Spiritual Life

Our Catholic faith is the center of our teaching at St. Raphael School. Catholic Christian values are integrated into every area of our curriculum. Some ways our faith is manifested include:

• A strong Catholic environment with Crosses, Statues of Mary, a prayer table, and a bulletin board devoted to religion in every room
• Daily religion class
• Daily prayer in every class
• Students attend daily Mass once each week and whole school monthly Masses
• Morning assembly with the Pledge to the Cross, Pledge of Allegiance and a patriotic song
• Sacramental preparation
• Every class learns a weekly Bible verse in our scripture program
• The Sunday gospel is introduced in classes each Friday
• Family Life
• Daily recitation of a decade of the Rosary each day in October and May
• The Living Rosary
• The eighth grade students lead the Stations of the Cross each Friday during Lent
• Seasonal prayer services (Our Lady of Guadalupe, Lent, May Crowning)
• Advent Wreath prayers each week during Advent
• Monthly religion themes (gratitude, thanksgiving, kindness, etc.)
• Training for altar servers and lectors
• Guest speakers on vocations and Missions
• Every class makes cards, letters, or crafts for a community group each month for our outreach program
• Food collected for Catholic Charities
• Community outreach
• Collections for world tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina, Earthquake in Haiti, or the Tea Fire
• Conflict resolution skills are fostered through class meetings incorporating Gospel values
• Retreats for grades 5 - 8
• Participation in the parish youth group for junior high students
• The Columbian Mission program