FAITH

Mass

Attending Mass

OLA school and Parish community come together to pray and worship at Mass every Friday at 8 am. (Half hour service) We also gather as a school once a month to worship as a faith community. (Hour long service) We welcome parents and all to attend.

Students, teachers and staff participate in every aspect of the Mass; as lectors, altar servers, and choir members.

Every month throughout the school year, every class assists with one Sunday Family Mass at OLA Church. Family Mass is held monthly on Sundays at 9:30 am. ( to be posted soon, on hold due to Covid-19)

Practicing Catholic students who have received their First Communion may receive Eucharist during school Masses. Catholics and non-Catholics who are not prepared to receive communion are encouraged to come forward for a blessing. All students who receive Sacraments must be baptized and be members of the Catholic faith.

Sacraments

First Reconciliation & First Communion

As Catholic Christian parents we have the awesome responsibility of being the primary educators in our child’s faith development. We bring our child into the Church in Baptism so that they may begin their journey in faith with the blessings of the waters of Baptism. If your child is in Grade 2 in the Catholic School, Public School or Home School, he/she is eligible for the reception of the Sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Eucharist.

All children in Grade 2 will receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. Preparation for these two sacraments began in Kindergarten and will continue through their reception in the spring of their Second Grade year.

Confirmation

Eighth graders receive the Sacramento for Confirmation in the spring. The year-long preparation is an integral part of the eighth grade religion curriculum. Confirmation is a Sacrament in the Catholic Church in which the one who is confirmed (confirmandi) receives the gifts of the Holy Spirit through the imposition of hand and anointing with oils by the bishop. It’s considered a sacrament of initiation which means that it brings you deeper into communion with the Church, and increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

For more information contact Faith Formation at: 916-488-4626

Sacramental Life

The purpose of the seven sacraments is to make people holy, to build up the body of Christ, and to give worship to God. The sacraments impart grace, but, in addition, the very act of celebrating them disposes the faithful most effectively to receive this grace in a fruitful manner, to worship God rightly, and to practice charity.

Participating in the Sacraments is an important part of the spiritual life at OLA. All classes attend Mass weekly. During Lent, third through eighth grades partake in the Sacramento of Reconciliation. The seven sacraments are: Baptism; First Reconciliation; First Eucharist; Confirmation; Healing; Marriage; and Holy Orders.

Altar Servers

Altar servers have the privilege of assisting the priest in the sanctuary during the Mass and other liturgical functions. OLA School girls and boys can take part in the weekly Mass by being altar servers. Beginning in the fifth grade, all children are invited to train as an altar server. The training is done under the supervision of our Deacon. Students are encouraged to serve at both the school and parish Masses.

Community Service

OLA School’s mission calls for all students, teachers, and staff to provide service in the home; classroom; school; parish; community and for others, globally. Grades K-8 participates in many different service activities. OLA student assist the on campus OLA St. Vincent de Paul food locker, which serves the needy of the surrounding community.

Virtues

OLA utilizes the Education in Virtue curriculum developed by Sister John Dominic Rasmussen, OP and the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. With this curriculum, students are taught what different virtues look like, sound like, how they are defined and how they might be cultivated by students at different grade levels. They are provided with saints, prayers and Scripture stories to help illuminate virtues like affability, generosity, humility, perseverance, magnanimity and gratitude. Not only do they begin to learn the virtues, beginning in Preschool, but to apply them to situations in their lives.

Prayer Booklet for All Grades

Sequence for OLA Virtue Program

For more information please check the school’s weekly bulletin for the current virtue the children are learning and go to: www.educationinvirtue.com