Dear Parents,
Welcome to the Saint Catherine of Siena Religious Education Program. It is a tribute to your love for Christ and your children that you've chosen to enroll them in our classes. We are very pleased to assist you in their catechesis and formation.
We are blessed with a dedicated and competent staff of volunteer catechists, who are eager to share our beautiful Catholic Faith with you and your children.
Here are our goals:
- That your children know, love and serve Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
- That in their tender early years, they are properly formed in the Catholic faith preparing them to live virtuous lives and enter into heavenly glory.
- That your children may be the instruments of God to bring their entire family closer to Christ and His Church.
The details, of course, include the hard work of getting to class, memorizing prayers, studying the catechism and encountering Jesus in the sacraments. We need you to commit to the following:
- Attend Mass every Sunday and each Holy Day of Obligation with your children.
- Make sure your children arrive to class prepared and on time each week and remain for the entire class period. Please email or call the Office of Religious Education if your child will miss class.
- Work with your children to complete homework assignments (or check that homework is complete and accurate). Please let the catechist know if you have questions or difficulty.
- Guide your children in special extracurricular assignments (e.g. reports, celebration of liturgical seasons, and service projects).
- Help your children with memorization of prayers. (Please see the booklet of “Basic Catholic Prayers and Lists” for First through Eighth Grades given to all children and available on this website.)
One of the most painful situations we encounter with many children is the failure of parents to bring them to Mass on Sundays. Of course, we assure the children that when parents fail them, they are not to blame. Yet it is truly heartbreaking to learn that the children really worry about whether their parents are in the state of grace after missing Mass without a sufficient reason. We are very careful in these matters, but we cannot compromise the truth of the serious obligation to abide by the Third Commandment. So, if you have a pattern of missing Mass, we hope this note provokes serious soul-searching.
We understand, of course, that life isn't perfect and there will be occasional failures. But we're hoping for a healthy "batting average" as we continue through the school year.
Feel free to express your concerns, offer constructive suggestions, and let us know if special family circumstances arise.
With God's grace, your family’s participation in our program will bring the abundant fruit of Christian joy, along with the necessary hard work of religious training. To use one of my favorite religious clichés: "Know Christ, know peace. No Christ, no peace."
Many blessings to you and your family!
Saint Catherine of Siena, pray for us.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jerry J. Pokorsky