Greetings from Mater Filius Colorado Springs!
We pray that you all enjoyed a blessed Easter and joyfully wish all moms a “Happy Mother’s Day!” With summer upon us, we are happy to continue serving our moms and their families as they choose life and work hard to become independent. Since our last letter, there are several exciting firsts that we would like to share with you.
In January, we celebrated the first baptism held in our chapel. One of our graduates brought her baby back and had him baptized in a beautiful service celebrated by our chaplain, Fr. Christian Vaca. The Mater Filius team, the other moms in the house, and a couple of special guests were there to lend their support and to enjoy some cake!
Also in January, our first twins were born – identical baby boys! They were a little early and had to spend some time in the NICU, but are now home with their mom and the rest of their Mater Filius family. They are doing well and it is so fun to have them home.
In February, a couple graduate moms living nearby attended our first Graduate Breakfast. Graduates and current moms attended a parenting conference together at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church put on by the diocese’s Office of Marriage and Family Life. Two local ministries supporting each other!!!
Finally in April, we had our first Rosary for Life Walk with Respect Life Apostolate members. Deacon Jim Bachta led us in a walking rosary around the outside of Mater Filius, ending with a chaplet of Divine Mercy in our beautiful chapel. It was such a gift to pray together for families and for life with these fellow pro-life prayer warriors, and we hope to do it again in the future.
As always, thank you for your support of this important mission. We could not Defend Life with Love without you. Your continued prayers and financial support are critical to our ability to provide our moms and their families the support they need to gain independence and to hopefully break the cycle of generational poverty. Know of our continued prayers for all of you and your loved ones.
With gratitude,
Jeanne and Tom Barta
Mater Filius Colorado Springs Firsts
Congratulations Michele Mason!
Our very own Child Enrichment Program director Michele Mason was awarded the Respect Life Volunteer of the Year award by Bishop Golka. The Respect Life Volunteer of the Year award is given in honor of a person’s significant contribution in service to the culture of life. Recipients of this award work humbly, without fanfare and seek no recognition, which makes them even more deserving of this honor.
This year the award honors a volunteer who has been leading the local 40 Days for Life Campaign for over 15 years. She and her beautiful family have spent countless hours praying on the sidewalk in front of the Planned Parenthood on Centennial Blvd, and before that at the former facility in Old Colorado City. She has also organized, inspired, and led two campaigns of prayer and fasting each year for most of those 15 years. Recently, Colorado Springs became a 365 location for 40 Days for Life, meaning the praying and fasting are not limited to those campaigns but rather extend throughout the year.
Her pro-life activities are not limited to 40 Days for Life. She is a trained and experienced Sidewalk Advocate which means she has meaningful, heart-changing conversations with those considering abortion and helps steer them to the life-affirming pregnancy center just up the road. In addition, with the opening of Mater Filius, she took on the role of Director of the Child Enrichment Program and continues to serve in that capacity today. We are so blessed to have Michele Defending Life with Love alongside us!
Adopt-a-Mom: Lenten Pilot Program with St. Paul’s Middle School
Last fall, Sandy Rivera from St. Paul’s Middle School reached out to see how they could support Mater Filius as a school. Her idea was to teach young kids about showing up for others while simultaneously being pro-life in action. Over the course of a few months, we came up with a pilot program called “Adopt-a-Mom” to see if it would work. Not only did it work, but it was a HUGE success!
Knowing that one of our residents would be graduating from Mater Filius right around Easter, we comprised a list of basic necessities needed to move into her own apartment… things like cleaning supplies, kitchen utensils, sheets, towels and more. The school then created an electronic sign-up sheet and started collecting these things at the school. Just before Easter, our graduate, Taelor, received all of these items and shortly after Easter she came to meet the students and thank them for their generosity. It was a particularly moving moment to see Taelor acknowledge and recognize the people who had supported her, and for the middle schoolers to see the actual family that they had helped.
We look forward to implementing the Adopt-a-Mom program again with other Mater Filius graduates in the future. If your organization is interested, please reach out to admin@materfiliuscs.org.
Dear Adopt-a-Mom community,
Thank you for taking the time and choosing my family for this incredible opportunity. I’ve accomplished so much since I’ve been at Mater Filius. I’ve been here for 10 months and in that time I have graduated from high school with a 3.8 GPA, finished a college course, and obtained my CNA certification. I started working as a CNA in February, paid off all my outstanding debt and quit smoking cigarettes because of all the support. My son, Navy, turned 1 in this home, learned how to walk, talk, make friends, and was able to have a safe roof over his head. I had my daughter 3 months ago and Mater Filius helped me during my entire pregnancy. I’m now able to pay for an apartment and purchase a used car for transportation. My family and I cannot thank you enough for this ongoing support as we move out on our own.
Thank you,
Taelor
Connect With Us
719-900-2801
info@materfiliuscs.org
8773 Scarborough Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80920