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Our Catholic Identity

St. Malachy School is, first and foremost, a Catholic School. Christian values permeate classroom instruction and guide interaction between faculty, staff and students. Catholic doctrine and tradition are taught directly in Religion class. We encourage all students to answer the call to discipleship by following Jesus' example of service to others.

Students of every faith are welcome at St. Malachy School; 

St. Malachy School's Spiritual Development Plan



Mass and the Eucharist

The Mass and the Eucharist are central to our Catholic identity. Students attend Mass weekly. Those who have received the Sacrament of First Eucharist may receive communion. Younger students, and those who are not Catholic, are invited to receive a special blessing from the priest, deacon or Eucharistic minister. 

Students in third through sixth grade prepare and present the liturgy. They read during the Liturgy of the Word, serve as gift bearers, sing in the choir, and fifth and sixth graders participate as altar servers.

Family and friends are invited to join us for our school Masses on Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m.






Seasonal Activities

St. Malachy School celebrates the Church's liturgical seasons with a variety of special activities. During Advent, the four weeks before Christmas, the entire school gathers each Monday for a teacher-led prayer service to sing, pray, and light the candles of the Advent wreath. Because we are a Catholic school, we focus on Jesus' birth. Our annual Christmas program is a collaborative effort of the entire staff and student body. The production spotlights Jesus--the real reason for the season. We also celebrate together as a school family by gathering on the last day of school before Christmas break to sing Christmas carols and hold a school-wide Secret Santa gift exchange.




 
 Lent is the forty days before Easter when we focus on simple living, prayer and fasting to grow closer to God.  During Lent, in addition to the classroom teachers' instruction about this important season, we attend the Stations of the Cross as a school; and the third grade class prepares and presents a moving shadow play presentation of the Way of the Cross.





Mary and the Saints

As Catholics, we worship God alone. We do, however, venerate Mary. In other words, we honor our Blessed Mother with great reverence and devotion because she is the Mother of God. One of the most common ways we honor Mary and ask her to pray to Jesus on our behalf is by praying the rosary. The Rosary is a Scripture-based prayer beginning with the Apostles' Creed, a prayer that summarizes the great mysteries of the Catholic faith. The Our Father, which introduces each mystery of the rosary, is from the Gospels. Each decade includes the recitation of ten Hail Mary's. The Mysteries of the Rosary center on the events of Christ's life: Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and––added by Pope John Paul II in 2002––the Luminous.

As Catholics we study and try to follow the example of living the Christian life in the Saints. St. Malachy students learn about the lives of many different Saints and we often celebrate their feast days at our weekly school Masses.









Reconciliation

The Sacrament of Reconciliation, also known as Confession or Penance, invites us to admit that we are all sinners but that we may seek forgiveness and reconcile with God. Second graders receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the fall. Third through sixth grades go to confession during the season of Lent. The entire school participates in Reconciliation prayer services in order to recognize the areas in our lives where we fall short so that we might walk hand in hand with God in our daily lives.



Our Patron Saint


St. Malachy was born in Armagh, Ireland in the year 1094. He entered the religious life upon the death of his parents and was ordained a priest at age 25, a bishop at age 30 and an archbishop by age 35. St. Malachy was known as both a healer and a miracle worker. He was sometimes able to cure the sick and suffering by simply laying hands on them; and is also well known for his gift of prophecy. 

He died November 2, 1148 and was the first Irish saint to be canonized by the Church on July 6, 1190.

www.catholicsaints.info