What is a sacrament?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) defines a sacrament as "an efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us through the work of the Holy Spirit (774, 1131). The sacraments (called "mysteries" in the Eastern Churches) are seven in number: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance or Reconcilliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.

The sacraments are "efficacious," meaning they have the power to produce a desried effect!  


Baptism

CCC - 1213 Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made shareres in her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word."

Please calll the office to make arrangements for Pre-Baptism Seminar.

The Code of Canon Law requires parents to have a child baptized within a few weeks of his birth (cf. CIC 867 § 1).

Baptismal Information & Godparent Certification Forms


Confirmation

CCC - 1285 Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the "sacraments of initiation," whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed."


Holy Eucharist

CCC - 1322 The holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. THose who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation participate with the whole community in the Lord's own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist.

1323 "At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. THis he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet 'in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.'"


Sacrament of Reconcilliation/Confession

CCC - 1422 "Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the  Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion."



Anointing of the Sick

CCC - 1499 "By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priest the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ."


Holy Orders

CCC - 1536 Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry. It includes three degrees: episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate.


Holy Matrimony

CCC - 1601 "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ to the dignity of a sacrament.

Arrangements should be made with the Parish Priest at least nine months in advance.