Dear Friends,
I hope that you are having a wonderful Summer! Here at MODG we are in the transition period, busy sending off the Class of 2026 while working hard in our preparations for another year to come.
As we celebrate our new graduates, it is so wonderful to see how far they have come, and to reflect on their formation along the way. Especially this week, as we prepare to celebrate our Nation’s 250th anniversary, we see the importance of properly ordered education. Just as our Founding Fathers used their classical education to create the United States of America from a foundation of Natural Law and Christian Morals, our MODG graduates are going out into the world armed with the principles needed to reshape our world.
Our High School Program is a wonderful example of this. Not only are our integrated four year Religion courses so essential to our students, in which they come to see how you can prove there is a God, that He founded a Church, and that Church is the Holy Catholic Church, but the corresponding progression for High School History is just as nuanced. As our Founder, Laura Berquist, outlines in this talk, our goal is for our students to graduate as responsible citizens, being knowledgeable as to the order of our government, where we come from as a culture, as well as having a proper understanding of St. Thomas Aquinas’s definition of Law.
More so now than ever, we need our students to know the elements of what makes a good law, and what our role is as citizens when we are confronted with an unjust law. Responsible citizenship is cultivated in all parts of our program, from reading “George Washington’s World” and “Carry On, Mr. Bowditch!", to reciting “The Flag Goes By” and “Paul Revere’s Ride” (“Listen my children and you shall hear…"), to reading and debating the Federalist vs the Antifederalist positions regarding the ratification of the Constitution. Throughout the years, our students receive an in-depth look into the formation of our country, and a proper patriotism that is not content to sit on the sidelines when they witness injustice.
As John Adams said, “Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.” Due to the meticulous ordering of our curriculum, our students truly are those who know, and those who will be working to preserve Liberty both in our Nation and throughout the world. We have families in all 50 States and in 30 countries, fighting to keep the Faith alive in Ireland, witnessing to the Truth in Germany, standing up for what is right in Saudi Arabia.
We just celebrated the Class of 2026 here in California in our largest ever event, welcoming over 600 guests to honor the graduates together. Coming from as far away as Ontario, Canada, they all understood that what these students have accomplished is beyond what is measured by the world; their accomplishments will echo for eternity. Our student Class Speaker, Paula Baer, put it so eloquently to her classmates:
"Everything we learned was ordered to teach us about God, the wonder of His creation, and draw us to Him. …Our Faith as the center of our lives provides the rock foundation which will not be swept away by flood. Therefore, we must continue to foster the habits we have been given as children, as a part of our education, in our adult lives. Continue to seek the truth, and God will help you."
In her Commencement Address, Laura Berquist echoed this, saying, “You have worked on developing intellectual habits ordered to knowing the truth, and you recognize that the truth measures you, you don’t measure it.” This is what is so impressive about the 418 graduates we sent out into the world this year (our largest graduating class EVER) - they have been taught by their parents and MODG not only how to recognize objective truth, but also how to stand up for it and shine the light of Christ throughout the world.
Please hold our graduates in your prayers as they move on to this next exciting stage of their lives, pursuing further education, embarking on the start of their careers, entering prayerfully into formation towards the priesthood and religious vocations. They know that they have an army of prayer warriors behind them in the MODG community, supporting them every step of the way!
At the same time, we ask for your prayers as we continue our mission, walking with over 2,000 families and more than 5,000 students on this path of Catholic, Classical education in their homes. You know well the sacrifices these families make to pursue this education, truly embracing the call of our Lord to be the primary educators of their children in the most direct, hands-on way possible.
If you are able, we ask you to consider donating to support our mission, so that we are able to continue to help as many families as possible work to build “cathedrals for Christ in their homes”, as Laura says. We are so grateful for any support you can offer.
Know of our prayers for you and your families through this summer! We are continually blessed by our community, and so grateful for each and every one of you.
God bless,
Chris Sebastian (‘09)
Director of Advancement
Mother of Divine Grace School