We sincerely appreciate your survey responses submitted after the completion of each MAT Course. These offer great insight which, in turn, further enable our team to better serve you as we partner with you in your continuing Adult Faith Formation. In response, we would like to offer some tips which address common themes found in the surveys, as well as questions received via email and phone calls. We hope these tips provide guidance and support in your pursuit of Religious Education Certification through the MAT courses. In light of our faith, we modeled the tips after the Beatitudes, being positive guides on how to get the most out of your MAT courses. We refer to these as the “MAT-itudes”:
Happy are those who recognize that the courses are created for a wide variety of participants including, but not limited to, school personnel, parish catechists, spiritual directors, parish staff, and interested parishioners, for they will be more accepting and understanding. Did you know, in the recent past, the MAT courses were taught at Angola State Penitentiary to the peer ministry inmates, who in turn share the faith with inmates who are confined to the more restricted cell block areas? Unlike CEUs (offered through the Catholic Schools Office), which are designed to show someone how to make lesson plans for a particular grade level, the MAT Courses (offered through the Office of Evangelization & Catechesis) are designed to teach adults about the Catholic faith, to encourage the development of their relationship with God, and to strengthen Catholic Identity in schools and parishes. It is up to the participants how they might apply what they have learned to the specific setting they work or live in.
Happy are those who download the PDFs of the course content in Step One of each online course, for they shall be able to respond to quiz questions easier and have a record of what they learned. The PDFs can be great tools for you if you use them! They are always located towards the bottom of Step One in any online MAT course.
Happy are those who register early, for they will not be caught at the last minute without the courses they need. This not only goes for individual courses but also for MAT semesters in general. If you wait until March to start looking for MAT classes to take, then you’re probably too late to find anything available before the school year ends.
Happy are those who check to make sure that they can access the course content and everything they need before the weekend, for they will be able to reach us during office hours and not be stuck without help until Monday. We are always happy to help anyone with problems during our office hours which are M-F 8:30am-4:30pm.
Happy are those who are open to the Holy Spirit during their course, for their wisdom will increase together with their relationship with God. Mindset matters.Having a good attitude and being open can go a long way! Even if taking the courses may initially seem inconvenient, you are better able, when calling upon God’s grace, to gain insight and get the most from it by being open and positive.
Happy are those who reach out to our office staff if they run into difficulties completing the coursework for any reason, for our staff is caring and will try to work with you as best we can to help you succeed. We are here to support your certification. Our Team is ready, able, and committed to help when we know help is needed. Simply reach out with an email or a phone call as soon as possible.
