Please call the Parish office (722-4080) to receive information on your next step. Then we can make arrangements for a convenient time and place for you to pick up the folder of paperwork that will need filled out and returned so a date can be set.
Children preparing for First Reconciliation and First Communion must be in Formation for at least two years and have an understanding of both Sacraments.
Children must be in the Second Grade or older.
All Children beginning preparation for First Reconciliation and First Communion that are older than 8 years old (grade 3 and up) will be prepared in our RCIC program.
So rich is the mystery of the Eucharist that we have a number of terms to illumine its saving grace: the Breaking of the Bread; the Lord’s Supper; the Eucharistic Assembly; the Memorial of Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection; the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Holy and Divine Liturgy; the Eucharistic Liturgy; Holy Communion; and Holy Mass (cf. CCC, nos. 1328-1332).
The use of bread and wine in worship is already found in the early history of God’s people. In the Old Testament, bread and wine are seen as gifts from God, to whom praise and thanks are given in return for these blessings and for other manifestations of his care and grace. The story of the priest Melchizedek’s offering a sacrifice of bread and wine for Abraham’s victory is an example of this (cf. Gn 14:18). The harvest of new lambs was also a time for the sacrifice of a lamb to show gratitude to God for the new flock and its contribution to the well-being of the family and tribe.
These ancient rituals were given historical meaning at the Exodus of God’s people. They were united into the Passover Meal as a sign of God’s delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, a pledge of his fidelity to his promises and eventually a sign of the coming of the Messiah and messianic times. Each family shared the lamb that had been sacrificed and the bread over which a blessing had been proclaimed. They also drank from a cup of wine over which a similar blessing had been proclaimed.
When Jesus instituted the Eucharist he gave a final meaning to the blessing of the bread and the wine and the sacrifice of the lamb. The Gospels narrate events that anticipated the Eucharist. The miracle of the loaves and fish, reported in all four Gospels, prefigured the unique abundance of the Eucharist. The miracle of changing water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana manifested the divine glory of Jesus and the heavenly wedding feast in which we share at every Eucharist.
In his dialogue with the people at Capernaum, Christ used his miracle of multiplying the loaves of bread as the occasion to describe himself as the Bread of Life: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. . . Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you” (Jn 6:51, 53).
Quote from CCC, 1285 citing LC, no.11
The reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace… ” 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.”
Classes are divided into Youth and Adult groups
Confirmation at All Saints is during High School Formation for Confirmation includes attendance in High School Youth Ministry and attend a Retreat the first year of Youth Ministry Attendance in High School Youth Ministry, attend a Retreat and 4 of the 5 Confirmation Sessions their second year of Youth Ministry Attendance in High School Youth Ministry, attend the Confirmation Day of Reflection with Parents and Sponsor and Confirmation Mass.
Confirmation is celebrated here at All Saints in the Fall of the year. Those in High School need to attend the Sessions of “Chosen” in addition to Youth Ministry for two full years and required Retreats. Parents this is part of the Faith Formation that is needed to complete the Initiation Sacraments of your child. We are always pleased and feel Blessed to have so many of you follow through with the commitment and promises you made at the Baptism of your child.
(It is the prayer of the Church that our Youth remain active in Youth Ministry to be a Role Model to the underclassmen and to assist the Youth Ministers in sharing their Faith)
Bishop Doherty has stressed the importance of Mass attendance and Service as indicators of our readiness for this Sacrament. Since these are fundamental to who we are as a Catholic Family.
Here at All Saints we will work to assist the domestic church with opportunities for service both here in the Parish Family, and Community.
(Any questions please call Magda at the Parish Office 574-722-4080)
***Youth that have missed formation in their 7th and 8th grade years will need a year of formation prior to their two years of Confirmation Preparation***
(this helps to assure everyone preparing for Confirmation have a good basic knowledge of the Faith they are preparing to Confirm)
1. Copy of Baptism Certificate
2. Confirmation Sponsor
3. Confirmation Saint Name
4. Be committed to Youth Group and Confirmation Sessions
Sacred Scripture begins with the creation and union of man and woman and ends with “the wedding feast of the Lamb” (Rev 19:7, 9). Scripture often refers to marriage, its origin and purpose, the meaning God gave to it, and its renewal in the covenant made by Jesus with his Church.
God created man and woman out of love and commanded them to imitate his love in their relations with each other. Man and woman were created for each other. “It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him. . . . The two of them become one body” (Gn 2:18; 24). Woman and man are equal in human dignity, and in marriage both are united in an unbreakable bond.
Jesus brought to full awareness the divine plan for marriage. In John’s Gospel, Christ’s first miracle occurs at the wedding in Cana. “The Church attaches great importance to Jesus’ presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ’s presence” (CCC, no. 1613).
By their marriage, the couple witnesses Christ’s spousal love for the Church. One of the Nuptial Blessings in the liturgical celebration of marriage refers to this in saying, “Father, you have made the union of man and wife so holy a mystery that it symbolizes the marriage of Christ and his Church.”
The Sacrament of Marriage is a covenant, which is more than a contract. Covenant always expresses a relationship between persons. The marriage covenant refers to the relationship between the husband and wife, a permanent union of persons capable of knowing and loving each other and God. The celebration of marriage is also a liturgical act, appropriately held in a public liturgy at church. Catholics are urged to celebrate their marriage within the Eucharistic Liturgy.
Marriage: United in Love, Strengthened for Service (Also available en Espanol) – This short, two-page handout can help Catholics who are preparing for the sacrament of Marriage reflect on our Catholic call to mission in the world.
By virtue of our Baptism, all Christians are part of a common priesthood of believers. We are all called to participate in Christ’s mission. Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, bishops and priests are given a special role in carrying out this mission. They exercise a ministerial priesthood. Deacons also receive a special grace through ordination and are called to assist the ministry of bishops and priests (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], nos. 1547, 1554). Pope Benedict XVI writes, “The priest is above all a servant of others” (Sacramentum Caritatis [Sacrament of Charity], no. 23). In gathering the community, modeling Christ’s love for the poor, presiding at Eucharist, and evangelizing social realities, ordained ministers help Christians imitate Christ’s mission of love and justice.
Through ordination, priests become representatives of Christ to the Church—as witnesses of holiness and love, preachers of the Gospel, shepherds of the faithful, conveners of divine worship, and builders of the Church. Through their ministry, priests are called, in imitation of Christ, to “preach good news to the poor . . . proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (Lk 4:18-19)” (Pope John Paul II, Pastores Dabo Vobis [I Will Give You Shepherds], no. 11). Deacons, too, are ordained to imitate Christ in his ministry of service and charity to the poor and needy in the community.
As co-workers with their bishops in teaching and carrying out Christ’s mission, priests and deacons proclaim the Word of God to his people. This includes education about the social teaching of the Church, which is based in both Scripture and Tradition, and helping community members become aware of their “right and duty to be active subjects of this doctrine” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church [Compendium], no. 539).
Each bishop is entrusted with the care of a particular church, and priests and deacons assist in pastoring the people of God locally. Pastoral ministry requires that ordained ministers develop competency in “social analysis and community organization” and cross-cultural ministry (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops [USCCB], The Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests, 29). Priests should “animate pastoral action in the social field,” especially assisting lay Christians who are involved in political and social life (Compendium, no. 539). Pastoral concern extends beyond the local Church; bishops and priests must also attend to problems facing the people of the world, “sharing their experiences and growing, above all, in solidarity towards the poor” (Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia in America [The Church in America], no. 39)
Bishops and priests preside over the Eucharist, offering the sacrifice in the name of the whole Church, the Body of Christ (CCC, no. 1553). In celebrating the Eucharist, the Holy Spirit transforms the people of God for mission. In the words of Bishop William S. Skylstad: Especially at the celebration of Eucharist we help our people find Jesus in their lives through word, sacrament, and community. We also help them to appreciate that as they leave the church building they move into the world as eucharistic people. They too are to become “foot washers of humanity.” (Priests for a New Millennium, 158). In other words, through presiding over the Eucharist, priests help Christians to “live their social commitment” as a fruit of their worship (Compendium, no. 539).
Ordained ministry is a reminder of our “communitarian” nature, because it can only be carried out in communion with others. For example, priests minister in communion with their bishop, with other priests, and with the lay faithful. An important role of the priest is to bring together the entire community both in worship and in building the Church in the world. Being “a man of communion” means that a priest must be “a man of mission and dialogue,” working for unity, justice, and peace with other faiths, people of good will, and with those who are poor and vulnerable (Pastores Dabo Vobis, nos. 17, 18).
Pope John Paul II notes, “All priests must have the mind and the heart of missionaries,” whether they serve near their home or across the world (Redemptoris Missio [On the Permanent Validity of the Church’s Missionary Mandate], no. 67). Priests can have missionary hearts through their attentiveness to the struggles of their brothers and sisters across the world and by remembering “the whole Church for all of humanity” in their prayers and in the Eucharistic sacrifice (ibid.). This global perspective must be contagious; priests must work to “form the community entrusted to them as a truly missionary community” (Pastores Dabo Vobis, no. 32). Deacons, too, have been sent by Christ and play an important role in bringing him to the heart of the parish community and beyond.
St. John Vianney wrote, “The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus.” Likewise, St. Augustine noted that the priesthood is the office of the good shepherd who offers his life for his sheep. In sum, “the priest is above all a servant of others” (Sacramentum Caritatis, no. 23). As Christ “emptied himself” (Phil 2:7) to become the suffering servant, so too, priests give themselves in service for the Church and the world. The celibate lifestyle, which encourages an undivided heart in those committed to it, fosters such self-emptying service. Deacons also exemplify service as they assist the bishop and priests in their ministries and dedicate themselves to ministries of charity (CCC, no. 1571).
Ordained ministers are guided by the Holy Spirit to have “a preferential love for the poor, the sick, and the needy” and to identify with Christ the priest and victim (CCC, no. 1586). This special obligation to the poor and weak is in imitation of Jesus’ own love for the poor and ministry to the sick and dying (Presbyterorum Ordinis [Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests], no. 6).
The ordained are to live in the world while also being witnesses representing virtues that lead the sheep to the one true sheepfold. These virtues include love, goodness, and “careful attention to justice” (Presbyterorum Ordinis, no. 3).
Because the Church’s social doctrine is an “essential component” of the “new evangelization” (Pastores Dabo Vobis, no. 54), those preparing for the ordained ministry should develop a “thorough knowledge” of Catholic social teaching and “a keen interest in the social issues of their day” (Compendium, no. 533).
Bishops, assisted by priests, deacons, and religious, must “evangelize social realities” (Compendium, no. 539) by being “articulate spokesmen for and interpreters of Catholic social teaching in today’s circumstances” (USCCB, Program of Priestly Formation, no. 345).
Learn about the other sacraments! Visit “Resources and Tools” at www.usccb.org/jphd. Copyright © 2013, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to duplicate this work without adaptation for non-commercial use.
The Rite of Anointing tells us there is no need to wait until a person is at the point of death to receive the Sacrament. A careful judgment about the serious nature of the illness is sufficient. The Sacrament may be repeated if the sick person recovers after the anointing but becomes ill once again, or if, during the same illness, the person’s condition becomes more serious. A person should be anointed before surgery when a dangerous illness is the reason for the intervention (cf. Rite of Anointing, Introduction, nos. 8-10).
Moreover, “old people may be anointed if they are in weak condition even though no dangerous illness is present. Sick children may be anointed if they have sufficient use of reason to be comforted by this sacrament. . . . [The faithful] should be encouraged to ask for the anointing, and, as soon as the time for the anointing comes, to receive it with faith and devotion, not misusing the sacrament by putting it off” (Rite of Anointing, nos. 11, 12, 13).
Only bishops and priests may be ministers of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. A penitential rite followed by the Liturgy of the Word opens the celebration. Scripture awakens the faith of the sick and family members and friends to pray to Christ for the strength of his Holy Spirit. The priest lays his hands on the head of the sick person. He then proceeds to anoint, with the blessed Oil of the Sick, the forehead and hands of the sick person (in the Roman Rite). He accompanies these acts with the words, “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” (CCC, no. 1513).
For those who are about to depart from this life, the Church offers the person Penance, Anointing of the Sick, and the Eucharist as Viaticum (food for the journey) given at the end of life. These are “the sacraments that prepare for our heavenly homeland” (cf. CCC, no. 1525). These rites are highly valued by Catholics as powerful aids to a good death. Since Holy Communion is the effective sign of Christ’s Paschal Mystery, it becomes for the recipient the opportunity to unite one’s own suffering and dying to that of Christ with the hope of life eternal with him. The special words proper to Viaticum are added: “May the Lord Jesus protect you and lead you to everlasting life. Amen.”
Resources:
Anointing of the Sick: Joined to Christ, Witnesses of Hope and Healing (Also available en Espanol) – This short, two-page handout can assist your reflection on this sacrament, through which the Church carries out Jesus’ mission of compassion and healing. By uniting their suffering to Christ, those who are sick can also be signs of faith and witnesses of Christ’s resurrection to the entire community.