We currently use the Faith and Life catechetical series for grades one through eight.
Each child has two books:
Student Text: Doctrine, Sacred Scripture and Sacred Art is presented in each chapter. Each chapter opens with a passage from Sacred Scripture. Additional quotations are interspered throughout the book to help demonstrate the Biblical backing for the Faith. Each book also offers vocabulary words in blod type and defined in a glossary, and a section of common Catholic prayers are at the back of the book.
Activity Book: Contains supplemental activities for each chapter. They offer the catechist (teacher) a variety of reinforcement tools for the materials found in the student text.
"Let us spare no effort in the formation of our young people"
"To help our young people to discover the courage and joy of faith, the joy of being loved personally by God, is very difficult. But when young people understand it, when young people experience it through the anointing of the Holy Spirit, this ‘being personally loved by God’ accompanies them for the rest of their lives.”
(Pope Francis at the Cathedral of St Sebastian in Rio de Janeiro on July 27, 2013)
We realize that parents are the first and foremost educators of their children, and your child's faith formation begins in the home. How you live your faith has a much greater impact and influence on your child than any one-hour program offered weekly in a classroom setting. In addition, attending Mass together each weekend teaches children more about the importance of praying together and the Eucharist, the source and summit of our faith, than any textbook lesson.
The goal of our parish Religious Education program is to assist parents by offering a quality program where children can experience and further understand the importance of their gift of faith and the incredible love of the Lord. We endeavor to proclaim and teach the Gospel of Christ as found in Sacred Scripture and the Sacred Traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, and to bring awareness of the richness of those Traditions and Catholic Doctrines.We utilize the “Faith and Life” series from Ignatius Press for grades one through eight.
“The definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ: only He can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity” (Pope John Paul II, On Catechesis In Our Time, 5)
I give the Faith and Life series my highest recommendation. We teach our children with these texts and encourage others to do the same... [It] presents the faith with clarity, depth, and great beauty.
– Scott Hahn, Steubenville, OH
I am happy to report that this series is not only complete, it possesses excellence, in a way that itself promotes the values of our holy faith. The sweep of the content fulfills all goals — everything is there, from the history of salvation across the pages of the Old and New Testaments, to sections devoted to providing young children with clear and nonthreatening explanations of the commandments, the sacraments, the moral life, and the structure of our Church. The value of prayer is assisted by a brief but complete compendium of prayers at the end of the volume. The very words unique to the Catholic faith are methodically presented and explained, and again, collected at the rear of the book for easy reference. Of particular value is the accompanying activity book which, along with the teacher's guide, provides more than ample resources for the instructor to be constantly involved in the discovery and exploration that is going on in the student's mind. And, perhaps most important, the level of writing is not condescending, but rather challenges the student to improve the mind as religious knowledge is imparted. This challenge invites the mutual participation of student and parents in the education process, a component which insures the best kind of religious education — the kind that embraces child, family and Church.
I do not believe any better series can be found to enhance the teaching of the Gospel and life in the Catholic Church for our young students and their families, and I recommend the Faith and Life series without reservation.
– Most Rev. John F. Donoghue, Archbishop Emeritus of Atlanta