Religious education is a parental responsibility. The CCD program is responsible to support parental efforts regarding the child’s faith experience. Going to Mass each week and participating in Church sponsored activities are critical to a child’s faith formation. The CCD program offers our children about thirty hours (30) of religious education each year for grades one to eight, supported by parents, and twenty-five (25) plus volunteer catechists, aides, monitors, and others. We estimate the volunteer investment in our youth from preschool, through high school along with the commitment of our catechists, monitors, aides, parents, and students to be about 10,000 program hours. We appreciate your continued prayers and support for our program. Please volunteer. Your participation ensures program success.
The curriculum for our CCD program conforms to the curriculum distributed by the Diocese of Harrisburg and incorporates six components: Scripture, Creed, Holy Mass, the Sacraments, Christian Morality, and Prayer. You can reference this web site at https://www.hbgdiocese.org/youth-and-young-adults/religious-education/
We instruct our children that the Bible is the Word of God. They learn their prayers, such as the Our Father and the Apostles Creed. Regarding the Holy Mass and the Sacraments, the students will have learned that Jesus shares Himself with us in a special way during the Mass and that He instituted the Sacraments to help us on our journey. The students learn about Christian morality, and they begin to understand that the Church (a people called together) is a community of service. If you wish to learn more about the curriculum, please contact any of the CCD catechists, [email protected], 570-759-9225 or visit the Diocesan web site.
Sacred Scripture is just one aspect of the curriculum. All subject matter presented is grade-level appropriate, reference The New American Bible, World Bible Publishers, 1987, ISBN 0-529-06484-7 (2401) or ISBN 0-529-06089-2 (2403) and “Break Through,” The Bible for Young Catholics, 2006, ISBN 978-0-88489-862-7. Students in the Diocese of Harrisburg will understand Sacred Scripture as the inspired word of God and that it teaches: “solidly, faithfully, and without error that truth which God wanted put into the sacred writings for the sake of our salvation” – Vatican II Constitution Dei Verbum #11. The Old Testament lays the foundation for the fullness of God’s Truth manifested in the person of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Sacred Scripture, along with Sacred Tradition, handed down to us from the Apostles, comprises Divine Revelation, reference Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2007, ISBN 1-57455-110-8.
The Church has always venerated the Scriptures as well as the Body of the Lord: both nourish and govern the whole of Christian life. Since Jesus is the Word of God made flesh, study of the word is essential for Christian life. God’s Word is the source of all revelation, as written in Scripture and contained in the Tradition of the Church. “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ Jesus.” --St. Jerome, https://www.aoa-edu.com/catechetical-diploma-deeper-into-scripture-hearing-the-voice-of-the-saviour/#:~:text=St%20Jerome%2C%20Father%20of%20the,and%20especially%20in%20the%20Gospels.
The religion books we use for first through sixth grade are rooted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and centered on the essential message of the Gospel. Loyola Press Publishers provides our text titled “Finding God.” Our catechists plan their lessons at every grade level in an age-appropriate manner and in keeping with the curriculum guidelines presented to us by the Diocese of Harrisburg, Office of Education. First and fifth grade students each have one, age-appropriate lecture on The Formation of Christian Charity. The seventh grade students use a text titled “Following Jesus,” published by Loyola Press Publishers. This text focuses on the Synoptic Gospels, Sacraments, and the signs and symbols of our faith. We believe, through study and understanding with parental guidance, that our young adolescents learn to contribute to the church community and become armed with the grace to make good decisions. The eighth grade students use a textbook titled, “Celebrating Church,” also published by Loyola Press Publishers. This textbook focuses on foundational concepts, faith formation, decision-making, and it presents a journey with the Spirit. It presents the student with a call to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. The eighth grade students also attend a Retreat and two, age-appropriate lectures on The Formation of Christian Chastity at the end of the year prior to Confirmation.
If you wish to register your children online please use the registration form provided on the Registration page.