Sacraments

We recognize that the Sacraments have a visible and invisible reality, a reality open to all the human senses but grasped in its God-given depths with the eyes of faith.

When parents hug their children, for example, the visible reality we see is the hug. The invisible reality the hug conveys is love. We cannot "see" the love the hug expresses, though sometimes we can see its nurturing effect in the child.

BAPTISM

Baptism is the first sacrament where you become united with Christ and the Church – no other sacrament can be received without it.

MATRIMONY

Marriage isn’t just a union between man and wife. The devotion husband and wife have to each other, and to Christ, mirrors Christ’s love and service to the church.

HOLY ORDER

This sacrament is for those who choose to become a priest, bishop or deacon. Through ordination, they are able to perform sacred duties and serve the church community.

EUCHARIST

Eucharist means thanksgiving. This is when Christ’s body and blood are offered and then received by the parishioner in the form of bread and wine.

PENANCE

During the sacrament of Penance, one confesses their sins to God through a priest who forgives their sins by God’s mercy, and orders them to live a more faithful life through absolution.

CONFIRMATION

This is the sacrament that follows Baptism as part of the initiation process with God and the Church, where the candidate receives the gift of the Holy Spirit and continues their journey with Christ.