What We Are Willing To Do For Our Children

What We Are Willing To Do For Our Children

 

That’s the title I picked for this fundraising campaign because as parents, we will do anything for our children’s minds, hearts, bodies and souls. From exhausted 2 a.m. feedings, homeschooling and running a marathon (I was the last person on earth who thought I’d want to run a marathon) to bringing a Catholic, classical, co-ed, affordable high school to Massachusetts, I have been able to do seemingly impossible tasks because “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  (Phil: 4:13), for our children.  My children have always been the channel for God to work through for the past 27 years. It is our children who push us out of our comfort zone and propel us to stretch, grow, try, and accomplish things we never thought possible. 

 

I was never a runner nor a natural athlete. But when my oldest daughter had to relearn to walk at 19 after being diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, I needed an outlet for my pent-up emotions and started running to ward off anxiety. I casually mentioned to her that I wanted to run a 5K but I didn't think I could do it. She looked me square in the eyes and said, “Well, I'm learning how to walk again so you can run a 5K.” I did. I ran a 5K. Me. That was 8 years ago. 

 

The next “for our children” challenge came a year ago, when the high school my son attended, closed. This time, looking me square in the eye was the Holy Spirit. Within a month, I began working with an incredible group of people who were willing — to quote our Chesterton of the Immaculata Charter — “to give generously of their time and talent to the organization and understand that this will be an all-encompassing process.” It’s hard to say no to the Holy Spirit when He is asking you to do something for our children.

 

God has challenged us to continue to forge ahead and bring that much-needed classical Catholic education to MetroWest. I’ve accepted the challenge. I am all in. The 18 weeks of training for the 26.2-mile Cape Cod Marathon on October 13th? All in. Doing everything in my power to raise money and do everything in my power for Chesterton of the Immaculata? All in. For our children.

 

I challenge you to join me. Can we count on your support? Are you all in?  We plan to open our doors September 2025. We need your prayers…and your dollars.

Click here to learn more about Chesterton Academy of the Immaculata.

 

For our children.

 

Thank you.

 

(I am carrying your names and your prayer intentions with me on all my training runs and during the Marathon.)

Post Script:

I completed the Cape Cod Marathon of October 13. With the grace of God I achieved the three goals I set out to do: raise money for Chesterton Academy of the Immaculata, finish the marathon and not injure myself! God is so good.  

One of my children who couldn't be there supporting me from afar and capturing the moment. 

A Corner of God's Tapestry

From the Blog of Chesterton of Massachusetts

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On Saturday, February 10, the G.K. Chesterton Society of Worcester warmly welcomed three representatives from the Friends of Chesterton of Massachusetts to their monthly meeting at Immaculate Conception Church in Worcester, where we presented our hopes for and efforts towards building a Chesterton Academy in Massachusetts. This was an easy audience: they are intimately familiar with G.K. Chesterton, and they understand the importance of a classical education. (Indeed, they live out what classical education is all about: after our presentation, they conducted their regularly-scheduled book-club meeting to discuss Chesterton’s Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox, a real-life example of adult-level Socratic conversation in action!) The group was enthusiastic about the school and pledged their ongoing support through prayer, a monetary donation, and a commitment to continued partnership. Their witness to lifelong, faithful learning rooted in the example of G.K. Chesterton was truly inspiring.

However, none of this was the most remarkable thing about the meeting. The most remarkable thing was this: as I sat in the ordinary, run-of-the mill church basement, I realized that I was being given the gift of seeing the threads of the extraordinary being woven together. The familiar visual of God the Master Weaver quietly came to mind: God, who is continuously weaving the threads of our lives into a tapestry far greater than the Bayeux Tapestry - a tapestry that most of the time is hidden from us because we only see the one strand that we are traveling along.  We pray that someday we will witness the beauty and the grandeur of the whole, but most of the time we are oblivious to the intersections of the threads in our lives. However, in His goodness, God sometimes allows us a small glimpse of a small corner of a square of His masterpiece. Saturday night, in the basement of Immaculate Conception Church, God allowed me to catch a glimpse of His tapestry.  

Two years ago, the three of us who attended the meeting representing the Friends of Chesterton of Massachusetts did not know each other. One year ago, our relationship could be summed up as the “PTO,” and we felt fairly confident on how the threads were going to be woven over the next few years. Unexpectedly, our threads were severed and frayed. And yet, God picked up those frayed pieces and started weaving anew. What I was reminded of on Saturday is that along the way He is weaving in bits and pieces from all areas of our lives. We were invited to the meeting because of a friend from my days as a homeschooler.  Another member of the group on Saturday was a friend from our former school whose daughter currently attends Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope, who gave a moving testimony to the exceptional education and spiritual formation her daughter is receiving there. We were also gifted a large collection of G.K. Chesterton books from a local priest, whom I knew from my days as a young mother with several children crawling all over me at Mass - the particular thread connecting me to him is over 20 years old! 

On my ride home, I thought about all the other threads that are being woven together. All of us on the founding board are coming to this with unique and complementary gifts and talents. We come from different areas and backgrounds. Presently, our personal threads are being woven together, at this moment, for this purpose - something I don’t think any of us had contemplated before. At times we may get our threads tangled and in a knot. But if we are patient and trust God I am confident that when we finally see the majesty of God’s tapestry there will be a little corner of it with our school woven into it. Won’t that be incredible?