Confirmation classes at St. Bernard's -- The next class will be open for enrollment in the Fall of 2024. Interested parents are encouraged to contact the secretary's office as early as June 2024.

The Confirmation program is a 2-year program. Candidates should ideally be at least 14 years of age.

Each community in the ESM is responsible for organizing their own small groups and recruiting volunteer catechists. Catechists are trained through the ESM and are required to adhere to child protection laws.

Classes at St. Bernard's

Curriculum at St. Bernard's:

• Begins with Teen T3 Bible Timeline series to build Bible literacy
• Continues by introducing candidates to the intellectual heritage of the Church by exploring six great ideas Truth, Goodness, Beauty, Justice, Freedom, Equality. The students are encouraged to wrestle with the question of the relationship between faith and reason.
• Draws on the writings of Aristotle, Plato, Augustine, Plotinus, Thomas Aquinas, Vatican II and others to expose the candidates to the philosophical and theological framework of Catholic doctrine. Candidates will build a portfolio of reading material from the Aristotle's Physics and Metaphysics, Plato's Timaeus, Aristotle's Nicomachaen Ethics, Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theol. and Contra Gentiles, as well as magisterial documents such as Rerum novarum, Gaudium et Spes, etc.
• Uses literature (especially Dante's Divine Comedy) and/or the fine arts to link the theory of the great ideas to their expressions in Catholic culture.
• Fr. Augustine Wetta's "Humility Rules" introduces the students to the Rule of St. Benedict.
• The prayer life of candidates is encouraged, especially by communal praying of the Rosary in connection with art reflections on the Mysteries. In addition, off-site retreats are organized whenever possible.
• Service opportunities encourage candidates to live their faith in the world.
• If pandemic condition require it, classes take place primarily at St. Bernard's to allow for distancing.