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BAPTISM:To arrange for the Baptism of your child, call the Pastor at the Rectory during the last trimester of pregnancy. Preparation classes are conducted by Gary and Mary Fulmer on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month at 7:30 PM in one of the classrooms. For adult baptism contact the coordinator for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).
EUCHARIST The Celebration of Jesus is the key focus of our life here at St. Michael's. The normative age of the First Eucharist Celebration is around 7 years of age (2nd grade). All parents/guardians interested in preparing their children should call the Religious Education Office for information.
RECONCILIATION St. Michael's provides communal Penance Services during the Advent and Lenten seasons. Regular opportunities take place in the Reconciliation Room in the Parish Church each Saturday 5:00 - 5:30 PM in the large church, and at any time with a call to the Pastor for a private appointment. Parents are invited to attend Preparation Sessions for your child/children for First Reconciliation. Call the Religious Education Office for information.
CONFIRMATION: The Sacrament of Confirmation welcomes us and deepens our belonging to the Faith Community. We offer a full participative faith formation process for Parents and Youth to prepare for this Sacrament. Call the Religious Education Office for information.
ANOINTING OF THE SICK: This sacrament is encouraged for anyone who is suffering from a serious illness or is preparing for hospitalization. Please contact the Pastor to make arrangements.
MARRIAGE: Couples should contact the Pastor at least six (6) months in advance of the wedding before any other arrangements or plans are finalized.
HOLY ORDERS: Please contact the Pastor.
BAPTISM. The Rite of Baptism incorporates us into Christ and forms us into God's people. This first sacrament pardons all our sins, rescues us from the power of darkness, and brings us to the dignity of adopted children, a new creation through water and the Holy Spirit. Hence we are called and are indeed the children of God. It is a very ancient custom of the Church that adults are not admitted to baptism without godparents. These are members of the Christian community who will assist the candidates at least in the final preparation for baptism and, after baptism, will help them preserve in the faith and in their lives as Christians. The ordinary ministers of baptism are bishops, priests and deacons. The words for conferring baptism in the Church are: "I BAPTIZE YOU IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT."
Eucharistic Feast: the Mass. When Christ the Lord was about to celebrate the Passover meal with his disciples and instituted the sacrifice of his body and blood, he directed them to prepare a large, furnished room. The sacrificial nature of the mass was solemnly proclaimed through the ages in the church councils by saying: "at the Last Supper our Savior instituted the eucharistic sacrifice of his body and blood to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross through the centuries until he comes again. He entrusted it to his bride, the Church, as a memorial of his resurrection. This teaches us that the sacrifice of the cross and its sacramental renewal in the Mass are one and the same, differing only in the manner of offering. It is at once a sacrifice of praise and of thanksgiving, a sacrifice that reconciles us to the Father and makes amends to him for the sins of the world. The Church believes that the Lord Jesus is really present among us in a wonderful way under the Eucharistic species. The distinctive nature of the ministerial priesthood is clear from the prominent place the presbyter occupies and functions he takes in the rite itself: he offers sacrifice in the person of Christ and presides over the assemble of God's hold people. The ministerial priesthood throws light on another and important priesthood, namely, the royal priesthood of believers. Their spiritual sacrifice of today is accomplished through the ministry of the presbyter, in union with the sacrifice of Christ, our one and only Mediator. The celebration of the Eucharist is the action of the whole Church, in which each individual should take his own full part and only his part, as determined by his particular position in the people of God.
This is the order of the Mass: Introductory Rites - Entrance Song, Greeting - Penitential Rite - the Gloria - Opening Prayer - Liturgy of the Word - a reading from the Old Testament - Responsorial Psalm - a reading from New Testament - a reading from one of the Gospels - Homily - Profession of Faith - General Intercessions - Liturgy of the Eucharist - presentation of the gifts - prayer of the gifts - Eucharistic Prayer - reciting of the Sanctus - Memorial Acclamation - Final Doxology - Communion Rite - Lord's Prayer - Sign of Peace - Breaking of the Bread - Communion - Prayer after Communion - Concluding Rite - Greeting - Blessing - Dismissal.
RECONCILIATION. The Sacrament of Reconciliation stresses the healing presence of Christ. This is not merely the telling of specific sins but a compassionate forgiveness of one's sinfulness in an attitude of sorrow. Penitents can opt to receive the sacrament either anonymously in the confessional or face to face. Reconciliation is a personal encounter with Jesus Christ represented by the priest. The penitent admits to God that he or she has sinned, makes an act of sorrow, accepts a penance, and resolves to do better in the future. The priest prays over the person in these words: "God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and set the Holy Spirit among us for forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
CONFIRMATION: those who have been baptized continue on the path of Christian initiation through the sacrament of confirmation. In this sacrament they receive the Holy Spirit whom the Lord sent upon the apostles on Pentecost. This giving of the Holy Spirit confirms believers more fully to Christ and strengthens them so that they may bear witness to Christ for the building up of his Body in faith and love. They are so marked with the character or seal of the Lord that the sacrament of confirmation cannot be repeated. Great pains are taken to give the liturgical service the festive and solemn character that its significance for the local Church requires. The ordinary minister of confirmation is the bishop. The sacrament is conferred through the anointing with chrism (Holy Oil) on the forehead, which is done by the laying on of the hand, and through the words: "BE SEALED WITH THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT."
Anointing of the Sick. The anointing of the sick gives spiritual strength and healing to those who are aged or ill. This sacrament may be received any time during illness. In this sacrament God invites believers to commune with him in the light of their final meeting with him. Through this sacrament, the entire Church asks God to lighten suffering, forgive sins, and bring the faithful to eternal salvation. Anointing of the sick helps them to share more fully in the cross of Christ. By so sharing, they contribute to the spiritual good of the whole Church. By the fact they share more fully in the cross of Christ through anointing, they are being prepared for a fuller share in Christ's Resurrection. The priest presides over this sacrament. The anointing of the side is with blessed oil.
Matrimony. Jesus took marriage and made it the sacrament of matrimony. As a result, matrimony gives a new dimension to the Christian vocation that begins in baptism. In matrimony a husband and wife are called to love each other in a very practical way; by serving each other's most personal needs; by working seriously at communicating their personal thoughts and feelings to each other so their oneness is always alive and growing. It is a sacramental vocation in and for the Church. It is a medium through which Christ reveals and deepens the mystery of his oneness with us, his Body. In the Church, a couple's sacramental union is exclusive (one man one woman) and indissoluble (till death do us part).
This is the one sacrament that is conferred not by the priest but by the ones marrying; the husband and wife. The priest witnesses the sacrament and gives the Church's blessing of the union.
Holy Orders: Ministerial Priesthood. Christ is the Body of the Church. As such, the whole Church shares in the nature and tasks of Christ, our head. There is though a ministerial priesthood of Christ that certain members of the Church receive through the sacrament of holy orders. In the Eucharistic sacrifice the ordained priest acts in the person of Christ" and offers the sacrifice to God in the name of all, and the people join with the priest in that offering. Priests share in Christ's ministry by preaching his gospel, doing all in their power to bring their people to Christian maturity. They baptize, heal, forgive sin in the sacrament of penance, and act as the Church witness in the sacraments of matrimony and anointing of the sick. Most importantly, priests celebrate the Eucharist, which is "the center of the assembly of the faithful over which the priest presides" When priests are ordained, they "are signed with a special character," an interior capability that empowers them to "act in the person of Christ the head." This special inner "character" unites priests in a sacramental bond with one another - a fact that, in a sense, sets them apart from other people. This "being set apart" is meant to help priests do God's work with total dedication. These are the sacraments of the Church. We celebrate these sacraments as a whole and are the main activities of the church. Other activities include funerals of the departed, para-liturgical services: devotions and prayer services, etc.