PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The St. Thomas More Parish Confirmation Program is a two-year program designed to provide participants with sufficient spiritual and academic preparation to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. The program meets the guidelines of the Archdiocese of Boston for the reception of Confirmation. The Director for Confirmation is appointed by the Pastor of the parish and is responsible for planning, implementing and directing all facets of the program.

Candidates for the sacrament are required to actively participate in both years of the program and to follow all of the established policies and requirements of the parish program. The first year of the program is called Confirmation I and contains primarily ninth grade students. The second year of the program is called Confirmation II and contains primarily tenth grade students. Each year the Confirmation I and Confirmation II candidates are scheduled for a group day of recollection and 11 sessions of small group catechesis with a class leader.

Parents must register their children in the program. All student participants and parents must contribute to the effectiveness and strength of the program. Parents and students must honestly seek to use the program as a means to discover and experience the great truths of God and the Roman Catholic Church. The program is designed to help all associated with it to freely and personally examine their baptismal call and to search for God's place in their lives. Primarily students do this by actively developing their own spiritual life, by partaking in the spiritual life of the parish, and by appropriately participating in the academic, spiritual, and the Christian service requirements of the program. Parents effectively participate in the program by actively developing their own spiritual life, by partaking in the spiritual life of the parish, by supporting the formal program of Sacramental preparation, and by witnessing their faith in the example they set for their children. Parents have the primary responsibility for preparing their child for reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation. The program assists and supports the parents in fulfilling their role.

Volunteer class leaders conduct the Confirmation classes. They are provided with extensive resources and training by the parish. All class leaders, students, and parents work together to develop a faith community that fosters significant personal academic and spiritual growth.

THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

"Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation, together constitute the sacraments of Christian initiation. By the Sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized are more perfectly bound to the church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of Baptismal grace:

Preparation for Confirmation should aim at leading the Christian towards more intimate union with Christ and a more lively familiarity with the Holy Spirit. Further, this catechesis should strive to awaken a sense of belonging to the universal church and to the parish community."

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF STMP CONFIRMATION PROGRAM

At the end of the program the parish hopes each student participant will;

CLASS SCHEDULES AND CANCELLATIONS

Each class leader and family participating in the program will receive the program calendar at the beginning of September. The calendar contains all the weeks in which classes will take place. Individual teachers choose the day and the time the class will meet during that week. All classes should occur during the week scheduled. All classes will take place either in the teacher's home or the Church hall. All home classes last 75 minutes. Teachers will contact students regarding all class information. Any cancelled classes must be made up.

STUDENT ATTENDANCE POLICY

By entering the St. Thomas More Confirmation Program both the student and the parents have made a statement that participation in the program is a priority in their life. Student attendance at the class sessions and the group day of recollection is mandatory to fulfill this priority.

There are a maximum of 11 small group sessions scheduled for Confirmation I and Confirmation II each year. Students can miss no more than three sessions in each year. After the third absence students must make-up lessons that are missed. Parents are responsible for teaching all make-up lessons that are required as a result of a student having more than three absences. Parents must pick up at the rectory the lesson to be made up and then submit their son's/daughter's completed work.

When a student has two absences the parents and student will receive a reminder of the attendance policy. On the third absence the student and the parent will again be informed of the attendance policy and procedures for make-up lessons. Failure to make-up lessons will require a meeting with the Director for Confirmation to rectify the situation. Any student that has missed 5 sessions will need to repeat the entire year of the program.

Since the program has strict attendance requirements students should not miss class for insignificant reasons. Absences should be reserved for serious illness, important family events, or other significant conflicts. On occasion a student may try to avoid missing a lesson by participating in another class scheduled for another day and time during the same week as the missed class lesson. No teacher is required to go through extraordinary means to facilitate this process. The student's primary responsibility remains attending the class of which s/he is a member.

A parent should call the teacher before the start of class to inform the teacher if his/her child is going to be absent from the class.

CHRISTIAN SERVICE POLICY

We believe that we are saved through the merits of Jesus Christ. We also believe that our faith in Jesus Christ calls us to live in greater harmony with one another as well as living in relationship with God. St. Paul says that faith without good works is empty. Therefore, we encourage all of the participants in the Confirmation Program to act on their faith that they have and are developing by serving other people in the name of Jesus Christ. The specific requirements of the policy are explained to the students and parents at the beginning of Confirmation I. That instruction will include specific types of work that can be done and examples of where that work can be fulfilled. Prior to receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation students will complete several significant acts of Christian Service, which together must take at least 15 hours of time. All Christian service must come from one of the spiritual or corporal works of mercy. "The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his/her spiritual and bodily necessities." (From the Catechism of the Catholic Church) Among other things the spiritual works of mercy include instructing and advising and the corporal works of mercy include feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, assisting the poor and working for justice. The Christian Service may come from different types of works or the same type of work. Participants will also be required to complete a reflection booklet, which will require them to describe and reflect on the service that they completed and to read and reflect on some Scripture passages on service. Christian Service is different from community service. While both are noble, one deals with civic virtue and the other develops spiritual virtue. Similarly one is designed to promote good social order, while the other is a personal response to faith and God's call.