Religious Education
Welcome Families of Faith. Father Banka and I are praying for all of you during this stressful time. If I can assist you in anyway please contact me.
Kathy Casas, Coordinator of RE and Confirmation
(209) 770-5987
The family is the school of love. Children, as well as teens, observe closely the relationships between husband and wife, parent and child, and between God and His people. Where God is honored in the home, love abounds.
The family is the school of prayer. When young children learn to pray with their parents, and observe the importance of prayer through the modeling of their parents, they can more easily come to know the heart of God. Their eyes and mind become open to the God who loves them beyond measure, always and forever.
The family is also the school of the REAL PRESENCE of God in the Eucharist. When children, from the time of birth, share in the holy sacrifice of the mass as witnesses, and eventually as participants, they come to know the sacredness of the Holy Eucharist, the actual presence of God with us. The family is where faith is learned, where it is nourished, and where it begins to blossom.
The Church is where children learn that we are in communion with the rest of the family of God. It is in the experience of listening together to the Word of God, praying together the Prayers of the Faithful and the Our Father, and coming forward together to receive Jesus in the communion line where children and teens understand the concept of the universal church as the Body of Christ. At mass they come to understand that we are all one in God.
Having been introduced to God through love of family, love of prayer, love of the mass, and love shared by God’s people at the Sunday mass, school-aged children are now offered a more formal instruction in the faith. This formal catechesis begins in our classrooms on Wednesday evenings.
AND…throughout our lives, formal catechesis (the teaching of the faith) continues as an on-going necessity for strong faith development. We are forever learning about God and learning to know Him more deeply.
Religious Education Program
At St. Patrick’s Catholic Church we offer a religious education program for kindergarten through eighth grade students, as well as the opportunity for those older students who have not yet received sacraments to “catch up,” no matter their age. After high school, the adult RCIA program is a more fitting placement.
The two year sacrament preparation classes include:
Sacrament of Reconciliation (1st-2nd grade)
First Holy Communion/Eucharist (2nd-3rd grade)
Confirmation (6th-7th-8th grade)
It is expected that, since regular Sunday mass attendance is mandated for all practicing Catholics, families involved in our faith formation program would be bringing their children and teens to mass each weekend. For those in sacramental preparations classes, it is one of the requirements for receiving the sacrament. Regular mass attendance is crucial because it is the “source and summit” of our faith.
Registration for the program will begin as soon as we are cleared by the governor and the bishop to set a date. Classes usually begin in early September. They are held on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-7:30 (K-6th) and 6:30-7:45 for confirmation students.
Registration will be through the website and/or through the church office when it becomes available. You will need a copy of your children’s baptismal certificates in the church office in order to register.
Kathy Casas, Coordinator of RE and Confirmation 209-770-5987
