Grade 5-8

Younger teens need a faith formation program that helps them connect their faith to their everyday life.

Grade 5 - Celebrating Mass and the Eucharist, focuses on helping young people understand and appreciate the origins, history, and central meaning of the Eucharist. This class fosters more active involvement in the celebration of the Mass, the center of Christian life.

The children should

• grow in their appreciation of the Church as a worshiping community, and of Christ’s action among us in the Eucharistic liturgy and in the sacraments.

• give worship to God by prayer, loving service, and celebrating the liturgical seasons.

Prayer in this grade • Prayers of the Mass

Grade 6 - The Bible, helps young people learn what the Bible is, where it came from, how to use it, and how it can relate to their own lives.

The students should

• come to a deeper appreciation of the person of Christ and of his presence in his Church.

Prayer in this grade • working knowledge of the Bible

Grade 7 - Sacraments, helps young people understand and appreciate the Church's Seven Sacraments as rites that celebrate Christ's living presence and activity within the community of faith.

The students should

• grow in knowledge and love of Jesus through prayer and studying the Gospels.

• appreciate that the sacraments enable them to respond to the call to follow Jesus, live by his teachings, and proclaim God’s kingdom in word, worship, witness, and service.

Prayer in this grade • The Seven Sacraments

Grade 8 - Being Catholic enables adolescents to consider what it means to be a Catholic Christian, and helps them integrate a sense of Catholic identity with their identity as persons. The class emphasizes the decision-making skills needed when adolescents encounter tough choices, including moral dilemmas; it helps students identify influences on their decision-making and consider the consequences of their decisions.

The students should

• come to a deeper understanding of the Church by studying its images, history, and members.

• grow in love for Catholic beliefs and ritual and strive to respond to God’s love through Christian morality, service, prayer, and witness.

Prayer in this grade • Duties of a Catholic Christian