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This program meets weekly At this age, we seek to familiarize children with scripture stories, learn their fundamental prayers, and express themselves through art and activities. Parents are asked to attend with their children.
Grade 2 has a comprehensive program focused on Sacramental preparation for First Reconciliation and First Eucharist.
Students and parents will revisit the Sacrament of Reconciliation and explore together the depth of Jesus' divine mercy. He has offered his life for us on the cross for the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of the world. Our young people are reminded that it is right to feel bad and sorrowful for sin, but it is also right to rejoice in the renewal of grace and forgiveness. We all aim to "Go and sin no more."
Students and parents will also revisit the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist (Communion). We will explore how the bread and wine are brought to the altar of the Lord to be changed into the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of Jesus Christ. We are reminded that we have the True Presence of Jesus Christ in this most holy Sacrament. God is with us! When we receive Communion, God is in us and we are in God. We learn that partaking in the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist is a constant renewal of the covenant (agreement) with God that secures the forgiveness of our sins and the way to eternal life.
This program is based around the readings of the Mass each weekend. The Mass is an essential part of Catholic life and it is a necessary part of family formation. Each week we hear and reflect on the Holy Scriptures (Bible). At your child's class, those readings are taken further and the class dives deeper into learning about what God is teaching us in the scriptures. Mass is every Catholic's opportunity to renew the covenant (agreement) with God to receive forgiveness and eternal life. This is done by calling forward the graces of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross to be offered to God on our behalf. It is also important for us to offer our personal sacrifices and Christian love to the Father alongside Jesus' offering. We come to offer all of our efforts to love like Christ, proclaim the Good News like Christ, and to sacrifice like Christ. In this way, when we pour ourselves out to the Father, we are filled back up by the Son in the Holy Eucharist, and then we go out to repeat the process with the Holy Spirit.
As youth enter the middle school age group, the world gets a little bigger. They begin to engage and understand what is happening in society around them. Peer groups become very important and family bonds begin to be tested. All the essentials of faith formation remain the same, maintaining family prayer life, sacramental life, and proactive charity. At this age level we show how the church engages the society at large while at the same time promoting individual spiritual growth and identity. Concepts of Christian responsibility, the practice of virtue, and discovering their part to play in the Catholic Church are introduced to the students as they prepare for the Confirmation program.
Students begin the Confirmation program in the fall of 9th Grade and will receive the Sacrament in the spring of 10th Grade. This program focuses on the four pillars of the Catholic Catechism and the Foundations of Catholic teaching and doctrine. This Sacrament completes the young person's initiation to the Catholic faith and asks for a proactive belief and engagement. A major part of Confirmation is the profession of faith and so the Nicene Creed is analyzed with the students. We cover morality, prayer, and the Sacramental life of the Church as well. This program asks the parents to accompany their children throughout the preparation and to come and renew and share in the formation process. This reinforces the commitment to family participation but also has received wonderful feedback from parents themselves (they sometimes appreciate it more than the youth)!