Family Faith Formation

At Holy Ghost – St. Bernadette, we grow in faith together—as families. Our program invites parents and children to explore the Catholic faith side by side, learning, praying, and living it out at home and in the parish.

Pope Leo XIII reminds us: “Join in the work of the whole Church…help families embrace the faith and become in turn fishers of other families.”

Faith isn’t just about answers—it’s about encounter. Listening, walking together, and discovering God’s love in every story. Through Family Religious Education, we support one another in nurturing joy, communion, and lasting faith in our homes and community. If you have any questions please call the parish office or email our Evangelization and Catechesis Coordinator, Evan Collins at ecollins@bernadetteholyghost.org

Our Formation Materials:

A Family of Faith 

 To guide our families in this journey, we use the A Family of Faith program developed by the Sophia Institute for Teachers. This comprehensive curriculum is designed to help families grow in faith together, with materials that are both engaging and accessible. 

Structured Four-Year Cycle: The program is organized into four pillars, each focusing on different aspects of the Catholic faith, ensuring a well-rounded formation over time. Each year's pillar is one of the four sections of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: 

1. The Profession of Faith 

2. The Sacraments

3. The Life in Christ

4. Prayer

Monthly Families Community Meeting: Families gather monthly to engage in a community gathering. Sometimes this consists of discussions, activities, and reflections that deepen their understanding and practice of the faith or a fun communal opportunity to enter into our Catholic culture together. 

Monthly Adult Meeting: Each month the parents gather to engage in their own faith, exploring the realities they will be teaching their children in an environment that helps them deepen their understanding of what they will be teaching their children the upcoming month.

At-Home Activities: Each session includes activities that families can decide to do together at home, reinforcing the chosen lessons and fostering spiritual growth in the domestic church in a way that can fit the pace of learning for your child. You know your children best and can help make sure they are not getting a fire hose of information when they need a glass of water, everything truly learned is a rock of faith that gives your child a firm foundation throughout their life. 

Age-Appropriate Materials: The program provides resources tailored to different age groups, ensuring that children of all ages can participate meaningfully. In the Parent's Guide, there are Age Level and recommended times given to help the parent's with pacing. 

Liturgical Integration: Sophia has done their best to make sure the activities are aligned with the liturgical calendar, helping families connect their faith formation with the rhythms of the Church year. 

By utilizing A Family of Faith, we aim to create a vibrant community where families support each other in their spiritual journeys, growing closer to Christ and to one another. 

Sacramental Preparation 

First Reconciliation and First Communion

For our 2nd graders preparing for First Reconciliation and First Communion, we use the Blessed program by Dynamic Catholic. Blessed is engaging while being designed to meet the children (and a parent who attends the classes and retreats alongside them) where they are and lead them to where God is calling them to be. We have two retreats during our regular Religious Education time, one for each sacrament.

This is an absolutely essential and foundational time for the faith formation of our children. Our Blessed Lord said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matthew 19:14). By giving our children, once they reach the age of reason, the opportunity to encounter the healing mercy of Jesus in the sacrament of reconciliation we give them the lifelong chance to continue coming to Jesus any time they fall short: free from shame and free from sin. By bringing our children to the altar we allow them to participate in the greatest mystery of our faith: the Holy Eucharist. Upon their first communion, each of these children can continue to come to Jesus each Sunday, sometimes even daily, and receive His Real Presence (Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity) in the consecrated host. 

The Second Vatican Council said, "The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life" (Lumen Gentium 11). In the Eucharist we encounter the Risen Jesus and our united with the heavenly liturgy alongside the angels and saints. What a joy to prepare the children for such a great, life-changing mystery. We look forward to seeing them receive Jesus each Sunday as they grow in His love year by year within our community of faith.

Confirmation

Our Confirmation preparation is centered around shared meals and meaningful conversations. Each class gathers over a dinner lovingly prepared by our parish community, creating a welcoming environment for our 7th and 8th graders. 

These dinners are more than just meals—they are opportunities for intentional dialogue with faithful adult Catholics from our parish and the broader Archdiocese of Omaha. The intentional conversations are thoughtfully structured to help candidates encounter the Person of Jesus Christ, understand the reality of the Holy Spirit, and embrace the new life we receive in the Church through the sacraments. The 8th graders will also attend a retreat, put on with the loving assistance of Gross Catholic students and their campus minister.

The format of this formation is designed to foster authentic relationships and facilitate discussions that deepen faith. Through this approach, we aim to guide our young people toward a personal encounter with Christ, preparing them to renew their baptismal promises with faith and trust in God.

The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults says, "Confirmation deepens our baptismal life that calls us to be missionary witnesses of Jesus Christ in our families, neighborhoods, society, and the world...We receive the message of faith in a deeper and more intensive manner with great emphasis given to the person of Jesus Christ, who asked the Father to give the Holy Spirit to the Church for building up the community in loving service." At Confirmation our faith is strengthened through a special sacramental grace while praying for an increase in the gifts of the spirit. We embrace service in the spirit of Jesus. As such it is expected that those preparing for Confirmation will throw themselves into service at the personal, parish, and local level, all the while bearing witness to Jesus in words and deeds particularly embracing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy in their lives. 

Some general opportunities for those preparing for Confirmation to take on a spiritual and material mindset of service is joining our Junior Legion of Mary or helping adults with the St. Vincent de Paul society. Our parish family has many events and activities that each can only be possible based upon the loving commitment of families and members of the community to putting them on. It is expected that those preparing for the sacrament will be willingly volunteering to help with the the Pasta Dinner, the Turkey Dinner, the Chicken Dinners, the Lenten Fish Frys, and various others throughout the year. We will also organize two intentional "mission" days where we will embrace an opportunity for service within our Archdiocese. 

By the time they are confirmed, we hope each candidate is ready to fully embrace their role in the Church, committed to living out their faith with joy and conviction as a part of our Holy Ghost - St. Bernadette family or wherever the Father leads them in His plans for their lives.