Program Outline

Format

Each of the 10 sessions are 1.5 hours long and include:

• 30 min presentation
• 20-30 min discussion
• 30 min personal prayer/adoration

A crucial aspect of this approach is that participation must be entirely voluntary. This program is not intended as a mandatory, school-wide initiative but should be offered as an optional opportunity for those who choose to take part.

Topics

1. What is Formation? – The holistic model of formation according to St. Paul

Formation is more than education or professional development. St. Paul describes it as Christ being “formed in you” (Gal 4:19). This encompasses intellectual, spiritual, character, and mission-based growth. Catholic educators don’t just pass on knowledge; they shape hearts and minds to live the faith fully. Formation is not an abstract idea. It is a lived, intentional process of becoming who we are called to be in Christ.

2. Fullness of the Christian Life – Encounter, Transformation, & Mission

A Catholic education must foster an authentic encounter with Christ that leads to personal transformation and a life of mission. St. Paul urges us to be “transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom 12:2), reminding teachers that discipleship is not just intellectual but experiential. How do we help students actually encounter the living Christ so they can live and share the faith in a way that is personal and missionary?

3. Tradition – Fully living and passing on the Faith

Tradition is more than doctrine and practices—it is the transmission of a lived faith. Faith is handed down not just through words but through witness, environment, and personal formation in virtue. Teachers are not just instructors. They are participants in this ongoing mission, ensuring that students don’t just know how to explain Catholicism on a test, but become faithful disciples who build on what has been handed to them.

4. Man Fully Alive – What is the human person, temperament, character, freedom, sin, grace

Holiness is becoming fully alive in Christ. Each student has a unique temperament, strengths, and struggles that shape their discipleship journey. True formation goes beyond academics and helps students recognize their identity in Christ, conforming their will to the truths of the Gospel. Formation means strengthening virtues, healing wounds, and ordering desires toward goodness, preparing students to live fully in truth and love.

5. Prayer in Practice – Practical discernment and responding to the Holy Spirit

A living faith cannot exist without a living relationship with God. Students must be taught to pray—not just in formulas, but in personal encounter. Prayer is where God transforms the heart, and without it, discipleship becomes information rather than formation. The goal is not just teaching about Christ, but helping students experience Him. Teachers serve as witnesses, modeling prayer and guiding students toward a deep, personal relationship with Jesus.

6. Christ the Teacher – Seeing ourselves in Christ, the person of the formator in scripture

Christ is the model of every educator. He formed His disciples through His presence, patience, and personal investment. He knew His disciples and called them by name. Catholic educators are called to imitate His pedagogy—teaching not just with words but with lives shaped by faith. The authority of a teacher is not just expertise, but a personal witness to Christ’s truth and love.

7. Hot Coals – Peers, developmental psychology, and the Christian community

Students are formed not only by what they are taught but by the community they experience. Formation happens through relationships, and peer influence can either reinforce or weaken Christian identity. Teachers must intentionally cultivate a classroom culture that fosters discipleship, where faith is not just taught but lived in community. A strong, faithful peer environment creates an essential foundation for lasting formation.

8. The Environment – Beauty, order, routine, & stability

Formation also includes where and how we teach. A Catholic classroom should reflect beauty, order, and stability, mirroring the harmony of God’s truth. Just as liturgy forms the heart through sacred space and rhythm, an environment rooted in structure, reverence, and intentional design shapes students’ imaginations and cultivates an atmosphere where faith can take root and flourish.

9. God’s Pedagogy – Formation amidst life’s suffering and trials

True discipleship requires an understanding of redemptive suffering. Formation is not just about success in acquiring knowledge and skill, but even learning to grow through trials. So many of our students have trials or go through deep suffering as children. We need to be there not just to help them with emotional support, but to discover God’s hand in the hard moments of life. Teachers must guide students to see suffering through the lens of grace. The classroom becomes a place of resilience, where students discover that their personal struggles can lead them closer to God.

10. Go Make Disciples – Final review and summary

The ultimate goal of Catholic education is mission—students are sent out as disciples to transform the world. Every teacher is commissioned, to form saints. But we must be disciples first, participating in our own continual conversion. A classroom rooted in formation does not just teach students; it raises up future apostles, shaping the next generation of Christian leaders.