The Religious Education program at St. Therese is dedicated to educating every student in the faith of Jesus Christ and His Body, the Catholic Church. We firmly believe in union with the Church that children “…because they are called by God to maturity of faith, need and have, therefore, a right to adequate catechesis.” (General Catechetical Directory, 167) We strive to provide both an education and an environment in which to foster and nurture the faith of our children. The Church teaches us that this education begins in the family: “This childhood religious awakening which takes place in the family is irreplaceable.” (General Catechetical Directory, 226) It is this religious awakening in the family that we seek to bring to maturity through our Religious Education program.

Our Church also teaches us that parents are called through the Sacrament of Matrimony to “the grace and ministry of the Christian education of their children…” (General Catechetical Directory, 227) We believe in the primacy of the parental responsibility stated first during the Rite of Marriage: “Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and His Church?” And again during the Rite of Baptism: “You have asked to have your child baptized. In so doing, you are accepting the responsibility of training them in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring them up to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us by loving God and our neighbor.” The parish of St. Therese and the Religious Education programs assist parents in this most sacred duty of the religious education of their children. Our efforts are bound to the larger task of faith formation as a parish. As parents and parishioners we strive to draw our children into our faith tradition and community.

Our catechetical efforts participate in the mission of Jesus handed down to us from the Apostles by teaching:

• What we believe as church,
• What we say in prayer,
• What we celebrate in worship and
• How we live in witness