Mater Dei Catholic Church

Warm Asian community and a nice Christmas Eve Mass but we are new to the area and were looking for a beautiful church to feel God’s spirit and instead they had mass in the gym. Christmas Eve Mass in the gym. We won’t be going back for Christmas Eve mass. Very nice people though.

I haven’t actually attended mass here but I like that the parish is open to the public to pray in. It’s a big complex with a school. The parish has a modern feel to it. I swung by to pray in the afternoon and school had just let out… luckily I didn’t get stuck in any traffic exiting the property :).

The priests’ accent is so strong it’s hard to understand him… And I feel like he is always asking for money when I do understand him. This church is in a close proximity to my house but I go elsewhere because I do not feel like I am learning, engaged or being fed the word of God because I can barely make out what he is saying.

Mater Dei Catholic Church is still a work in progress where they haven’t broken ground yet on a the true church building. They are still holding mass in the parish hall and that is fine. It’s clean, with a pretty good amount of (slightly uncomfortable) chairs, and the sound system is working. It does feel a bit claustrophobic but that is the situation right now.
Father Ven is doing an admirable job trying to oversee the development of the church as well as the private school. While the content is obviously most important, I’m not a big fan of his homilies. As a public speaker he is not the most engaging and he is a bit monotone. I find priests at other parishes easier to follow with more enjoyable and stimulating homilies.
I’m not sure why they have the missals that don’t have the actual readings. I prefer to be able to read along with the reader. Think about it. Some of the readings and especially the Gospels can get quite lengthy and you’re asking the human mind to catch every word and get the meaning at the same time just by listening. Having the actual readings to refer to is also helpful when your child asks «What did the he/​she just say?» or if you have a complicated reading involving a lot of terms or names. Otherwise you’re a bit at the mercy of how well of a speaker is the reader. Do they have a good cadence? Is there a thick accent? Are they monotone and not enunciating properly?
The choir is mostly teens. I like their hymn selections and they’ve got good solid voices.

I am a catholic from Los Angeles and just bought a house here in chula vista 91 913. I just don’t know who/​where to ask to bless our home.

Beautiful small church but I believe they are fundraising to build a bigger church right beside the existing one. The view is wonderful. The congregation is about 98% Filipinos but were all very friendly.

This is in response to T.B. of Otay Ranch:
I compliment you on taking the time to write an articulate review. However, I just wished that you have taken the same amount of time researching the parish, before making your review. Here’s my response to you:
–Yes, the mass is being held at the Pastoral Center. If only you have taken the time to learn the history of the parish, you would have learned that Mater Dei is still in the process of raising funds to build the actual church. In the beginning, Sunday masses were held at parishioners’ home; then at a school cafeteria, and then, as the parish grew, at a school gymnasium. I can only imagine how horrible it would have been for you to come to a stranger’s home for mass.
–As for the «glorified altar» comment, shouldn’t ALL altar be glorified?
— I agree, the «place» gets packed, but that’s because the people that goes there really likes the parish and are there for the service, and not for the amenities that an actual church might have, which seems to be very important to you.
— I applaud you on being able to speak English fluently, and I presume, without an accent. And yes, the pastor is Filipino, and most of the other priests that assist the parish are Filipinos. But I think the only people who gets «bothered» by the «accent» are those people such as yourself, who believe they are better than most.
— Your husband is not the only American (as you put it) who comes to the parish. And to imply that accents «distract» Americans, is just ignorant.
— Claiming yourself to be Filipino and yet insults Filipinos just because they have an accent maybe doesn’t make you a racist, but it clearly does not absolve you of being prejudice to your own kind, no less. I feel sorry for you.
— And no, you did not give the church a bad review or a low rating. You just did a terrible job of representing yourself, and thus giving yourself a very poor rating in the eyes of many.
Lastly, by the tone of your review, it appears to be that you are well-​off or very privileged in your life. If you, as you eloquently said, are still attempting to find Jesus in the South Bay, no matter the parish, no matter how far or close you drive, you will never find Him if you won’t allow yourself to be free of your materialistic and narrow-​minded attitude. To find Jesus, you must first embrace Him in all his glory and not your social status. «No one can serve two masters.» — Matthew 6:24
I come to Mater Dei because it is a welcoming, friendly faith community where race and ethnicity is never an issue.

God is Good all the time, All the Time, God is GOOD!!!

This is my church when I’m in San Diego. Over the years my church in San Diego has changed. Started at St. Mary’s in National City, then St. Michael’s in PH, and now Mater Dei in Otay Ranch. My changes are all due to personal reasons, but that doesn’t mean the others are bad choices, just not my primary choice. Mater Dei is smaller and because of this, gets crowded really fast. During Christmas and Easter, Mass is usually moved to the schools gym or they add seating outside the main church.
In 2012, I didn’t serve as much as I wanted, but making a change in 2013. I still have my home church in Las Vegas, but when I’m visiting SD, Mater Dei is my church. God Bless Everyone!

Saw a play here it was a great set up! CYT rocked the house :-)

Mater Dei Church is my home! Friendly people and great pastors.

Love the pastor’s homilies, the people and the great family events!

Another attempt to find me some Jesus in the South Bay…
Mater Dei Church is attached to Mater Dei High School. Here’s the thing, masses are held in the «Pastoral Center» which is like a rec center, but with a glorified altar. I hate to say it, but it really does kill the whole thing for me. It just doesn’t feel right, plus this place gets packed!
The mass has all the usual makings in it, nothing unexpected. I can’t remember what the music was like, but the PA system isn’t grand, considering it’s hooked up for banquets/​meetings not mass. Parking can get a bit hectic and without a children’s room it can get noisy. Lastly, the priest are all filipino and have rather obvious accents. Now before you call me racist, I’m filipino and it doesn’t bother me at all cause I’m used to it, but for my American husband it’s very distracting. I’m just putting it out there because it would distract some people.
Anyways, I went to Mater Dei for a couple weeks because of the proximity, but I’m willing to drive farther for a service that is more than the usual. I need a little something special and Mater Dei didn’t do it for me. Btw, is it a bit sinful to give a low rating to a church? =X