My dear ones,
It brings me great pleasure to write to you about this endeavor that we have undertaken, this great work that God has set out before us: the building of the first Catholic high school in northern Colorado. This effort is the culmination of decades of devotion to Christ, and we, His fortunate and humble servants, have been tasked with the cultivation of His school and the Church Militant in this, our home.
This makes the mission a critical one, then: we have set out to invite and encourage students to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ so that they might choose to become Saints. This task, of course, is one that cannot be presumed to be accomplished by earthly powers, and so it is all the more important that we dedicate ourselves to it in our labors and in our prayer. It has become apparent over the last year the absolute necessity for this project to come to fruition—that we should revitalize Catholic culture and rededicate ourselves to authentic education—this is made necessary such that we might combat the hopelessness and fear of the present age.
The response to our beginning has been overwhelming: the stalwart investment from our parents and community stakeholders, the ferocity of dedication from our faculty and staff, the unfathomable giving of Our Lady of the Valley Parish and her parish staff whose help has been invaluable, and, most hearteningly, the way the students have embraced in totality the work they have been called to do here. All of these factors have left me astounded as we have moved forward, clearly emboldened and emblazoned by the Spirit. I have observed with parents the joy of seeing immediate and astounding progress in their students. I have shared in the work of the teachers, even from the outset of the school, as they guide and form students in a habit of virtue, a deepening of faith, and knowledge of the Truth. I have witnessed already the growth in the students as they encounter the call to being with Christ and begin to plunge into their tradition, their heritage, their inheritance which is the Faith.
I have witnessed these things, and share them with you so that you might know that the work is good; the soil of St. John Paul II High School has been prepared and enriched carefully by the Hand of God so that His laborers might begin to sow the field and tend to the crop. Through our great love, through our hard work, and through our desperate dedication to Truth, we aim to do the work He has set before us, and we invite you to join us in the labor which is so good.
Godspeed, and ferociter bis amate,
Blaise A. Hockel, Headmaster