Dear Friends and Families of Our Lady of Victory,

Tomorrow is the Feast of Saint Mark, the Evangelist. It seems like St. Mark always gets overshadowed by his fellow Gospel writers. Who doesn’t love St. John’s soaring Prologue, or the way that St. Matthew effortlessly weaves Old Testament prophecy into New Testament fulfillment, or the memorable parables like the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan in St. Luke’s Gospel? And yet, I keep going back to St. Mark’s Gospel in my own prayerful reading.

If you’ll momentarily indulge a former Scripture teacher, there is a scene in Chapter 8 that is worth lingering over because it is so unusual. In Mark 8:22–25, Jesus heals a blind man at Bethsaida. He spits on the man’s eyes, lays His hands on him, and asks what he sees. The man replies that he sees people, but they look like trees walking. Then Jesus lays His hands on his eyes a second time, and only then does the man see clearly.

As far as I know, this is the only one of Jesus’ miracles that unfolds in stages.

St. Mark is highlighting something for us that is, I think, especially important for us to remember, especially those of us who toil in the vineyards of education and parenting. While there are moments of sudden, overwhelming grace: St. Paul on the road to Damascus, Moses before the burning bush, St. Augustine hearing the child’s voice in the garden, these are not the ordinary means by which we come to see. Much more often, our vision is restored gradually. We begin, in the words of St. Paul, by seeing through a glass, darkly, and only eventually face to face. We come to see slowly, and often in fits and starts.

The blind man at Bethsaida is not an exception. He is me. He is the Apostles. He is nearly every student I have ever taught. He is probably you, too.

The task and work of every Catholic parent and every Catholic educator is to help the children and students that the Lord has placed in our care to see—slowly and in fits and starts—reality more clearly so that one day we can behold Jesus, just like the blind man at Bethsaida.

Lord, this Easter season, give us the grace to see your Son.

Saint Mark the Evangelist, pray for us! Our Lady of Victory, pray for us!

Peace in Christ,
Randy

PS, I hope to see you all tonight for the next event in our Common Sense Speaker Series: Dr. Leonard Sax at St. Mark Catholic Church in Highlands Ranch. It’s not too late to RSVP here: https://form.jotform.com/260494772537164

Congratulations to the winners of this week’s virtue awards!

Charity: Anga Deodatus
Faith: Max Valdez
Hope: Anna Johnson
Prudence: Will Summer

Starting Monday, OLV will be in need of a substitute teacher for both Biology and Social Dance. Biology meets for 5 periods (only 4 days) a week, and social dance only twice—once with freshmen and once with sophomores.

If you or anyone you know is interested in covering either subject, please reach out to Randy at randy.aust@ourladyofvicotrydenver.com.

Before our awards ceremony begins on Friday, May 8, we are going to host a Celebration of Culture Potluck at the school! We would like students and families to bring a special dish, dessert, or drink (non- alcoholic) from their family tradition or heritage to share with the community.

OLV will provide plates, cups, utensils, and napkins, but please plan to bring your own serving spoons, if necessary. Below is the link to the sign up genius!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4AACA823AAF9C25-63698845-celebration

More details about the day’s events can be found in the “Upcoming Events” section.

Registration for Fall sports will open on Friday, May 8th. Current sports to be offered are Girls Volleyball and Coed Cross Country. Details will be up on the athletics web page and updated as the planning progresses.

We want to get early registration going because both these sports will have summer communications and begin practicing prior to the official start of the academic school year.

If you have any questions please email Coach Jayce and copy the new athletics email (athletics@ourladyofvictorydenver.com).

The senior play is looking for stage crew May 4-9! Rehearsals are May 4-6 from 3:10-7 pm. Performances are May 7-9: call at 5pm, shows 7-9:30, with strike immediately after on May 9. Please consider getting involved in drama as stage crew and earning your house some points! Signups are posted outside the school office. Thank you!

The seniors are attending and performing at the Denver Shakespeare Festival on Friday, April 24 at the Denver Center for Performing Arts. Students will depart from school in the morning and return at the end of the school day. We hope to arrive at 9:30 a.m., our performance is at 1:23 p.m., and we will start heading back at 2:30 p.m..

You can view the schedule of the day using this link.

Parents are welcome to attend and watch the performance. We will also have the opportunity to watch other schools' performances.

Below is the lineup of priests celebrating Mass next week.
(4/24 - 5/1)

Friday, 4/24: Fr. Joe Hartmann
Monday, 4/27: Fr. Javier O’Connor
Tuesday, 4/28: Fr. Jason Wallace
Wednesday, 4/29: Fr. Joe Hartmann
Thursday, 4/30:‍ Fr. Adam Bradshaw
Friday, 5/1:‍ Fr. Doug Grandon

As part of OLV's evening speaker series, the Common Sense Forum, Dr. Leonard Sax, a renowned clinical doctor, psychologist and best-selling author, will present "How to Raise Resilient Children: Evidence-Based Parenting" on Thursday, April 23rd at 6:30pm at St. Mark's Catholic Church in Highlands Ranch.

Come enjoy drinks, hors d'oeuvres, fellowship and an opportunity for Q&A. This not-to-be-missed event is open to the broader community - invite friends, neighbors and prospective families! Please RSVP at www.ourladyofvictorydenver.com/rsvp.

You are invited to join our Headmaster, Randy Aust, for an evening where you will taste the riches of the great books our students read every year. Each gathering offers a guided reflection on a classic text, along with a lively look at why it has endured, what a busy parent might profit from knowing, and how it can spark conversations that bring truth and wonder into your home. This night’s chosen text will be Homer’s Odyssey. No preparation needed; just bring your curiosity.

Bourbon, wine, and hors d'oeuvres will be served.

RSVP and learn more information here.

We are excited to share that Archbishop Golka will be coming to celebrate Mass for us on Friday, May 8th at 7:30am!

All are welcome to attend and greet our new Archbishop and welcome him to our community.

To celebrate the many accomplishments of our students and to honor the beauty of all of our families, we will be running our second annual Celebration of Culture Potluck prior to our awards ceremony this year!

Below is the link to the sign up genius for the Potluck.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4AACA823AAF9C25-63698845-celebration

The celebration will start at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, May 8th, with the awards ceremony following at 1:45 p.m.. The awards ceremony will feature individual academic awards and the announcement of the winner of the White Horse Cup.

The final STEM club meeting of the year will be Saturday, May 9th from 9-11am in Room 203.

Breakfast burritos will be served! No materials required.

Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Victory joyfully invites you to celebrate the graduation of the Class of 2026 on Saturday, May 16 at 12:30 p.m. at St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton. Reception directly following in Marian Hall.

We are incredibly proud of our graduating seniors and all they have accomplished during their time at OLV. This special ceremony marks an important milestone as they take their next steps beyond our school.

We are also honored to welcome Nikki Kingsley as our commencement speaker, who will share her powerful story of faith and conversion.

Please join us in celebrating this joyful occasion!