Mater Dei Faith Community
Mater Dei High School strives to build a faith community that loves God above all and loves neighbor as self. We strive to reverence the dignity of all members of our community, recognizing the presence of Christ within ourselves and within others. Building a community of faith involves all of us in all aspects of our responsibilities. It is a process of growth that calls for persistent effort and patience. There are three key and overlapping dimensions in the process of building this faith community…
Teaching Theology
Students learn about God within the framework of the Catholic Tradition.
Students are required to have 6 credits in Religion. Students can acquire 7 credits by taking a Religion elective.
Nurturing Spirituality
Mater Dei offers many opportunities for spiritual development, that is, growing in one's relationship with God:
- Morning Prayer each day
- All-school Mass every month and holy days
- Opportunity for Mass one morning a
week in school Chapel
- Penance Services - Advent and Lent
- Class retreat day each year +
- Prayer service for special occasions
and special liturgical seasons ++
- Environment offering symbolic
reminders of liturgical seasons and
special events
- Spiritual counseling
Promoting Service
Living a Christian lifestyle involves a loving response to the needs of others. All members of the Faith Community are challenged to honor and promote the dignity of all persons.
Students are urged to "give something back" in service to their school, their parish, and to the larger community. Our expectations are as follows:
| Freshmen |
5 hours |
| Sophomore |
10 hours |
| Juniors |
15 hours |
| Seniors |
20 hours |
All students receive a written explanation of the Stewardship Program. A copy of this explanation is included yearly in one of the MD newsletters so that every parent has access to the explanations. This explanation includes the guidelines for "what counts" for our expectations as well as numerous suggestions for service.
A student's Stewardship hours will be recorded on the student's transcript and will become part of their official permanent record. Our expectation will be listed along with the actual number of volunteer hours given by the student for each year. Because Stewardship hours will become part of the student's permanent record, an authorized signature verifying the number of hours is necessary for each project.
Students are expected to complete all information requested on the Stewardship/Service Record form. At the end of each year a summary report will be sent to the feeder parishes.
+ Retreat days are considered regular school days, and all students must be in attendance.
++ See calendar in handbook for scheduled liturgical services.