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🕯️Passing on the Faith: Home, School and Parish

Aug 17
6 min read

Updated: Aug 20

mother passing on lit candle to daughter. Passing on the Faith.

Catholic Education Sunday reminds us that forming the next generation in faith is a shared mission. From the home to the Catholic school and parish community, each of us has a part to play in helping our young encounter Christ and grow into lifelong disciples.

Passing on the Faith


As Moses stood before the Israelites on the threshold of the Promised Land, he reminded them of something essential for the generations that would follow: they must remember what God had done for them and faithfully pass it on.

 

“Only be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen… Teach them to your children and to their children after them” (Deuteronomy 4:9).
 
“Impress them on your children… when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7).

 

Faith is not something we receive and keep for ourselves. It is handed on from one generation to the next, through what we teach, how we live and the witness we give. This responsibility begins in the home, but families do not undertake it alone. Parents, schools and parish communities each have a part to play in helping our young encounter Christ and grow as His disciples.

 

This shared mission lies at the heart of what we celebrate on Catholic Education Sunday.


It Takes A Village: Home, School and Parish


It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child. In the life of faith, this is especially true: faith is nurtured through the shared witness of home, school and parish.

 

Parents are the first teachers of faith. Through daily prayer, conversations, example and the way faith is lived at home, children begin to discover what it means to know and love God.

 

Catholic schools support this foundation by creating an environment where faith is woven into learning, relationships, service and the formation of the whole person. They help our young see how faith can be lived and integrated into every aspect of their lives.


 

The parish community accompanies this journey, providing a spiritual home where children and their families worship, receive the sacraments, grow in faith and experience what it means to belong to the wider Body of Christ.

 

Home, school and parish therefore each play distinct but complementary roles. When they journey together, our young are surrounded by a “village of faith” that helps them not only learn about Christ, but encounter Him and grow as His disciples.


A Shared Heritage: St Bernadette & CHIJ Kellock


For the Church of St Bernadette, the relationship between parish and school is also part of our own history.


In 1964, the Sisters of the Infant Jesus established Kellock Convent School within the grounds of the Church of St Bernadette. For many years, the school and parish shared not only the same grounds, but also a common desire to nurture the young in faith and help them grow in the love of God.

 

In many ways, this reflected a kind of kampung spirit — a lived expression of “it takes a village to raise a child” — where the church grounds were not only a place of worship, but also a school, a gathering space, and a home away from home for the community.

 

Though CHIJ Kellock has since moved to Bukit Teresa Road, this shared history offers us a meaningful reminder of the close relationship that can exist between school and parish, each supporting families in the formation of their children.


This Catholic Education Sunday, that connection takes on special significance as we welcome the students of CHIJ Kellock to St Bernadette. They will join our Sunday, 23 August, 10.00am Mass, serving in various liturgical roles.

 

Their presence among us is more than a return to familiar ground. It is an opportunity to celebrate our shared heritage and, more importantly, to look forward to how home, school and parish can continue to journey together in forming the next generation in faith.



Photos from past Catholic Education Sundays

Reflection Question:

"What can the relationship between home, school

and parish look like today?"

Catholic Education Sunday: Many Schools, One Mission


Across Singapore, our Catholic schools have different histories, traditions and charisms. Yet amid this rich diversity, they share a common mission: to form the whole person, helping our young discover their identity as children of God, experience His unconditional love, and grow into people of faith, integrity and service.

 

 

Catholic Education Sunday gives the wider Church an opportunity to celebrate this shared mission and give thanks for all who participate in it.

 

As the students of CHIJ Kellock serve alongside members of our parish community this Catholic Education Sunday, we see something of that mission made visible: different parts of the Church coming together for the formation of the next generation.


Formation for Life: Beyond the School Years


The work of formation does not end when a child leaves school or even when they receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. While Confirmation is sometimes mistakenly seen as a “graduation” from faith formation, it is instead a strengthening for mission and another stage in a lifelong journey with Christ.

 

 The same village of faith continues to accompany us through different stages of life. At St Berns, our Catechetical Ministry accompanies children and young people, while Youth Cell Groups provide a bridge for post-Confirmation youth and young adults. RCIA accompanies adults discovering the Catholic faith and through mystagogy after Baptism, while the Bible Apostolate Team provides opportunities to deepen our understanding of Scripture.

 

These are different expressions of the same mission:

helping one another grow in faith throughout life.


The seeds planted in the home and nurtured through school and parish are not intended simply for childhood, but to take root and bear fruit in a lifelong relationship with Christ.


A Prayer for Our Educators


Are you an educator?

This Catholic Education Sunday on 23 Aug 2026, we give thanks for all who have answered the call to teach, guide and accompany the young.

 

Prayer of Blessing for Catholic Educators

Lord Jesus, you are our Good Shepherd.

Pour forth your Spirit on all Catholic educators,

whom you have called and chosen.

Give them a mind of wisdom and discernment,

a heart full of love and compassion,

a face of gentleness and patience,

a voice to teach and encourage,

and hands to comfort and lead.

Guide and empower them to be good role models,

to inspire and shepherd those entrusted to their care.

Strengthen them in adversity to be steadfast in the Gospel values.

Bless also those in leadership roles:

strengthen their faith and lead them in your footsteps of servant leadership,

so that through their stewardship,

those in their charge may come to know your love and salvation.

May our Catholic schools be beacons for formation,

where men and women of integrity and talent are raised,

to further your loving purpose of redemption

by their contributions to the world.

Amen.

 

Prayer by His Eminence Cardinal William Goh, provided by the Archdiocesan Commission for Catholic Schools (ACCS) for Catholic Education Sunday 2026.


Many Parts, One Body: Our Part in Passing on the Faith


From parents and grandparents to teachers, catechists, priests, religious, sponsors, ministry members and fellow parishioners, each of us has a part to play in helping faith take root and grow in the lives of others.

 

This is also at the heart of our parish journey of

Creating Christ Encounters: Many Parts, One Body.


We may accompany others in different ways and at different stages of life, but together we share one mission: to help one another encounter Christ, grow as His disciples and pass on the gift of faith.

 

For some, this may mean nurturing faith within the home. For others, it may be accompanying a child or young person, serving as a catechist, journeying with someone through RCIA, sharing Scripture, offering friendship, or simply being a faithful witness to Christ in everyday life.


 

Our parish mission calls us to be a spring of living water in the city, where all are welcome to encounter God. We become that spring when each part of the Body contributes its gifts and helps create places where faith can be encountered, nurtured and shared.

 

This Catholic Education Sunday, let us give thanks for all who have helped to form us in faith, and pray for those entrusted with forming the generations that come after us. May we also ask ourselves:

Reflection Question:

Who helped to pass the faith on to me?

How might God be calling me to pass it on to someone else?


Each of us has a place in this village of faith.

What part will you play?






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