Holy Infant has made a serious commitment to promote lifelong faith formation and to devote our full attention to whole community catechesis.

In whole community catechesis, faith formation is not just for children. Recent church documents (the Vatican document — the General Directory for Catechesis, the US Bishop’s document on adult faith formation — Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us, and most recently, the National Directory for Catechesis) have emphasized that the primary aim of all catechesis is mature adult discipleship, yet the faith formation efforts in the majority of parishes today are almost exclusively directed at children’s catechesis.

The schooling model of religious education with a classroom and textbook-based method-
ology is in many ways deficient for the catechetical tasks that have been outlined in these documents. At Holy Infant households come to our faith formation Gatherings together. Parents are empowered to live out the promises made at their child’s Baptism to “be the first and foremost teachers of the faith and to keep the flame of faith alive.” (Rite of Baptism)

Our HI-life process is based on the Generations of Faith approach, which integrates home and parish into a comprehensive model of faith formation. Empowering and equipping individuals and families to live their faith at home and in the world are constitutive of this approach to faith formation. The Generations approach views the family as the church of the home, and a community of learning and practice. The parish-wide focus on a common theme helps build a partnership between the home and parish.

The key components of HI-life are the parish core curriculum, intergenerational parish Gatherings, home activities, and celebrations of events.

Click here for the HI-life Gatherings Schedule.

Our HI-life process aims to assist households and individuals to develop:

• know-how—acquiring the ability to participate competently in the event and to live its meaning in their lives as Catholics
• know-what—developing a fuller understanding of the event and its theological focus
• know-why—growing in their understanding of the meaning and significance of the event for their lives as Catholics

Home activities seek to:

• extend and expand the learning that has taken place through participation in the HI-life Gatherings and the actual event
• engage families and individuals in living the event at home through traditions and celebrations, rituals, symbols, prayers, service, learning activities, and enrichment activities by providing a variety of activities and resources for nurturing faith
• create a pattern of home faith sharing that becomes integral to home life and is woven into the fabric of daily life