Family Of Faith

The Family of Faith is a four year Program that focuses on supporting and strengthening families in both faith and in parish and family life. It builds upon the most powerful element of transmitting the Faith: the family.

The complete course covers all aspects of Catholic faith, life and morals. Through it the students, and their parents, grow together in their spiritual journey, attending Holy Mass, regular family activities, prayer, and participation in parish life. Instead of being something external, isolated, or something merely obligatory, students will come to understand and value their religion as a lifelong way of life!

We want to introduce your children to a real, personal relationship with Christ, and strengthen and guide them throughout their lives in the most effective way possible. The most powerful teacher for children on their path of life is their own parents!

Studies have shown that when both parents actively practice the faith, the majority of their children will too – that is still true even today. When one or both parents do not practice, most likely their children will not practice the faith as adults.

Our own experience confirms what 30 years of research has found: students will not value religious instruction if their parents do not. St. Josemaría Escrivá would frequently say that 90% of a person’s vocation comes from his or her parents.

Our Family of Faith program is designed to fortify both the faith and the family. We want to give your families the strength, joy, and warmth that only God can give!

The Family of Faith parish program is made for this! The parish will now teach you the Faith AND how to share it with your children. You and your family will grow in the Faith together, bringing you closer to God and to each other . For parents the new parish program is a “turn-key” solution. Instructional Sundays teach you the easy-to-understand content of each month’s lessons with step-by-step instructions for each activity for that month. This will help you to gain knowledge of the Faith and confidence as you teach it. We also give you tools to turn difficult situations into successes, such as what to do when a child asks a question you do not know.

Remember, you are not alone in sharing the Catholic faith to your children! This is and will be a parish activity. St. Mary of the Angels will be there for you and with you, many ways:

1. We will prepare you well in the monthly instructional sessions, giving you the content of the faith in a form easy for you to teach it to your families.
2. We will tailor it to your family situation and comfort level, having instructional sessions and materials in both English and Spanish. You will be able to decide what is best for your family.
3. Our social gathering on the last Sunday of the month will help make Sundays and learning the Faith together a fun family event. As many wonderful families in Saint Mary of the Angels—who are trying to raise and teach their children in the same Faith—get to know each other better, share family experiences, build friendships, and encourage each other in the Faith. This  builds up the parish as a “family of families.”
4. With God’s help, you got this! You teach you children all the time, especially by example! You are already a much better teacher than you realize. Your children will be grateful to you for giving them a vision of life that is much deeper and better than the materialism that surrounds them! A strong and loving faith will help bind your family together more closely than ever.

We could, but we want what is best for your children. Countless studies show that the major life lessons that one carries through life are learned at home. These include faith and spiritual life. No one is better situated to give those lessons in a memorable way than loving parents!

Decades of using the “old way” only worked when the surrounding culture supported Christian faith and morals. In today’s secularized world this is no longer the case. The students are often bored with class, and find the Faith at odds with their school, classmates, and the media that they are consuming. The “old way” isn’t “sticking with” our children’s minds and hearts. On the other hand, parents can take advantage of those “teachable moments” of everyday life, which can and ought to include a conversion to Jesus Christ. The Family of Faith program leads parents into how to do this in a powerful and convincing way to their children.

The Family of Faith program was developed by the Sophia Institute, a reputable publisher of Catholic educational and spiritual resources. Having studied religious education programs all over the USA, Sophia Institute carefully developed this program and tested it in many parishes around the country, including here in Chicago. They continue to improve it. Parishes are impressed with the results in the students and in revitalizing the entire parish!

Actually, the new Family of Faith program takes less time than the old program, and increases the time that the family spends together, creating quality experiences for the whole family. The old CCD program involved one and a half hours of instruction, plus Mass, every Sunday throughout the school year. The new program regularly requires only two Sundays each month, plus Mass. Moreover, the extra instruction for those families with students receiving First Confession, or First Communion takes place in a very limited one month period just before receiving those sacraments. The special instruction classes for the Confirmation candidates takes place on Sunday mornings during the two months before Confirmation in November.

There are two lessons to teach each month, along with a variety of family and child activities. Each lesson takes about 30-45 minutes and requires minimal preparation for the parent. At the once-a-month parish family Sunday group educational sessions will include with icebreakers, presentation notes, discussion questions and answers, and step-by-step instructions for activities in either English or Spanish. Our group leaders will help you know, understand and explain your faith, so that you can pass it on to your children in a personal way.

This program focuses on teaching parents how to make the faith organic to family life. So, it is perfect for parents with children of all ages. For example, a monthly feature called “Your Catholic Home” gives specific advice on how to make the Faith a part of daily life. The Children’s Activity Books are recommended for children in grades K-8, and features engaging activities at various grade levels. Parents can skip the activities they believe are too elementary or too advanced for their child.

No. Although readings and written activities are offered, the Children’s Activity Book and Parent’s Guide offer a wide variety of activities using numerous strategies to impart and assess knowledge that do not rely on reading or writing.

TWO each month, with everything you need: one 90-minute parents only session early in the month, and a second 90-minute community meeting after Sunday Mass near the end of the month. The firstsession helps parents deepen their knowledge of the Faith. Entire families attend the community-building meeting (with games and other family activities), helping ensure accountability.

Great question! We will provide babysitters for your little kids on the First Sundays’ educational sessions, and for sacramental preparation sessions. Babysitting is free of charge. When you register please let us know the number and ages of the children so we can get the appropriate staff of babysitters.

The Catholic Church, not just St. Mary the Angels, requires all Catholics to attend Mass each Sunday. Why? Because Mass makes present Christ, the Church’s greatest gift, in the Eucharist. What more could you want for your family, than the great privilege to attend Mass and encounter Christ Himself as he offers himself to God. It also brings families together. Statistics show that couples and families who attend Mass regularly stay together, even in our crazy world. God gives peace and strengthen families through Mass and the sacraments. We want that for you and your families, which is why family attendance at Mass is an important part of our program.

You will undoubtedly see your children learn as they learn Scripture verses and how to define key words of our Catholic Faith. Their conversations will reflect their understanding as well as their service projects, enriched prayer life, and a loving relationship with Christ. The child’s desire to know, love, and serve Jesus is proof that they are learning and becoming a disciple of Christ.

Your children already learn from you in so many ways! It is what kids do, learn from their parents. Kids experience Christ and his love best through those they love and know, not strangers. You will do that even better as you learn the Faith. Additionally, you will understand and love your own faith better, and pass your love of Christ to them, while facing life’s challenges.

This is the program’s best feature: YOU get to see every stage of your child’s progress with no “middle man.” All work is done within the family, as “family time” and a family project. Everyone in the family gets to participate, increasing the knowledge and love of Christ in the whole family, while increasing family bonding and solidarity.

The program contains several ways. For example:

• Families have a year-long project that they will add to each month. Parents will bring in these projects occasionally to check progress.
• Each Community meeting begins with a Question-and-Answer session, which gives us a view of what each child and family has learned.
• Finally, the last session of the year features a fun and interactive games with dozens of questions covering content from the whole year.

We will help! Special one-month sessions on Thursday evenings will be dedicated to prepare both you and your children for those sacraments—you and your child will receive them together on those important days. As the entire family grows in the faith through the four-year Family of Faith program, each member will advance in their spiritual journey together through regular activities: prayer, Mass, and parish life. Children will learn that religion is not just something to put up with on Sundays, or the sacraments as an isolated rite of passage, but an essential part of their ongoing lives.

Before 1st CONFESSION, parents and students will attend three special educational sessions on the first three Thursdays of March. Sessions will be 90 minutes in length. On the fourth Thursday of March, after a brief instructional session, the parents will accompany their children as they make their First Confession; parents too will have the opportunity to go to Confession in preparation for Holy Week and Easter.

Before 1st COMMUNION, parents and students will attend special 90-minute sessions on four Thursdays preceding First Communion. On the last session will include First Communion Practice for parents and children. First Communion Mass will be celebrated on the last Saturday of April, with the parents having the opportunity to receive Holy Communion with their children.

Before CONFIRMATION, candidates will attend 10 special 50-minute sessions on Sundays, beginning with the opening of the school year until Confirmation. The candidates must also experience a one-day Archdiocesan Holy Fire retreat. In November, the candidates will be Confirmed at a special parish Mass. Although the parents do not attend the special Confirmation instruction, the families of all candidates for Confirmation at St. Mary of the Angels must be participants in the Family of Faith program during the school year.

Yes. As a “family of families,” St. Mary of the Angels has a long-standing tradition of the entire parish celebrating in a solemn way these important sacraments as memorable events for our students and their families.

With Confirmation, candidates are taking responsibility for their own Christian life, spiritual growth, and to make an impact in the world with their faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit will confirm him or her in the faith. To meet the challenges of an anti-Christian world, Christians need a very solid formation. Candidates for Confirmation need to have participated for four consecutive years in the Family of Faith program or its equivalent.

The aim of this Sunday is to encounter Jesus Christ: first by joining in his sacrifice and receiving his Real Presence in the Mass. We then express our Communion in Christ by family togetherness, and with togetherness with other Christian families. After family Mass, our families will benefit from sharing food and group activities with other families who share our faith. These activities will vary, including social gatherings at St. Mary of the Angels, at parks, or service to the poor and needy, etc.

It is important to brings the family together with Christian activities, to meet other Catholic families, and build solid friendships with each other and with Christ. This will safeguard our families from the many things that divide us and help St. Mary of the Angels thrive as a “family of families.”

It may happen that one parent or the other may have to miss a session due to work or some emergency. In that case, the other parent should attend. This is a family formational program. It works best with both parents participating. Minimally, one adult who permanently resides with the child should be there at each Sunday event, as it is the family who will be teaching the students their lessons. Please keep in mind that this program is only operating on two Sundays each month. Try to schedule your time to make this program feasible for your family.

The pastor is responsible for assuring a child or adult is properly prepared to receive the sacraments. The Family of Faith program is oriented toward family spiritual development, not just “processing” students on Sundays, and preparing the members of the family together for those sacraments. If families are not attending and not doing the lessons with their students, then they cannot be admitted to the sacraments until this preparation is completed, perhaps by tutoring, a Catholic school program, etc.

Every family’s needs are unique. We respect your freedom and judgment about what is your own family. If another parish’s CCD program better fits your family, we will give you a certificate verifying the classes your child attended the CCD program here at St. Mary of the Angels.

As this is a family program, tuition is assessed per family, rather than for individual. Costs are:

• $300 per family cost, which includes the books and training per year. This applies no matter how many children you have in the program.

Extra charges for sacramental preparation:

• $40 per student receiving First Confession.
• $50 per student receiving First Communion.
• $80 per student receiving Confirmation.

No. We ask that $150 be paid at registration. The remainder, including special sacramental fees outlined above, should be paid by January 1. If there is a serious family financial hardship, partial scholarships can be requested by application.

There are several ways:

1. Fill out the enrollment form and bring it with your initial deposit to the parish office ANYTIME during business hours.
2. Enroll online, using the computer form accessible on the parish website, and payable by credit card or debit card.
3. Enroll in person on the opening day of the Family of Faith on Sunday, August 25, 2024.