Sacramental Preparation
Baptism
First Reconciliation/Eucharist
First Reconciliation/Eucharist
Phone the parish office three (3) months before the intended date of Baptism
"Baptism is God's most beautiful and magnificent gift....We call it gift, grace, anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal, and most precious gift. It is called gift because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own; grace since it is given even to the guilty; Baptism because sin is buried in the water; anointing for it is priestly and royal as are those who are anointed; enlightenment because it radiates light; clothing since it veils our shame; bath because it washes; and seal as it is our guard and the sign of God's Lordship."
- St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Oratio 40, 3-4: PG 36, 361C
First Reconciliation/Eucharist
First Reconciliation/Eucharist
First Reconciliation/Eucharist
Sacramental Preparation
Catechetical Year 2020-2021
Please make sure to phone the parish office and book an appointment with Fr. Vener starting March 3, 2020, deadline for interview and registration is June 30, 2020.
For children Grades 2 and up
CCC 1446 Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. the Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as "the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace."47
47 Tertullian, De Paenit. 4, 2: PL 1,1343; cf. Council of Trent (1547): DS 1542.
CCC 1324 The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life."134 "The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch."135
CCC 1325 "The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that communion in the divine life and that unity of the People of God by which the Church is kept in being. It is the culmination both of God's action sanctifying the world in Christ and of the worship men offer to Christ and through him to the Father in the Holy Spirit."136
CCC 1326 Finally, by the Eucharistic celebration we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life, when God will be all in all.137
CCC 1327 In brief, the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith: "Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking."138
134 LG 11.
135 PO 5.
136Congregation of Rites, instruction, Eucharisticum mysterium, 6.
137 Cf. ⇒ 1 Cor 15:28.
138 St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 4, 18, 5: PG 7/l, 1028.
The Role of the Family in the Sacramental Preparation of Children: In this parish, we are committed to the idea that taking an active part in a child's spiritual formation is the right and dignity of Christian parents. Parents are the "first teachers" of their children in the vision and practice of the Christian way of life. It is in the home that children primarily experience and come to know about God. When children experience the loving care of their family members, when they are challenged to be the best people that they can be by their parents, and when they witness a family's unceasing striving for healing and reconciliation, then children really learn about who God is. Parents are, whether they realize it or not, the "sacrament" of God's presence to their children.
Therefore, in all of our sacramental preparation programs, we attempt to nurture a strong partnership between families and our parish community. Parents are encouraged to take on their central role. The parish and the parish catechists assist parents in this task. The parish provides the immediate preparation for all sacraments; and so we strongly encourage parents to enroll their children in our Sacramental Preparation Program.
Confirmation
First Reconciliation/Eucharist
Confirmation
Sacramental Preparation
Catechetical Year 2020-2021
Please make sure to phone the parish office and book an appointment with Fr. Vener starting March 3, 2020, deadline for interview and registration is June 30, 2020.
For children Grades 6 and up
CCC 1285 Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the "sacraments of Christian 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.88 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."89
88 Cf. Roman Ritual, Rite of Confirmation (OC), Introduction 1.
89 LG 11; Cf. OC, Introduction 2.
The Role of the Family in the Sacramental Preparation of Children:
In this parish, we are committed to the idea that taking an active part in a child's spiritual formation is the right and dignity of Christian parents. Parents are the "first teachers" of their children in the vision and practice of the Christian way of life. It is in the home that children primarily experience and come to know about God. When children experience the loving care of their family members, when they are challenged to be the best people that they can be by their parents, and when they witness a family's unceasing striving for healing and reconciliation, then children really learn about who God is. Parents are, whether they realize it or not, the "sacrament" of God's presence to their children.
Therefore, in all of our sacramental preparation programs, we attempt to nurture a strong partnership between families and our parish community. Parents are encouraged to take on their central role. The parish and the parish catechists assist parents in this task. The parish provides the immediate preparation for all sacraments; and so we strongly encourage parents to enroll their children in our Sacramental Preparation Program.
RCIA
Reconciliation
Confirmation
For more information, phone the parish office beginning May 1st.
A Strong Start in the Faith: The Catholic RCIA Stages
Thinking of joining the Roman Catholic Church? The Catholic RCIA stages are a good model of basic faith development. This article provides some detailed guidance for that process.
So, you’re developing your faith. Great! Is it a little overwhelming?
- Where to start?
- Why so many “stages” of initiation?
- What should I be doing in each stage?
- How will I know when I’m ready to move forward?
This article is your best starting point to answer these questions, and more. I’ll provide you with some fundamentals – centered in Christ – for beginning and developing your life of faith in the Roman Catholic Church.
Everything else builds on these fundamentals!
But…
Where do you begin?
Well, you just begin from where you are now!
Many adults entering the Catholic Church, or those just thinking about it, follow a process known as the RCIA – the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
The RCIA process has several distinct stages. These Catholic RCIA stages are a good model of faith development itself, so this article will fit you whether or not you’re actually in the RCIA process.
- Inquiry: the initial period before you decide to enter the Catholic Church. You’re asking questions and checking it out, but aren’t yet ready to commit.
- Catechumenate: those who decide to enter the Church and are being trained for a life in Christ are called catechumens, an ancient name from the early Church. In this stage, you’re developing your faith and are being “catechized” – learning catechism, or the basic points about Catholic faith and life.
- Purification and preparation: The Church will help you focus and intensify your faith as you prepare you to commit your life to Christ and be received into the Church at Easter. If you’re following the RCIA process, you’ll go through a beautiful series of Gospel-based meditations during Lent, which is the time frame of this period.
- Initiation itself, the culmination of the whole process! You’re received into the Church during the Easter Vigil Mass, where you’ll receive the sacraments of initiation: baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist. (If you’ve already been baptized, you won’t be baptized again.)
- Mystagogy: after reception into the Church at Easter, this period lets you reflect and learn more about the mysteries of the Mass and the Sacraments that you now participate in fully.
Below is a discussion of each of these Catholic RCIA stages.
But first, some basics…
Laying a strong foundation
Faith will be the foundation of your life.
Make that foundation solid!
Go slowly, make sure you’ve developed the basics well. That will help you avoid discouragement and frustration, two big enemies of faith development.
Also be aware of the importance of orthodoxy in the information you receive. (“Orthodoxy” here means “accurate and faithful” teaching.)
Make sure that you’re satisfied with your own faith development in each of the Catholic RCIA stages before moving on to the next. Don’t let pressure from anyone else make you move on. Also watch out for calendar-based pressure – don’t say things like, “If I don’t start catechesis now, I won’t be done this Easter!” That’s the wrong basis for making a decision about your faith and your life!
I know, sometimes it seems like it takes a long time to work through all of the Catholic RCIA stages. But…
Don’t rush it!
RCIA stage 1: Just Looking
In the inquiry stage, you’re just finding out about Jesus, Christianity, and the Catholic Church.
Your main task here is to explore and develop your faith enough so you can make an informed initial decision about entering the Catholic Church. The final decision won’t come for a long time, when you actually enter the Church at Easter and receive the sacraments of initiation.
The RCIA inquiry stage page has lots of detailed guidance for you during this stage.
Even if you’re past the inquirer stage, you should still read that section to make sure you’ve covered the right ground. You’ll need to rely on that foundation later!
RCIA stage 2: Learning about the Faith
In the catechumenate, your faith has begun to develop. Now you need to learn and grow more.
You focus on catechesis in this stage: learning about the faith, how to live as a Christian, and developing your interior life.
Your job now is to come into closer contact with the Living God and learn more about the Catholic Faith.
RCIA stage 3: Getting ready for rebirth!
This period of purification and enlightenment is the final stage before receiving the Easter sacraments of initiation into the Church: baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist. (Those already baptized with a valid baptism in another Christian church aren’t baptized again.)
This stage of intense reflection calls you to deeper conversion in preparation for your renewal at Easter. This is what the season of Lent is for, but it has a special intensity for you this year as you’re entering the Church and receiving the sacraments of initiation.
The Church uses three profound and beautiful passages from the Gospel of John to focus this preparation effort.
RCIA stage 4: Reflecting on the mysteries of the Mass
This stage of mystagogy during Easter is for continued reflection on the sacraments you have received at Easter, especially the Eucharist.
Specific catechesis on the Mass, the Sacraments, and especially the Eucharist are the focus of this stage.
The Mass and the Eucharist are the “source and summit” of the Christian life in the Catholic Church, and this period is designed to help you understand, appreciate, and live more deeply this center of Catholicism.
That’s a good overview of the Catholic RCIA stages, with more than enough supplemental information to think about for a while!
Remember that the Catholic RCIA stages are a good model of basic faith development, so you can learn a lot from them even if you’re not in the RCIA process.
- beginningCatholic.com
Marriage
Reconciliation
Reconciliation
For more information, phone the parish office six (6) months before the intended wedding date.
CCC 1602 Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of "the wedding-feast of the Lamb."85 Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its "mystery," its institution and the meaning God has given it, its origin and its end, its various realizations throughout the history of salvation, the difficulties arising from sin and its renewal "in the Lord" in the New Covenant of Christ and the Church.86
Marriage in the order of creation
CCC 1603 "The intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws.... God himself is the author of marriage."87 The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. Marriage is not a purely human institution despite the many variations it may have undergone through the centuries in different cultures, social structures, and spiritual attitudes. These differences should not cause us to forget its common and permanent characteristics. Although the dignity of this institution is not transparent everywhere with the same clarity,88 some sense of the greatness of the matrimonial union exists in all cultures. "The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life."89
CCC 1604 God who created man out of love also calls him to love the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. For man is created in the image and likeness of God who is himself love.90 Since God created him man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man. It is good, very good, in the Creator's eyes. and this love which God blesses is intended to be fruitful and to be realized in the common work of watching over creation: "and God blessed them, and God said to them: 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.'"91
CCC 1605 Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone."92 The woman, "flesh of his flesh," i.e., his counterpart, his equal, his nearest in all things, is given to him by God as a "helpmate"; she thus represents God from whom comes our help.93 "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh."94 The Lord himself shows that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the Creator had been "in the beginning": "So they are no longer two, but one flesh."95
85 ⇒ Rev 19:7, 9; cf. ⇒ Gen 1:26-27.
86 ⇒ 1 Cor 7:39; cf. ⇒ Eph 5:31-32.
87 GS 48 # 1.
88 Cf. GS 47 # 2.
89 GS 47 # 1.
90 Cf. ⇒ Gen 1:27; ⇒ 1 Jn 4:8, ⇒ 16.
91 ⇒ Gen 1:28; cf. ⇒ 1:31.
92 ⇒ Gen 2:18.
93 Cf. ⇒ Gen 2:18-25.
94 ⇒ Gen 2:24.
95 ⇒ Mt 19:6.
Reconciliation
Reconciliation
Reconciliation
Every Saturday from 6:30PM to 7:00PM or by appointment.
CCC 1441 Only God forgives sins.39 Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, "The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" and exercises this divine power: "Your sins are forgiven."40Further, by virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men to exercise in his name.41
CCC 1442 Christ has willed that in her prayer and life and action his whole Church should be the sign and instrument of the forgiveness and reconciliation that he acquired for us at the price of his blood. But he entrusted the exercise of the power of absolution to the apostolic ministry which he charged with the "ministry of reconciliation."42 The apostle is sent out "on behalf of Christ" with "God making his appeal" through him and pleading: "Be reconciled to God."43