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DRAPER — As Christians prepare to celebrate the sacred mysteries of Holy Week, students and teachers at Juan Diego Catholic High School are focusing more deeply on their personal faith. The discussion and practice of faith at Juan Diego helps prepare students for the challenging journey ahead.
During morning prayer, students hear the words of the apostle Paul in a letter written to a community of believers. It was a dangerous time to be preaching in Jesus' name, but his apostles had a mission.
"Jesus was their friend and his message was important to them," said theology teacher Nikki Veltri. "Jerusalem is a dangerous place. She (Mary, mother of Jesus) watched him being tortured and killed" is part of a frantic discussion amongst Jesus' apostles in the days after his cruxifixion in the NBC series "A.D."
Students have been watching scenes from the first episode in preparation for its premiere on the Skaggs Catholic Center campus this Wednesday, April 1.
The apostles' experiences have prompted Veltri's senior theology students to think more deeply about faith and the consequences of standing up for what they believe in.
"They were fishermen, but if they said these things against Rome, what was going to happen? How did it end for Jesus?" Veltri said.
Veltri thinks A.D. traces an important and often overlooked piece of biblical history.
You have to know inside of yourselves that it's not going to be easy. And you have to have something inside of you that will get past the fear.
–Nikki Veltri, theology teacher
"We forget about this really pretty incredible journey that the followers of Jesus took," said Veltri.
She believes that no matter her students' religious affiliations, their faith will serve them well on the next leg of life's journey.
Kenzie Hamann is a Juan Diego senior and said, "I'll be able to turn to my faith and what I believe in for comfort and support, for everything to know that I'm not alone." Hamann does not believe in organized religion. But she recently attended a Kairos or "God's Time" retreat where she learned more about her relationship with God.
"I just believe that you don't have to relate yourself to a religion to be faithful," said Hamann. Juan Diego health teacher and girls soccer coach Myriah Fankhauser relates closely to her LDS faith.
"Being able to be LDS and work at a Catholic high school is such a blessing because I feel encouraged and strengthened by my co-workers and by these students that have such strong faith."
Fankhauser said her personal faith has been strengthened while teaching at Juan Diego.
"By having that faith, it creates that opportunity for you to live out what you want and in a positive way that can so much benefit the people that you interact with," said Fankhauser.
Galey Colosimo, prinicipal at Juan Diego, said the hope for graduates is that "they'll see their faith as a real treasure, something that is to be nurtured and developed and that they can rely upon as they go out and face the challenges of the world."
And there will be challenges to students' values and beliefs. But like the apostles, Veltri tells her students that their faith can help them overcome their worst fears.
"You have to know inside of yourselves that it's not going to be easy. And you have to have something inside of you that will get past the fear," Veltri said.
"If you have a strong faith and family background then you can do anything," Juan Diego senior Kyle Rauterkus said.
Fellow senior Alexandra Bowden agrees.
"Faith is really important to me and it's really important to a lot of people, and it's really comforting when you have that," Bowden said.
