Parents are their children’s first teachers when it comes to the Catholic faith, but in the Diocese of Gary, parishes supplement that education through religious education classes. The format, frequency and themes may vary, but every program strives to prepare young Catholics to receive the sacraments of reconciliation, Holy Communion and confirmation and grow into strong and well-informed Catholics.
“Our parish family is a family of God, and we want to share that experience with our children,” said Diane Matthys, director of religious education at St. Paul in Valparaiso since 2018. “Parents want to raise their children in the Church, and religious education classes help do that. They expand on what children learn at home, and they can talk about the faith, ask questions and develop their relationship with the Lord.”
At St. Paul, where 313 children in kindergarten through eighth grade from 190 families were enrolled last year, weekly religious education classes are offered on Mondays from 4:15-5:30 p.m. or 6-7:15 p.m., and Tuesdays from 4:15-5:30 p.m. “We’d like to add Sunday sessions, which would encourage Mass attendance, but we haven’t done it yet,” added Matthys.
Sacramental Prep classes for reconciliation (second grade) and Holy Communion (third grade) are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, while high school freshmen spend a year attending the Life Team Mass and preparing for confirmation with a core team.
Matthys doesn’t expect any major changes for the coming year while new administrator Father Nathaniel Edquist and associate pastor Father Will O’Donnell settle in, but is eyeing the addition of an Order of Christian Initiation for Children program after receiving several inquiries from parents whose children are not baptized. “For younger children, we’ve had Religion Readiness classes for a year, while OCIC classes would serve youths in grades 4-8. “All sacraments are then received at the Easter Vigil Mass, except reconciliation,” said Matthys.
You can’t start out in algebra class if you want to learn math; you need the basics first. Religious education classes give children the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of their faith,” she added.
Registration for the coming year is available online at stpaulre1755.org, and parents can also register in person after the religious education office reopens on Aug. 3. “Once they are registered, we try to meet with every family every year to give them a calendar and a letter, as well as distribute books and explain drop-off/pick-up procedures,” said Matthys. Classes will start the week of Sept. 14-15.
Donna Velez, starting her 12th year as DRE at Our Lady of Grace in Highland after a career as a teacher in both public and parochial schools, and a principal at St. Edward in Lowell and St. Catherine of Siena in Hammond, tries to make religious education classes “exciting and fun” for youngsters from 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesdays. “I’m always looking for new ideas or ways to tweak things,” she said. “I provide crafts, we pray the Rosary together in October and the Stations of the Cross during Lent.” She introduces herself to each class at the beginning of each year, and brings each student a gift; to mark their baptism day, students receive a certificate and a small gift. Those with perfect attendance – four last year – receive a $10 gift card.
“When you have your child baptized, you make a promise to raise them in the faith,” said Velez. “Religious education is as important as any other subject, if not more. Teaching them their faith allows them the opportunity to be altar servers and continue practicing their faith after confirmation. ‘I am the Lord your God’ is the first commandment; God is No. 1.”
Velez said some parents let their children choose whether or not to receive the sacraments when they are older, “but I believe it is the parents’ responsibility to prepare them for life as a Catholic adult. You have to give them that foundation.”
“Teaching third graders is very cool, because it is such an important year,” said Alison Gargas, a catechist at Our Lady of Grace since 2018. “My favorite thing is to teach them that Jesus is truly in the Eucharist as they prepare for First Communion, and about all the parts of the Mass.”
She said some parish school students, who are exposed to Mass religious education classes, ask their parents if they can receive their sacraments. They can begin at least a year of OCIC classes. “The Spirit is at work; sometimes even if the parents don’t take the initiative, the kids want it,” Velez said. “Hopefully, they will be faithful Catholics throughout their lives.”
Registration for religious education took place in the spring, but can still be done in August by contacting Velez at olgrel@gmail.com or 301-9896. The new year begins with a Meet and Greet for students and parents from 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, at Our Lady of Grace.
Religious education is a family affair at Holy Spirit in Winfield, led by DRE Rochelle McNamara for 15 years. “We call our program Faith Formation, and we include the parents and children in our sessions, which are held monthly, the second week of the month, before our 11 a.m. Mass on Sundays or, if families prefer, from 6-7:30 p.m. on Mondays,” said McNamara. “Every month is different and we meet together at assigned tables in the church hall, because we don’t have school classrooms. There are no textbooks, she added, but there is an overall theme each year – “Peace and Social Justice” was last year’s theme, while “The Liturgical Year and Church History” will be the focus for the coming year.
At St. Helen in Hebron, which has merged with Holy Spirit, Faith Formation is also held one Sunday a month, after the 9 a.m. Mass.
With the same families sharing a table each month, “They get to know each other, and that helps when we do faith sharing, which we do a lot,” McNamara said. “Without a textbook, we can change the focus when an issue comes up, or the pope has a special intention for the year. I believe we are teaching students to live out their faith, and we can be more flexible. Everything we do is by the Church and Jesus’ teaching and how it affects our everyday life.
“Depending on the topic, we can pin it and then talk about how to respond as a Catholic,” she added. “We want our students to learn why to do things, not just do what a book says.”
Sacramental preparation classes for reconciliation and Holy Communion, for children only, are held separately, in three, two-hour Saturday sessions. “Parents meet, too, learning how to help their child prepare,” McNamara said, and they choose what year their offspring are ready to receive a sacrament. Confirmation classes, which include a service project and a retreat, usually focus on eighth graders.
“I am looking forward to connecting with the children and answering their questions,” said Pat Contreras, who will teach the reconciliation and Holy Communion prep classes for the first time this year at Holy Spirit.
With three grown children and 11 grandchildren, Contreras has plenty of experience with children. “I love expressing how much I love Jesus and how he should be our friend, our ‘person,’ and how he will always be there for you,” she said.
She said she was inspired to become a catechist during a visit to The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Wisconsin, where she saw engraved on a stone the words the Blessed Mother said there to Adele in an apparition: “Gather the children in this wild country to teach them what they need to know for their salvation.”
Having parents, siblings “and sometimes a friend, cousin or grandparents” attend Faith Formation together strengthens the family bond with their faith, McNamara believes.
“The parents like it,” she said. “Having forgotten what they learned years before, “They say, ‘I can’t teach my kids this,’ but we tell them they can, and soon they find they do have the skills to teach the faith,” she explained.
Holy Spirit families can register online at catholicfamilyhs.org/faith-formation, or call the parish office at 661-0644 for more information.
“The most important thing I want my students to learn is that Jesus is truly present, body, soul and divinity, in the Eucharist,” said Gargas. “We are passing on our faith.”
Caption: Roxanne Franko teaches a fourth-grade religious education class at Our Lady of Grace in Highland. The parish serves about 65 youths from 25 families during the school year. (Provided photo)
