Sacraments
A Sacrament is an efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us by the work of the Holy Spirit.
(CCC, # 1131, 774)
The seven Sacraments span all stages of natural life and all important moments of the Christian life.
Sacraments are classified as:
- Christian Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist)
- Sacraments of Healing (Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick)
- Sacraments of Service (Marriage and Holy Orders)
- The Eucharist occupies a unique place among the Sacraments.
If you or someone you are responsible for is in need of one of these Sacraments please contact the church office.
Christian Initiation is celebrated in Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. Through these visible actions a person is incorporated into the Church and shares in its mission in the world. Baptism is the first step leading to this full incorporation in Christ and His Church. Thus Baptism cannot be celebrated indiscriminately.
Adults seeking Baptism and the Sacraments of Initiation, should contact the Rectory. Please also consult the RCIA information elsewhere on this website.
Parents accept a great responsibility when presenting their child for Baptism. They will be the child’s first teachers in the faith, and they need to be the best of teachers. They need to teach, not only by word, but by example.
The Godparents also take upon themselves the responsibility of helping the parents of the child to raise the newly baptized in the faith. The Godparents do this mainly by the example of their lives. However, to understand and to be aware of what is expected, the Parents and Godparents need to be instructed. Therefore, a baptismal preparation course is required.
Parents should:
- Choose at least one Baptized, Confirmed, and practicing Catholic to be a Godparent. Two are normally used for this ministry. Godparents registered in other Catholic Parishes will need to provide a Sponsor Certificate from their Pastor.
- Contact the Pastor at the Rectory well in advance to make arrangements for baptismal preparation. A scheduled date for the Baptism will not be given until the Parents meet with the Pastor during this time of preparation.
- Attend the instructions with a desire to deepen one’s knowledge of the faith and commitment to living it.
- Baptisms can be celebrated at the Easter Vigil, or ordinarily on Sundays, during weekend Mass, or by special arrangement on Sunday afternoon.
Confirmation is integral to the sacramental initiation of a person into the Church, the People of God. In that sense, it is not an optional sacrament. It is for the candidate both a precious occasion of Grace and an opportunity for a moving experience of faith. Parents, sponsors, priests, catechists and community share the ministry of preparing the candidate for this significant sacramental experience.
Careful planning and extended preparation will enhance for the candidate this encounter with the Spirit.
Candidates for the Sacrament of Confirmation must be baptized Catholics, in the seventh grade or older, and be involved in a structured preparation program that is designed to deepen their faith commitment.
This preparation, in a general fashion, includes:
The General Preparation: This includes all the formal and informal catechetical formation provided to a child by parents and the parish from baptism through the seventh grade.
The Formal Preparation Program includes:
- An information session for parents and youth
- The selection of sponsors
- A sponsor Information and Training Session
- A retreat experience consisting of at least one day
- Core content to be presented in formal classes
- Sponsor / Youth sessions; Christian Service Project
- Selection of Confirmation name (may keep one’s own)
- An interview with the confirmand by the pastor or delegate
- Letter of request by the confirmand to the Bishop
- Opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation
- Practice, as needed, for the actual celebration
Adults desiring to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation should contact the pastor. A special program of preparation will be worked out according to each person’s personal situation.
As parents have the responsibility to be the “first teachers” of their children and the “decision makers” for when their children are prepared to share in the Eucharist, they can use some help. To aid parents with these rights and duties, a catechesis for First Eucharist is presented to children 7 years of age through our Religious Education Classes.
Along with this formal instruction, a program focusing on growth in prayer, spiritual growth and family experience is an integral component in the overall preparation of the First Communicants. Parents are required to attend a Parent Session, use the growth experiences and prayers at home, attend the Retreat and practice session and celebrate First Eucharist with their children.
We are incorporated into Christ’s Body, the Church, through the Sacraments of Initiation. When we have been weakened by sin, we can be healed through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Jesus continues His work of forgiving and reconciling through this sacrament.
Catechesis for children’s first reception of this sacrament takes place prior to the reception of First Eucharist and must always respect their natural dispositions, ability, age, and circumstances of life. This study needs to make clear the relationship of the sacrament to the children’s life, to help them recognize right from wrong and loving from unloving acts, to repent for wrongdoing and to turn for forgiveness to Jesus and the Church.
If the children are encouraged to see how faith is expressed by being forgiven and forgiving, they should be led to approach the sacrament freely and regularly. A parent session is provided so that they will be able to take an active role in preparing their child for this sacrament.
Jesus’ care and concern for the sick permeate the Gospels. Though primarily concerned with spiritual sickness, He was not indifferent to bodily afflictions and seemed often to point to the relationship between the two.
To be faithful to Him, the Church must care for those who are sick in body as well as spirit.
The anointing of the sick is a special sacrament for Christians dangerously ill as a result of sickness or old age. The sacrament is also intended for patients undergoing surgery on account of dangerous illness, for elderly persons who are in a weak condition, even if they are not dangerously ill, for children who are seriously ill and have sufficient understanding to be comforted by its reception.
A communal celebration of this sacrament is held at least once a year so that the sick, surrounded by the Church in the person of their family and friends, can receive special support and encouragement from the faith community.
The pastor is available for the individual celebration of this sacrament when a family determines that a home, nursing home, or hospital celebration would be most appropriate. Parishioners planning to enter the hospital for surgery are encouraged to receive this sacrament prior to admission. Please contact the pastor at the Rectory to arrange for this sacrament.
Christian marriage is the union of a baptized man and woman who freely enter into a loving covenant with each other in Christ. The self-giving love of bride and groom is sealed and strengthened by the Lord; and the married couple imitates, and in a way represents, Christ’s faithful love for His bride, the Church. Thus husbands and wives become signs, in and to the world, of God’s steadfast love for His people.
Because marriage is a sacred and serious commitment, it is necessary for all couples contemplating this union to prepare themselves for it by prayer and study. A marriage preparation program includes the following:
- Before renting a hall, contact the parish to set a date. This should take place at least six (6) months before the desired date of the wedding. In fact, as soon as an engagement takes place, contact the pastor. A date will not be given to you until after your first meeting with the pastor. All of these matters will be explained by the pastor to the bride and groom at their first meeting with him.
- It should go without saying that one of the parties must be a registered member of this parish.
- The Catholics must give evidence of faith in God, participate in parish worship and activities, and have an understanding of the Catholic faith.
- Attend one of the Diocesan, Vicariate, or local pre-marriage workshops and any extra sessions with the pastor, as he deems necessary.
- Work out the pre-marriage inventory and discuss the same with the pastor or his delegate.
- Present or complete the necessary documentation: recently issued record of baptism, confirmation, and dispensations (if necessary) and complete the necessary diocesan pre-marriage forms.
- Plan a truly meaningful liturgy in conjunction with the pastor, his delegate, and our parish pastoral musicians.
Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time.
The Sacrament’s three degrees (Episcopate, Presbyterate, and Diaconate) are conferred as follows:
- Bishops (Episcopate) receive the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, which integrates them into the Episcopal College and makes them visible heads of the particular Church entrusted to them. As successors of the apostles and members of the college, the bishops share in the apostolic responsibility and mission of the whole Church under the authority of the Pope.
- Priests (Presbyterate or Presbyters) are united with the bishop in sacerdotal dignity and called to be the bishop’s prudent co-workers in the exercise of their pastoral functions. They gather around their bishop who bears responsibility with them for a particular church. They receive from the bishop the charge of a parish community or determinate ecclesial office.
- Deacons (Diaconate) are ordained into the ministry of service to the Church. Transitional deacons are studying to be later ordained into the ministerial priesthood (Presbyterate) of the Church. Permanent deacons remain always in the ministry of Deacon, but Deaconate ordination confers on them the functions of the Ministry of the Word, leadership and service in Divine Worship, and Service of Charity under the pastoral authority of their bishop, and in conjunction with the local Presbyters.
For additional information on vocations please contact the pastor.