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President’s Message
Dear Alumni and Friends,
Greetings Mater Dei Community, April 26th was the Third Sunday of Easter. It was a few weeks before the end of the school year and we were entering the seventh week of our pandemic shut-down. At this point we knew we would not be completing the year in the traditional fashion, and in several ways, our environments had adapted to this “new normal.” Everyone’s lives had dramatically changed. The Third Sunday of Easter the Gospel reading was from Luke, chapter 24, better known as the “Road to Emmaus.” In this reading, two individuals were traveling seven miles outside of Jerusalem, and as the song by the same name (Bob Hurd, 2000) would sing – they were “disheartened and lost; all their hopes for a future had been nailed to a cross.” These two individuals had been witnesses to the crucifixion and believers and followers in Christ Jesus and had left town in a state of sadness. At the same very moment as they left, “Jesus drew near and walked with then, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.” (LK 15-16) When I think back on this year, I am reminded of how things can change so quickly, and how we can be swept away in the moment. For so many of us, we had so many “hopes starting lineup for the first baseball game. We had hopes of preparing our plans for
for a future.” We had hopes for being in the prom. We had hopes of having one more lunch in the cafeteria with our friends. We had hopes for a graduation. To be together for handshakes, high-fives and hugs in our celebrations. To even simply look at one another and say – “have a good summer,” or “thanks for a GREAT year.” For these early Christians in the reading, they felt the same way. They were upset, they were disheartened and they had no idea of what the future looked like – but they weren’t alone. At the end of their journey for that day, they recognized that they were traveling with Jesus, and that all hope was not gone. He then vanished from their sight. Through this journey we know first and foremost that Christ has been with us and for us. We have not been alone, and even in those times of uncertainty and fear, we was always close to us. In the same way, this Mater Dei community has been Christ-like to one another, and we have been there for each other. As I complete my first year, I never would have imagined the journey we would endure, and through all of this, the one thing I keep coming back to is gratitude. I am so grateful for a tremendous amount of effort given by our teachers to change
