Religious Education

FAITH FORMATION FOR LIFE

Faith Formation for Life sessions meet on Wednesdays from 6:45 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Please call Kristy Kivenas or Virginia López for more information at the Rectory Office.
If you know a pre-teen, young adult or adult who is non-churched and needs the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, please invite them to call Virginia at the Rectory Office (407-293-0730) to discover more about Jesus and the Church.

Faith Formation for Life is an exciting family/community based religious education program. It is designed to include everyone! Learning about our Catholic faith is never-ending. Faith Formation for Life will help keep us all—from kindergarten to the oldest adult—living the wonders of our faith in the Church.

Classes for adults, high school, middle school, and elementary school students begin in August and end in April. They are held on Wednesday evenings from 6:45pm until 8:00pm. Faith Formation for Life is the umbrella under which all the programs come together.

Kindergarten through 8th grade also meet in the classrooms and use the Call to Faith series that is deeply rooted in Catholic tradition and reminds the children that they belong to the Church family.

Youth Group is our youth ministry program for students in 9, 10, 11 & 12 grades. These students gather together to share subjects pertaining to their lives based in a faith context.

Nursery: Younger parishioners (infants to age 3) can be cared for in our Parish Nursery which opens at 6:15pm on Wednesday nights.

Children who are eligible to prepare for the sacraments of First Reconciliation and Communion and do not attend Catholic school need to be in this religious education program. It is required that the children have formal religious education prior to preparation for the sacraments. Then in 2nd grade or age 7 (when preparation for these sacraments is generally completed) the religious education process continues and also they attend the Preparation Classes for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and First Communion and a parent/child retreat. You will need to schedule a registration appointment with a member of the Religious Education team for the preparation process.

Christian Initiation

It is the process by which adults, teens and children over the age of 7, become full members of the Catholic community; these individuals are not baptized. This is also for those needing Confirmation and First Communion but are already baptized.

It restores the ancient catechumenate - the process by which persons became Christians in the early Church by praying and studying with the community for 1- 3 years. After their Lenten retreat, they were initiated into the community at the Easter Vigil.

Like the ancient catechumenate, the Christian Initiation takes place within the community, emphasizing the community as the initiating body.

The contemporary catechumenante is an extended process of conversion, faith formation and transformation. Rather than a "program of instruction" it is a multi-dimensional process which includes immersion in the Word of God, worship, community and service.

1. Precatechumenate (Inquiry)

This period provides Inquirers opportunities to reflect on their experience of God and to ask questions. The community in turn shares with them the good news of Jesus Christ.

2. Catechumenate

This period begins with the Rite of Acceptance. It is a substantial period of formation in the Christian life. Members deepen their conversion by embracing the community's way of life - by participating in worship, by catechesis based on the Word of God, and by sharing in the Church's mission.

3. Purification & Enlightenment

This period coincides with the season of Lent and is a time of intensive prayer and preparation for the sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation and Eucharist), at the Easter Vigil. Through liturgies and reflection, the whole community joins the candidates in focusing on the transformation of the whole person to the way of Christ.

4. Mystagogy (Savor the Mysteries)

During the Easter season the newly initiated (Neophytes) continue to meet weekly to savor the experience of the Easter sacraments, reflect on their meaning for their lives and embrace their share of the Church's mission in the world.

Do you know a non-baptized or non-churched person who may be interested in our Church? An aspect of our Baptismal responsibility is to evangelize. Every one of us is called to invite others to Christ. Are there friends, family, co-workers who need to know about God's great love for them? Are they looking for a Church family to whom they can belong? Invite adults to Inquiry on Monday evenings at 7pm in Neidert Hall Room C or ask them to call the rectory office (407-293-0730).