OUR GOALS FOR HIGH SCHOOL MINISTRY:

• To accompany teens as they continue growing in knowledge and love of God and His Church
• To hold conversations that explore the truth and beauty of our faith, and allow these youth to make applications that form how they live
• To help these youth see God's presence in their lives and power in the sacraments
• That these youth would have active prayer lives
• That these youth would encounter the Lord, and live as His disciples, joyfully living in the Spirit, as sons and daughters of the Father

 

NUESTRAS METAS PARA EL MINISTERIO DE LA ESCUELA SECUNDARIA:

• Acompañar a los adolescentes mientras continúan creciendo en conocimiento y amor de Dios y Su Iglesia.
• Mantener conversaciones que exploren la verdad y la belleza de nuestra fe, y permitir que estos jóvenes hagan aplicaciones que formen la forma en que viven.
• Ayudar a estos jóvenes a ver la presencia de Dios en sus vidas y el poder de los sacramentos.
• Que estos jóvenes tengan vidas de oración activas
• Que estos jóvenes se encuentren con el Señor y vivan como sus discípulos, viviendo con gozo en el Espíritu, como hijos e hijas del Padre.

 This coming February, youth from all over the Diocese will gather at the Waco Convention Center for our Diocescan Catholic Youth Conference.

This event will be filled with national speakers and musicians, breakout sessions, times of community, fun, and prayer. Come and have your faith revived as we celebrate what it means to be Called By Name and known by our merciful God!

Mark your calendars for February 4th - 6th! Registration opens soon! Email youthministry@stlouiswaco.com for more information. 

What is Confirmation? - Confirmation is the sacrament in which we receive the fullness of our baptismal graces and a new outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This sacrament also brings us fully into God's family, the Church. These graces enable us to live out our Catholic faith as sons and daughters of the Father. Confirmation is a beautiful beginning to full communion with God and helps us journey toward heaven and witness to the faith with our lives. 

Who can be confirmed at St Louis? - The Diocese of Austin states that for a student to be eligible to receive the sacrament of Confirmation they should have reached the 10th grade and must have completed at least 2 consecutive years of faith formation, leading up to the year in which they are confirmed. To receive credit for the 2021 - 2022 year of faith formation, the student must have completed more than 70% of the Sunday Confirmation preparation classes or 70% of their Discipleship Group times. To recieve credit for previous years, the student must have attended at least 70% of the weekly faith formation classes.
  If a student meets these requirements, they can then request to meet with the youth ministers and priests to determine their readiness to receive the sacrament. The meeting to determine the student's readiness for confirmation should take place in the school year they hope to be confirmed or as scheduled by the youth ministry office,  before specific confirmation preparation classes begin in the spring semester. 

What does Confirmation preparation include? -   Once a student is approved to enter into the more intensive period of sacramental preparation for confirmation, their formation will consist of a weekend retreat, 4 hour and a half weekday sessions, a day retreat, and a rehearsal. These classes will be in additon to the Sunday confirmation preparation sessions and/or Discipleship Groups that students are already participating in. This is to more deeply and intentionally enter into formation just before receiving the sacrament.  As with other sacramental preparation at the parish, parent involvement is a required part of formation. A parent will be expected to attend a confirmation parent meeting and the first weekday session with their student. A parent or sponsor is required to attend the day retreat and confirmation rehearsal. 

This plan for Confirmation is for students who have already been baptized and received their First Communion.
For more information about Confirmation for high school youth, email youthministry@stlouis.com or call the youth ministry team at 254-374-5224.

Important Dates for Confirmation Prep, spring 2022:

• Confirmation Retreat - February 19 - 20th - Saturday - Sunday (subject to change based of retreat center availability)
• Session 1 - Wednesday, March 2nd - 7 - 8:30 pm (JPII Building) 
• Session 2 - Wednesday, March 16th - 7 - 8:30 pm (JPII Building)
• Session 3 - Wednesday, March 30th - 7 - 8:30 pm (JPII Building) 
• Session 4 - Wednesday, April 13th - 7 - 8:30 pm (JPII Building)
• Reflection and Rehersal - Wednesday, April 20th - 7 - 8:30 pm 
• Confirmation Mass - Saturday, April 23rd, 2022 - 10 am

 All youth ministry and faith formation is meant to be an addition to the way the Catholic faith is already being taught and modeled within the home, because parents are the first and primary educators of the faith of their children. This obiligation flows from their own personal baptismal promises and the promises they made on their wedding day to bring their children up "according to the law of Christ and His Church." For this reason, parent participation at information meetings, especially during the years of sacramental preparation for first communion and confirmation, is required. As part of this formation, it is expected that students and damilies attend Mass every Sunday and participate in the sacramental and communal life of the Church. It is through entering into the Mass and living as a part of their Church family that your children will encoutner the true source of formation,  Our Lord Jesus Christ.

   Parents are required to take part in their student formation and sacramental preparation by participating in classroom formation and at home. Families and students are required to attend Mass every Sunday at St Louis Church. Mass attendance will be monitored. Students who do not attend Mass on Sundays will not be able to move forward to the next level of instruction. 
 

 Todo el ministerio de jóvenes y la formación en la fe están destinados a ser una adición a la forma en que la fe católica ya se está enseñando y modelando en el hogar, porque los padres son los primeros y principales educadores de la fe de sus hijos. Esta obligación fluye de sus propias promesas bautismales personales y las promesas que hicieron el día de su boda de criar a sus hijos "de acuerdo con la ley de Cristo y Su Iglesia". Por esta razón, se requiere la participación de los padres en las reuniones de información, especialmente durante los años de preparación sacramental para la primera comunión y la confirmación. Como parte de esta formación, se espera que los estudiantes y las madres asistan a misa todos los domingos y participen en la vida sacramental y comunitaria de la Iglesia. Es entrando en la Misa y viviendo como parte de la familia de la Iglesia que sus hijos inculcarán la verdadera fuente de formación, Nuestro Señor Jesucristo.

 Se requiere que los padres participen en la formación de sus estudiantes y la preparación sacramental participando en la formación en el aula y en casa. Se requiere que las familias y los estudiantes asistan a misa todos los domingos en la iglesia de St Louis. Se controlará la asistencia a la misa. Los estudiantes que no asistan a misa los domingos no podrán avanzar al siguiente nivel de instrucción.