire heart. He poured his entire being into school, football, relationships, and his faith. He held his family relationships in high regard. He would spend countless hours with his grandparents, especially his grandma. They were some of his biggest role models. He did everything to make them proud and I know he accomplished that. He can now rest with them forever in paradise. Chris treated life as one big trip. It is often said, “usually planning a trip is not a quick process - depending on the nature of the trip - but hopefully it’s also a bit fun and rewarding, especially if you end up having a really great time!” (“Navigating Your Career Journey” by Muerelo Family Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week 4). Chris was always trying to plan out his life to be perfect, but in college he finally learned to let go a bit and enjoy the ride. He invested even more time into his friendships and relationships because he realized that is where he would find true happiness. We should use his example and make the most of every moment we have with our loved ones. We never know when it will be our last day with them. The bonds we create with others will outlast all other things in our lives, so we should cherish them. As well as cherishing his relationships with others, Chris would love to get his loved one’s input and put it into practice. He listened to their advice about making the most of his life while he had the opportunity to do so. His father told him to enjoy his four years in college because once it was over the real world would hit him (Week 5 IrishCompass Activity - Moreau FYE Week 5). He started to put this into practice more in his freshman year by getting to know more people and enjoying all that college had to offer. He loved to go to Notre Dame hockey https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40306/modules/17101 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40306/modules/17101 https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ games and heckle opposing goalies and he also loved lacrosse games and would reminisce about his high school lacrosse days. Chris tried to soak up everything that Notre Dame and life had to give. This was his way of living a life well lived. Enjoying sporting events and other activities with his friends. Chris was often someone that people were able to confide in. His life reminds me of the quote,“I encourage all of us to just focus on what we can do for others or what we can do already instead of what we cannot do and what we do not have yet” (“5 Minutes” by Aria Swarr - Moreau FYE Week 6). He was always trying to find ways to help others and he was great at giving advice. He was never judgemental and would just look for solutions for people. Chris often joked that he needed to listen to his own advice more often because he knew he was helping people, but he would go against his own advice quite often. He believed that we all needed to live more carefree and not worry what other people thought of us. If there is one thing that we should take from Chris’s life, it is that,“we all need each other, none of us is an island, an autonomous and independent ‘I,’ separated from the other, and we can only build the future by standing together, including everyone” (“Why the only future worth building includes everyone” by His Holiness Pope Francis - Moreau FYE Week 7). We all need each other to succeed in his life and I believe that is the most important thing that Chris would want us to live by. He always told me that all of his achievements were not because of him, but because of all the people that helped him along the way. He was a humble man and he would want us to learn from all the good and bad things that he did in his life. May he rest in peace. https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/ https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript