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Moral Formation is the third religion standard given to all Catholic parishes and schools to use in their faith formation programs from the Archdiocese.
MORAL FORMATION:
Helping children to recognize, understand, and express
that each person is called as a disciple of Jesus
to love, forgive, and serve others.
(A) Understand the "Great Commandment" of Jesus.
First students are taught the Great Commandment (to love God without reserve!), then given a variety of ways to apply the Great Commandment to daily life, and, finally, shown how this commandment can help them in their decision making.
(B) Understand the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the moral teachings of the Church, and live according to them.
Children learn to recognize the Commandments, Beatitudes, Works of Mercy, and Catholic Social Teachings and how these can be used to live a moral life. Discussions occur around daily life situations whereby teachers and parents can cite the above teachings. Moral questions are raised: Why do we choose to do good? Why do we act for others? Why do we seek out ways to help others? If we harm someone or someone's property, what must we respectfully do to make restitution?
(C) Understand the dignity, destiny, freedom, and responsibility of each person.
Teachers help children to develop a relationship with Jesus. They do this through prayer, stories, pictures, and sharing their personal relationship with Jesus and what He means in their lives. Through this, we help them to understand they must treat themselves respectfully and be good stewards of all of God's creation. We expect our students to reflect on their lives and how they choose to live them. They might journal, talk in small groups, discuss in class, and have home talks around these moral teachings.
(D) Understand the meaning and nature of sin and the power of God's grace to overcome.
With God's grace, a conversion of heart can come with time. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is celebrated in the 2nd grade, and Father Magnuson recently visited the students to help prepare them for this sacrament. Stories, such as the Good Shepherd, help children to understand God's mercy and compassion. An examination of conscience is done for grades 3 - 8 to prepare students for Reconciliation during Advent & Lent.
(E) Learn how to acquire and follow a well-formed conscience.
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In preparation for Penance (reconciliation), teachers use reflections and prayer to ask God to help students to know right from wrong. Samples of TV commercials are shown to help students critique the values and behaviors that are promoted in our society. This real life application helps them to see how a moral life can be lived in today's world.
(F) Promote the Gospel of Life so that respecting life from
conception until natural death is honored in personal
behavior, public policy, and in the values and attitudes of our society.
Life is to be respected - from birth through death - and this is expressed and taught in a variety of ways. The biggest way is to be respectful to all. Students enter a Respect Life Poster Contest and are given a presentation on how important it is to value themselves and others. Fairness and justice are issues that are used to describe peer and family relationships, sports, and playground activities.
(G) Live a lifestyle reflecting scriptural values.
Parents and teachers are the biggest role models our students have. The way adults interact with each other is the way students will learn to treat their friends. Parent and teachers who model a generous spirit - whether it is time, talent, or treasure - have a huge impact on students. Our children learn to be merciful, compassionate, and just from the adults who surround them in their everyday lives.
The Moral Formation Standard is about walking in the footsteps of Jesus. It takes all of us helping our young people to follow Jesus, to love, forgive, and serve others. As adults, we can help our children to know what to do by sometimes saying aloud as we are making decisions, "What would Jesus do?"
It's about good habits that we want to help foster in our children. It takes Religion classes, lots of adult role models, going to Confession (penance/reconciliation), attending Mass, receiving the Eucharist, daily prayer, and community prayer. We may not always have an answer for a question that a child may raise, but a sincere and deep trust in God will go a long way with our children in nurturing the development of their faith.
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