A Classical School in Harmony with Catholic Tradition.
Religion
The purpose of the religion curriculum at St. Anthony Academy is to give our students a concise knowledge of the doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church as they have been passed down to us by the Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles, and as they have been believed ubique, semper, et ab omnibus (everywhere, always and by all).
According to St. Alphonsus Liguori, prayer is the key to salvation. As such, prayer is a part of the daily schedule at St. Anthony Academy. We begin our day with morning prayers, say a prayer before the beginning of each class, and most importantly, say a daily rosary. Students are required to memorize the prayers that every Catholic should know, some of these in Latin.
In promoting a Catholic culture in our school, we also recognize the events of the liturgical year e.g. we visit a cemetery and pray for the poor souls in November, create a Jesse Tree in December, and pray the Stations of the Cross during Lent. The saints are studied throughout the year, but especially in October, leading up to All Saints Day on November 1st. And while we want our students to recognize that prayer and sacrifice are necessary to our salvation, we also want them to feel the joy of their faith. Thus, we celebrate special feast days with parties and games throughout the year. All of these things work together to teach our children to know and love their Catholic faith.
All students take a daily religion class. The focus in the kindergarten through second grade is preparation for First Holy Communion. The students memorize questions and answers from Baltimore Catechism One to give them their first foundation of the doctrines of the Church. Teachers read stories to them, and students color pictures that cultivate in them a love for Christ and His saints.
In third through eighth grades, the students study Baltimore Catechisms Two and Three, learning the tenets of the Faith in greater and greater depth. They also study the Traditional Latin Mass, Bible history, and Church history. In Upper School, they take a basic Apologetics course.
Book List:
- Baltimore Catechism, 1-3 (Third Plenary Council of Baltimore 1885)
- Highway to Heaven Series (Bruce Publishing Co. 1931)
- The Catechism in Examples (Chisholm 1919)
- Leading the Little Ones to Mary (Lelia 1959)
- Our Holy Faith: A Religion Series for Elementary Schools (Elwell 1959)
- My Catholic Faith (Morrow 1949)
- Bible History (Schuster 1959)
- The Story of the Church (Johnson/Hannan/Dominica 1935)
- Radio Replies (Rumble/Carty 1940)
- A Course in Religion (Father John Laux, M.A.)
- Latin-English Booklet Missal for Praying the Traditional Latin Mass (Coalition in Support of Ecclesia Dei)
