SACRAMENTS

Jesus Christ gave his Apostles the power to forgive sins. The Sacrament is also known as the Sacrament of Conversion, Forgiveness, Penance, or Reconciliation.

The sacrament involves three steps: the penitent's contrition or sorrow for his sins, the actual confession to a priest and absolution, and then penance or restitution for your sins. The experience leads one to an interior conversion of the heart. Jesus describes the process of conversion and penance in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-24).

The penitent confesses his sins to the priest in the confessional, and the priest then gives absolution to the repentant soul, making the Sign of the Cross, and saying the words "I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." It is Christ Jesus through the priest who forgives your sins. As the penitent must make restitution or satisfaction for his sins, the priest gives a penance to the forgiven one, usually prayer, fasting, or almsgiving (I Peter 4:8).

Confession gives one a wonderful sense of freedom and peace from the burden of sin. As one is to be in the state of grace before receiving Holy Communion, the child makes his first Confession before his first Communion, generally at the age of reason. Here are three Scriptural references on Penance (Matthew 16:18-19, Luke 24:46-47, Acts 2:38).

Confessions are heard on Saturdays from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM and from 4:45 to 5:45 PM and on Wednesdays before OLPH Novena in Polish.

In addition, confessions are heard at Christ the King Church in Manville daily from 6:30AM to 7AM and on Saturdays from 3:30 to 4PM.

In every other case please make arrangements through parish office or rectory.

“Eucharistia” means thanksgiving, and the Eucharist is the "source and summit of the Christian life." The Eucharist is the principal sacramental celebration of the Church, established by Jesus at the Last Supper, in which the mystery of our salvation through participation in the sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of Christ is renewed and accomplished. The word "Mass" comes from the Latin “missa”, as it refers to the mission or sending forth of the faithful following the celebration, so that they may fulfill God's will in their daily lives.

The essential signs of the sacrament are wheat bread and grape wine, on which the blessing of the Holy Spirit is invoked during the Sacrifice of the Mass, and the priest pronounces the words of consecration spoken by Jesus at the Last Supper: "This is my body...This is the cup of my blood..." (Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

When we celebrate the Mass, the sacrifice of the cross that happened once in history but is present for all eternity, that same reality is made present in mystery.

The bread and wine through Transubstantiation become the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, and we receive the Real Presence of Jesus when we receive Holy Communion. Our soul is nourished, helping us to become like Christ. The Eucharist is the heart and source of community within the Church. Receiving Holy Communion with others during the Mass brings unity of the Church, the Body of Christ (I Corinthians 10:16-17).

Requirements for First Communion

Completion of Grade 1 in Religious Education

Class Attendance (no more than 3 absences allowed)

Sunday Mass Attendance and use of Progress Book

Basic prayers

Jesus Day Retreat and Parent meeting

First Reconciliation

Confirmation (or Chrismation) is the Sacrament of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit whom Christ Jesus sent (John 7:37-39, 16:7). Jesus instructed his Apostles that "you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit" and called upon the Apostles to be his "witnesses" to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). At the Pentecost, the Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), and began to spread the Word of God. The Acts of the Apostles is often called the Gospel of the Holy Spirit.

The rite of Confirmation is anointing the forehead with chrism, together with the laying on of the minister's hands and the words, "Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit." The recipient receives the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2-3). On occasion one may receive one or more of the charismatic gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).

The ecclesial effect and sacramental grace of the sacrament give the recipient the strength and character to witness for Jesus Christ. The East continues the tradition of the early Christian Church by administering the sacrament with Baptism. Confirmation in the West is administered by the Bishop to children from age 7 to 18, but generally to adolescents, for example, to a graduating class of grade

Requirements for Confirmation

Completion of Grade 7 in Religious Education

Class Attendance (no more than 3 absences allowed)

Sunday Mass Attendance and use of Progress Book

20 Hours of service project time

Saints Project (Confirmation name)

Gospel Reflections

Confirmation Retreat

Parent Meeting in October

The union of a man and a woman is natural. The natural language of the human body is such that the man gives to the woman and the woman receives the man. The love and friendship between a man and a woman grow into a desire for marriage. The sacrament of marriage gives the couple the grace to grow into a union of heart and soul, to continue life, and to provide stability for themselves and their children. Children are the fruit and bond of a marriage.

The bond of marriage between a man and a woman lasts all the days of their lives, and the form of the rite consists of the mutual exchange of vows by a couple, both of whom have been baptized. The minister serves as a witness to the couple in the West, but serves as the actual minister of the rite in the East. The matter follows later through consummation of the marriage act.

Jesus stresses the significance of the marriage bond in his Ministry (Matthew 19:6, 8). The importance of marriage is substantiated by the presence of Christ at the wedding feast of Cana, where he began his public ministry at the request of his mother Mary by performing his first miracle (John 2). It is the Apostle Paul who calls matrimony a great sacrament or mystery, and who identifies the marriage of man and woman with the unity of Christ and his Church. (Ephesians 5:25; St. Paul to the Ephesians 5:32-33).

Requirements

Diocesan policy requires at least a six-month advance notification of the Pastor and participation in Pre-Cana Instruction. A six-month parish pre-registration is also required before the date of marriage and before any social plans are made. For more information please click the Wedding Booklet.

• Wedding Booklet EN

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• Wedding Booklet PL

  File size: 857 KB

The Anointing of the Sick is the Sacrament given to seriously ill Christians, and the special graces received unite the sick person to the passion of Christ. The Sacrament consists of the anointing of the forehand and hands of the person with blessed oil, with the minister saying, "Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up."

St. Thomas Aquinas stated that Extreme Unction, as the Anointing of the Sick was once called, is "a spiritual remedy, since it avails for the remission of sins, and therefore is a sacrament" (James 5:15). The ecclesial effect of this sacrament is incorporation into the healing Body of Christ, with a spiritual healing of the soul, and at times healing of the body. The sacramental grace helps us to accept sickness by uniting ourselves to the passion and death of Christ (Colossians 1:24) and the grace even to accept death if that is God's will.

Jesus healed the blind and the sick, as well as commissioned his Apostles to do so, as in the following sources. (Mark 6:12-13; St. Paul to the Colossians 1:24; James 5:14-15)

Urgent calls can be made at any hour, day or night. Please notify the priest whenever anyone is sick, admitted to a hospital, homebound, or unable to attend Mass and wishes to receive Sacraments.

The Sacrament of Holy Orders began with the Last Supper, when Christ Jesus commissioned his Apostles to continue the Eucharistic celebration. He also commissioned his Apostles following the Resurrection to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8). Thomas Aquinas makes the point that only Christ is the true priest, the others serving as his ministers (Hebrews 8:4). St. Ignatius, Bishop of Syria around 100 AD, in his Letter to the Magnesians (6), established the hierarchy of bishop, priest, and deacon for the early Churches, the pattern which still exists today. Bishops are the successors of the Apostles, and priests and deacons are his assistants in rendering service. Men are ordained to the priesthood in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, as the sacrament confers upon the priest the character to act in the person of Christ - in persona Christi.

Holy Orders is the sacrament of Apostolic ministry. As in the Pastoral Epistles, the rite consists of the Bishop's laying on of hands on the head of the priest-candidate with the consecrating prayer asking God for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the gifts of the ministry. There are three dimensions to ministry, that of Bishop, Priesthood, and the Diaconate. See Matthew 16:18-19, John 21:15-17, Romans 10:14-15, 2 Timothy 1:6, and Titus 1:5.

Requirements for the Priesthood

Only a male and unmarried man may become a Catholic Priest.

He must meet the basic requirements

Get involved at his Parish

He must assess his beliefs

Attend college and enter a Seminary

First become ordained as a Deacon