By: Roger Harden Spaulding
It’s been six years since a group of us, numbering about one-hundred fifty people, gathered with Bishop Robert H. Brom, Rev. Jovencio “Ven” Ricafort, and some of his fellow priests, to formally found Mater Dei Catholic Parish in East Chula Vista. This gathering was on bare ground with weeds and wind. The only thing built at that point was the cross. There were no buildings, and Birch Road was as yet unpaved. In his homily, Bishop Brom told us that we must sing Mary’s song and be her hands to do her work.
What a difference six years made! We now have two magnificent buildings surrounded by parking and landscaping. The architecture is distinguished and integrated with that of Mater Dei Catholic High School. The surrounding community has grown around us, and we are part of it.
As with early Christianity, we started holding masses in the homes of our parishioners. We then graduated to the Eastlake High School Cafeteria. We started with a single Sunday mass and quickly grew to four each weekend, reflecting the rapid growth of the Parish. The Parish offices were in the newly-acquired Rectory kitchen and daily masses were held in the living room.
The next step for the mass venue was Otay Ranch High School Gym; thanks to the school principal, Jose Brosz, who also made some of his school classrooms available to our Religious Education Program. Then on August 15, 2006, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, the Parish offices and the daily masses moved to a temporary building on the parking lot of Mater Dei Catholic High School, which was then under construction. Exactly one year later, our two new buildings opened, with the first daily mass in the Administration Building. On September 2, 2007, the first Sunday mass was held in the Pastoral Center. The parish moved its offices, Religious Education, and all masses except the 11:00am mass to our new buildings. The 11:00am mass moved to its current location, the Mater Dei Catholic High School Gym. The parish is looking to build a sanctuary to accommodate all of its masses: Saturday Vigil Mass, the 7:00am mass, the 9:00am mass, and the largest, the 11:00am mass, and our weekday Mass (Monday-Thursday, 1stFriday and 1stSaturday).
The true strength of a parish is seen in its parishioners and ministries, which are more important than buildings. Our founding pastor, Father Ven moved us, parishioners, to engage in our faith, to build our life, and to establish ministries to serve our needs before anything else. He started out with the Hands of Mater Dei (HOMD-Council of Ministries ), which acts as a Parish Council, the Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist (EOME), the Service
Ministry (SM)and the Lectors(now Ministry of Readers (MOR)), Voices of Mater Dei (VOMD), Alter Servers Ministry (ASM),and Religious Education (now Catechetical Ministry (REP). In time, other ministries were added such as the Capital Campaign Ministry (CCM), which acts a Parish Finance Council, Parish Staff and Volunteers (PSAV), Youth and Young Adults (now Youth Ministry), Healing and Comfort Ministry (HACM),Faith and Culture Ministry (FACM), and recently, Health Resource Ministry (HRM). All in all, the parish has now 13 ministries to assist in serving the needs of the parish.
Fr. Ven has been instrumental in providing the inspiration and guidance for each of these ministries. His all-inclusive leadership has always been an inspiration. He has also always asked us to be guided by our patron saint, Mary (Mater Dei), and to follow her son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
On December 6, 2007 an image arrived at Mater Dei. It came from Italy, and was paid for in part by the funds raised by our Youth Ministry and a generous donor. It was the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mater Dei. At all times, flowers are at her feet. She exemplifies and inspires the “can do” spirit of Mater Dei Catholic Parish as we sing Mary’s song and do her work as her hands.
In terms of activities, we can look forward every year to the inspiring liturgical celebrations and in addition, a dinner-dance birthday celebration and silent auction in January; a Dance for a Cause in June; a Parish Annual Bazaar in October; a Golf Tournament in November; a Car Raffle or two; and, Christmas Caroling in December. These are not only largely fundraisers for the building fund, but are also opportunities for parishioners to work together toward a common goal - to build the intangible parish community over and apart from a brick and mortar building.
Our parish continues to grow and do its mission. We continue to prepare parents for baptism of their children, to prepare couples for marriage, to train youth to be responsible Christians, to teach children and adults about the faith, and much more. Almost every month we, parishioners, engage in selling and buying tickets to some events within the church so that the building is built brick by brick. Our children, our Building Angels, help by collecting change for the building fund, and quarterly, we welcome new members into the parish in a two-hour activity known as “An Evening of Welcome and Orientation.”
The Parish will continue to do its mission and sing Mary’s song.