Religious education is, first and foremost, the leading of another person to Jesus Christ. An encounter with Christ begins when a person is evangelized with the Gospel message – the “Good News” – that Jesus preached and the Church proclaims. The hearer accepts the message and asks to be baptized so as to enter into the Sacred life of the Church Community. Once Baptized, the new Christian is catechized and then sacramentalized, experiencing a deeper education about the faith and the formal reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist, which, with Baptism, fully initiate the Christian into the faith life of the Catholic Church; the Community of believers. The Christian experiences continual conversion and renewal in their faith beginning with an acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and maturing throughout life into a personal relationship of faith and trust in Him.
The religious education program at St Paul Owosso seeks to collaborate with and supplement the efforts of the religious formation already taking place in the home, which is the domestic church. Parents are the first and primary educators of their children. Religious education assists parents in the Catholic faith formation of their children. We provide a loving and safe environment where faith may be shared and encouraged to bloom and grow. We provide the tools of catechesis so young people know what Jesus taught and the Church continues to teach. We prepare them for the reception of the Sacraments of the Church which Christ instituted. We walk with them through our presence into a mature, lifelong Catholic faith through education, prayer, Sacrament, and especially love, into His Presence.