Meatball Monday
Photo provided by Fr. Ed Dolphin, C.S.C.
Looking back on my time as a novice, many of my favorite memories involved the time I was able to spend with Br. James Blaszak, C.S.C. He was always around to assist with the upkeep of the property and ensure that the novices were well fed. Whenever I was assigned to cook, I always looked forward to being able to spend the afternoon with Brother in the kitchen. Brother James was a little old school. He preferred to make things himself rather than to rely too much on premade goods. Bread and meatballs were two novitiate staples that I frequently made with him.
There are a few differences between life at the Holy Cross Novitiate and life as the Rector of Dillon Hall, a men’s residence at the University of Notre Dame, but one uniting factor is that both novices and Dillonites like to eat. During my first weeks as rector, I began to think of some ideas that would be able to help me bring residents together on a regular basis. I decided to take some of the skills that Brother James taught me and make meatballs and bread for the guys each week. Meatball Monday was born. It soon became a very popular event in Dillon. The residents joked that they planned their schedule so that they would be free at 10:00 PM Monday nights specifically for Meatball Monday.
I realized that making 15 pounds of meatballs, 8 loaves of bread and 10 boxes of macaroni and cheese each week was no small task. I soon began to ask the residents for assistance, and they gladly signed up to help make meatballs. I’ve enjoyed having the chance to spend time with the residents each week while prepping meatballs, and many of them ask me how Meatball Monday got started. It’s provided me a great opportunity to share a little about our common life in Holy Cross. Making meatballs has also allowed me to get to know the residents a little better and hear some of their favorite foods they enjoy when at home.
At 9:45 on Monday nights, the hallway leading to Dillon’s kitchen starts to fill up. The guys somehow determine a good time to take a break from their calculus homework to get in line for Meatball Monday. The smell of tomato sauce and bread wafting through the hall serves as a secondary reminder. Before long, the line stretches down the hallway. The guys talk about their classes, other activities and the scores of various sporting events.
The floodgates open at 10. Plates fill with bread, macaroni and cheese and their meatballs. Most adhere to the suggested serving size of 3 or 4 meatballs. The couches and chairs fill up as the guys sit around, eat, and enjoy a break at the close of the day.
There is a reason Jesus often ate with people. Food has a way of bringing people together. Whether it is on the side of a mountain, or in the Dillon Lounge at 10:00 on a Monday night, relationships deepen and friendships form when people gather to have something to eat.
By Fr. Ed Dolphin, C.S.C.
Posted March 11, 2026 by the Office of Vocations
