Dear Mater Dei Community,

We made it, praise God! As our inaugural year comes to a close, we are filled with wonder and gratitude. In our final issue of Mater Dei Annunciations for the school year, let us briefly reflect on the journey of our apostolate, beginning with the early prayers of parents in our community. As God has consistently shown, He will work in His way and His time.

As parents we have the right and duty of providing a Catholic education for our children. The lack of options for Catholic high school education in Duluth was a cause of distress that we took to the Lord in fervent prayer. We prayed for a Catholic High School. We prayed for a refuge from the secular culture and ideology being imposed upon our children in their formative high school years. We prayed for a high school education that would prepare them for a life of wisdom and virtue, grounded in the truth, beauty and goodness of our Catholic faith. For over forty years this prayer was left seemingly unanswered.

But the Lord works in unexpected ways through unexpected channels and thus, Mater Dei Apostolate was founded. It required an act of surrender and complete trust, as we ventured into the unknown with our “Bethlehem model” of education, as our beloved Bishop Sirba liked to call it. The Lord in His wisdom foresaw the need for a new model of education for high schoolers that would be flexible and practical in our ever-changing world. Certainly He foresaw the COVID-19 pandemic, social unrest and rapid changes that were to come in our society. We look back with amazement and gratitude at the hand of Divine Providence working even in the smallest details of our formation, laying the groundwork for this new reality we’re now living in.

The students were bold as they faced new challenges and obstacles throughout the year. They adapted their study skills and habits to our hybrid education model which requires a higher level of independence and organization. They embraced a classical style of education, studying classical history and the great literary works of Western civilization; an educational approach that was foreign for many of them. They were resilient as we utilized several makeshift classroom spaces throughout the year due to the continual obstacles with construction and code regulations. All these challenges were taken in stride with a positive outlook and a maturity rarely found in young teenagers.

Most beautiful to witness was our Catholic faith being lived out daily among the students. In these high school years when the faith is often lost and forgotten, we saw it rediscovered and cultivated. We saw the students daily at Holy Mass, in silent Adoration during a quick break, praying the Angelus together, praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy together, reverencing the Blessed Sacrament from out in the hallway as they pass by the chapel. As we reflect on these moments, our hearts are filled with gratitude and hope for the future of our children and the Church. We are witnessing the building up of a Catholic culture that will, by the grace of God, flourish for years to come.

Thank you to our Mater Dei families who took a leap of faith, trusting that God will provide. Thank you to our passionate instructors who served our students with heroic love and commitment. Thank you to our generous donors who believed in our mission, answered the call, and enabled us to get our program off the ground. We are grateful for each gift of time, talent and treasure you have selflessly given for the glory of God. Please keep Mater Dei Apostolate in your prayers throughout the summer. We are honored to be on this journey with each of you. May God bless you.

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Ad Jesum Per Mariam
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam