“Christ instituted the sacraments of the new law. There are seven: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. The seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian’s life of faith. There is thus a certain resemblance between the stages of natural life and the stages of the spiritual life.”
Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons and daughters of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word." To learn more about baptism at Holy Cross, please contact the parish office.
Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation takes place over the course of sophomore year of high school. “It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost” (CCC 1302).
The Church calls the Eucharist, "the source and summit of the Christian Life” (CCC 1324). On the last night of Jesus’ life, having his final meal with the Apostles, Jesus’ dying gift is to give himself, hidden in the appearance of bread and wine. The Apostles and early Church did not see this act as a figurative expression, but Jesus meant it literally. Every Mass, at the priest’s prayers of consecration, we believe that that bread is actually changed into the real Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This is why the Eucharist is so important. It is God himself.
Preparation for First Eucharist and First Penance is a complementary process usually during a child’s second grade year. We invite you to learn more about our Sacramental Prep program.
“When we go to Confession we are not telling God something He doesn’t already know and we’re not showing Him something He doesn’t already see. We are giving Him something He doesn’t already have: Your broken heart.”
Priests are available for confession on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM, Saturdays 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM, and by appointment.
Contact the Parish Office to make an appointment or learn more.
Preparation for First Eucharist and First Penance is a complementary process usually during a child’s second grade year. We invite you to learn more about our Sacramental Prep program and sign up.
After Jesus Ascended into Heaven, he desired to continue to be present to us and give us the Holy Spirit to aid us in our walk of faith. Many of these sacraments are to help us in time of need. The anointing of the sick is the sacrament given to those who are gravely ill, suffering in their sickness or even preparing for death. It is a gift from God to give more of his inner life (called grace) to be even more present to us when we especially need him, namely in suffering. This sacrament gives strength to the suffering, the forgiveness of sins, and either the aid in restoration of health, or a final preparation for the journey home to Heaven.
Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection is the supreme act of reconciliation for all Christians. Jesus desires these graces, won through Him, to be continually offered to the world, even after he Ascended. Therefore, he commissions the Apostles to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19). This mission to spread the Gospel is one for the entire Church, but Jesus called certain men to a uniqueness in this mission. On the last night of his life, Jesus commissions the Apostles to this mission. To continue Jesus’s mission, the Apostles establish bishops, priests, and deacons by the laying of hands, thus giving to them authority, and commissioning them to do the same. Every deacon, priest, and bishop has received the laying of hands in an unbroken lineage to the first Apostles. It is through Holy Orders, this sacrament of the laying of hands, that the Church is given the instruments of Gospel proclamation, the forgiveness of sins, the consecration of the Eucharist, and all the Sacraments by which we encounter Christ. If you are discerning a call to the priesthood, diaconate, or religious life, please contact us. We’d love to connect you with a priest to learn more.
“The sacrament of Matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It gives spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ has loved his Church; the grace of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of the spouses, strengthens their indissoluble unity, and sanctifies them on the way to eternal life”
To learn more about our marriage preparation program and to schedule a wedding, please contact the parish office.
