Religion

St. Daniel the Prophet School
Religion Curriculum Overview

Foundation:

The Second Vatican Council said of education and the Church: "Education is, in a very special way, the concern of the Church…it has the duty of proclaiming the way of salvation to all men, of revealing the life of Christ to those who believe, and of assisting them with unremitting care so that they may be able to attain to the fullness of that life."

A distinctive quality of Christian education is that it tends toward the salvation of the souls of the students; it leads them to heaven. As such, St. Daniel the Prophet School places emphasis upon those means of salvation given by Christ to His Church, namely the sacraments, a life in Christ characterized by virtuous living, and personal prayer.

While following the Elementary Religion Curriculum K-8 from the Catholic Schools Office of the Diocese of Phoenix, the following makes St. Daniel the Prophet Catholic School unique:

 

Sacraments:

Mass

The children of St. Daniel the Prophet School attend daily the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Source and Summit of our Christian Faith. Because Holy Mass makes us present at that definitive moment when Jesus won for us our salvation, at St. Daniel the Prophet School the Mass is not tangential to the formation of your children; it is essential.
 

Confession

The children of St. Daniel's are taught the forgiveness of sins is an essential feature of Jesus' mission of salvation. Not only do they learn this in class, they are brought to the Sacrament of Confession, one of the ordinary means of the forgiveness of sins, once a month.

 

Life in Christ:

Through the homilies, the religion curriculum and classroom management, the children are taught that a virtuous life is a truly happy and fulfilling life on earth and in heaven. They also learn that without Christ, it is impossible to be truly virtuous; He is the fullness of the means of salvation.

The presence of men and women who have dedicated their lives to the service of Christ is highly valued and well supplied at St. Daniel the Prophet Catholic School.
The clergy interact with the school children on a regular basis.
We have been blessed to have the religious community, the Daughters of Mary Mother of the Church come to St. Daniel the Prophet Catholic School from the Philippines. The sisters teach all the religion classes in the school. This facilitates a double lesson. They learn the material as well as personally encounter a living witness of the truths of the Gospel.

 

Personal Prayer:

As personal prayer holds highest place for our eternal salvation, St. Daniel the Prophet School has a chapel with the Blessed Sacrament reserved on the school campus. Our Lord is exposed for adoration in this chapel ever Thursday and is present in the tabernacle every day for the children to come and make a visit. St. Daniel the Prophet School was the first elementary school in the Diocese of Phoenix to have a Eucharistic chapel on its campus.

At noon every day, the children meet to pray the Angelus, the ancient prayer recounting the hinge mystery of our Christian Faith, the Incarnation, God became man in Jesus Christ.

Before their meals, they pray a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the good things they have received.