St. Mary and St. Anthony Catholic Churches in Rocky Boy and Box Elder continue to catechize the youth in their parishes. The After School 21st Century program at Rocky Boy and Box Elder Schools supports the Faith Formation programs by providing transportation to the church and home on days they attend “church school”. Box Elder students attend sessions after school two times per week on Mondays and Tuesdays. Rocky Boy Students attend sessions on Wednesdays and Thursdays after school. Students also attend sessions on Sunday mornings prior to attending Mass with their families.
In March the vicarate hosted a Eucharistic Conference in Chinook, MT about 40-50 miles from St. Mary’s and St. Anthony’s. Priests from the Havre Vicarate were the presenters. It lit a fire with the attendees on the Eucharist. March was focused on Lent and Holy Week. Our Priest oversees three parishes in our rural Diocese. St. Mary’s and St. Anthony’s are located on or just off the Chippewa Cree Reservation.
This year scheduling allowed for Holy Thursday Mass at St. Mary’s as well as Big Sandy, which is 20-25 miles from Rocky Boy. This year was St. Mary’s turn for the Easter Vigil Mass. We had 7 youth receive Baptism and 6 of the 7 also receive Confirmation and their First Holy Communion at the Easter Vigil Mass. The youth are second grade or older. The Easter Season welcomed more Sacraments of Baptism’s and Completion of Initiation. The candidate continued attending Faith Formation Sessions. A joint reception for all the Candidates will be help when the bishop of the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings comes in June to St. Marys’ for Completion of Initiation. After the Easter Sunday Mass at St. Mary’s the youth and their families participated in an Easter Egg hunt.
April was focused on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. A science experiment was utilized to show how Jesus cleanses us. Three glass vessels were used. All three started out clean, without sin. One Vessel represented Jesus, one represented us, and one represented sin. We start out clean, as Baptism has washed away Original sin. The last vessel starts out clean and as sin occurs food coloring is added. It gets dirty and ugly quickly. As sins are confessed, Jesus will cleanse the sins away. The Children really enjoyed this experiment to help reinforce the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
In May, the lead Catechist/DRE was able to attend Catechesis of the Good Sheperd Level II training on the Sacraments of Initiation. Currently the Sadlier Sacrament Program for the Restored Order for Sacrament Prep is used to prepare the candidates. The Catechesis of the Good Sheperd Atrium continues to be a work in progress. The presentations are used to supplement the Faith Formation program. One of the presentations used for Confirmation prep is the presentation on Pentecost. The children are presented with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and choose which gift of the Holy Spirit they would like to receive that day. An end of the school year celebration is also held on the last day.
Thank you for supporting St. Mary and St. Anthony’s faith formation program. It is with your support and prayers that we are planting the seeds of faith for the youth and their families to grow in their relationship with the Blessed Trinity!
