We are blessed with a Family Faith Formation program that consists of four pillars — helping families learn how to pray, understand their Catholic faith, serve their neighbors, and make friends within the Holy Apostles community. Through these four pillars, families are encouraged to encounter Christ in an intimate way and to follow Him more closely as His disciples.
It is open to all families who have children in kindergarten through 12th grades and is the starting point for these children to begin preparing for the Sacraments of Reconciliation, First Holy Communion, and Confirmation. Through Family Faith Formation, children are prepared to receive God’s love and grace through these sacraments, so they can live their life as His disciples.
“The mission of the Catholic Church is to go out to make disciples of all people,” says Mike Picard, Director of Discipleship Formation. “Before we can do that, we must first have an intimate relationship with God and have some understanding of who God is through the study of the Catholic faith. Family Faith Formation is the way that the parishioners of Holy Apostles participate in this mission of the Church. If we do not have families that can pass down their Catholic faith in such a way that helps their children truly live the faith, then the Church will not be able to fulfill the mission which Jesus Christ gave to it.”
This year, some big changes to the program should be expected. Mike shares that in the past, Family Faith Formation mainly focused on studying the Catholic faith to help the children better understand what we believe and why. This year, our parish aims to expand this focus to include showing and helping families how to live out the faith.
“We are going to begin every Family Faith Formation night with Mass, followed by a lesson,” Mike says. “We will meet weekly, and each week there is a different aspect of the Catholic life we will focus on. During the first week of the month, we will focus on studying the faith to better understand God’s love for us. In the second week of the month, we will focus on serving our neighbors through different service projects. In the third week of the month, we will focus on learning how to pray and coming to know God’s love for us through spending time in Eucharistic Adoration. Finally, on the fourth week of the month, we will have a social event that focuses on building friendships among families.”
This year, families who are new to Family Faith Formation will participate in the Evangelization Year. This will focus on introducing them to the Bible and the basics of starting a prayer life. They will be following God’s Plan in Scripture from Ascension Press, which helps introduce children to the Bible based on age.
Family Faith Formation needs catechists to help with the students each week. The students will be divided up by grade level for the weekly lesson, and two catechists are needed per grade level. Volunteers are also needed to help provide meals for the families. You can get involved by making or donating food, even something as simple as a dessert, snack, or beverage. This is a wonderful way to get involved in helping the next generation of the Church come to know and love Christ.
If you are interested in being a catechist or in providing food please contact Director of Discipleship Formation, Mike Picard, at 719-597-4249 Ext. 108 or mpicard@holyapostlescc.org.