Body of Christ

  • Dave Mazza and his wife of 28 years, Amy, reside in Cedarburg with their children Nate, 23, Ellie, 21, and Gabe, 17.
  • Mazza serves on the board of directors for Dominican High School, Whitefish Bay, where his youngest son is a junior and his oldest children are alumni.
  • One of seven siblings, Mazza grew up as a member of St. Joseph, Waukesha, and he and one brother had the job of cleaning the church at one time. His brother Mike is a civil and canon lawyer, and his sister, Grace, is the interim principal at St. Francis Borgia School.
  • A vice president with Dana Investment Advisors, Waukesha, Mazza graduated with honors from Xavier University, Cincinnati.

Tell me about your family of origin – the Mazzas are a known entity in the area and they’ve done some interesting Catholic things.

My mom and dad, Mary and Chuck Mazza, are the best parents a kid could ask for. They instilled our Catholic faith that, thankfully, we still practice today. All saw Mom and Dad living their faith: always going to Mass (even on vacation at Disney World), installing the racks to hold the missals on all the pews at St. Joe’s in Wauwatosa, supporting the Redemptorist Retreat Center, spearheading the nationwide “Help America Pray the Rosary” bumper sticker campaign and countless other ways. Their examples rubbed off on all of us and we are all active in the Catholic ecosystem via our jobs, volunteer work or active membership of our neighborhood parishes.

What is an activity that makes you know it’s summer?

It is summer when I power wash all the winter grime from my garage floor! I did it this year on March 29 in a jacket, hat and gloves but I made the call (probably too early) that winter is over and it is ok for summer to start!

What brings you joy right now?

Golf! It’s a great chance to spend some time outdoors with family and friends. I play as much as I can during our beautiful Wisconsin summers. However, as one of my old bosses told me, “For as much golf as you play, you should be a lot better.” So, golf brings me much joy and frustration!

How has your Catholic faith informed how you live your life?

First, everything I have in life is a gift from God. God freely gives but he would sure like it if I showed him some appreciation! So I go to church, go to confession, volunteer and try to be a good husband and father. I think all these things are the least I can do to show our Father I love him, and I’m trying my best to honor him and do his will. The second is God’s got a plan, and he doesn’t make mistakes. My mom said that after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and the chemo wasn’t helping. I was sitting with her, upset and crying, and she took my hand and said, “Don’t worry. God’s got a plan and he doesn’t make mistakes.” That reminds me of Jesus and his agony in the garden: Not my will, but thine be done (Luke 22:42). Having faith in God’s will has allowed me to get through all of life’s ups and downs.

What advice or thoughts would you share with parents of teenagers to have positive, healthy relationships with them?

My wife and I have rules and hold our kids accountable. It makes for some tough conversations, and we certainly aren’t our kids’ favorite people at times. I think we would be doing our kids a disservice letting them think they can go through life doing whatever they want, whenever they want and not putting in the effort when it comes to school, chores and earning your own “fun” money to spend. My wife and I are consistent with our kids and that helped our relationships with them. You do good, you get a hug. You screw up, you get punished, and a hug. We work hard and we take time to play hard as well. We’ve had some great family vacations but even better plain old Friday nights playing cards, ping pong or board games. You push them to be the best they can be and make the most of the gifts God gives them. We do that with love and our kids realize it. That makes for a healthy, loving relationship.

What’s a favorite TV show and why? How do you balance how secular TV/movies are with your faith?

Scrubs is one of my favorite shows. It has the perfect mix of comedy, drama and great story lines. I never knew if I was going to cry from laughter or because they just told a moving story. The writing is brilliant, and the actors are phenomenal. The show was also good at breaking several of the Ten Commandments. Unfortunately, that is the real world that we live in and watching these TV shows/movies sadly sometimes mirrors how some people live their lives. Then it becomes a teachable moment to remind myself and others what our faith teaches and how God wants us to live our lives.