“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” Jeremiah 1:5

Baptism is the priceless gift of God’s saving grace.  It is a joyful sacrament for an individual and the entire parish community, the sacrament that welcomes a child or adult into the Church, bestows grace and gifts of faith, hope and love upon the recipient, and takes away the stain of original sin. In adult Baptism, all prior sins are forgiven.

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“I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.” Isaiah 44:22

The peace of mind and soul which the Sacrament of Reconciliation imparts to us is one for which there is no substitute. It is a peace that flows from a certainty, rather than from an unsure hope, that our sins have been forgiven and that we are right with God.

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“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; … he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and … abides in me, and I in him.” John 6:51,54,56

Holy Eucharist is the greatest of all Sacraments, it is the culmination of all the love and mercy given to us by Christ. The other sacraments contain the gifts of God, but the Holy Eucharist contains God Himself! Jesus promised to be with us always, and He continues in a special, real way His Presence through the Most Blessed Sacrament, which Catholics are privileged to receive in Holy Communion.

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“For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” John 6:27

At confirmation we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and confirm our Baptismal promises.  The Sacrament of Confirmation is a special anointing that increases, deepens, and strengthens the sanctifying grace given us at our Baptism. While Baptism removes from our souls the stain of original sin, Confirmation pours into our souls the power of the Holy Spirit and His gifts, just like the Apostles received at Pentecost. Confirmation is, therefore, the sacrament most closely identified with the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

“Oh Lord, my God, I cried out to You, and You healed Me!” Psalm 30:2

The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is administered with the hoped-for effect of the illness being physically healed. But even if there is no physical healing, the primary effect is a spiritual healing by the Holy Spirit’s gift of peace and courage to deal with the difficulties of serious illness or the frailty of old age.  The priest anoints the seriously ill, injured, or the elderly with the oil of the sick. The oil of the sick is a special oil blessed by the bishop at the Chrism Mass during Holy Week.

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“From the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh so they are no longer two, but one flesh.’  Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate” Matthew 19:4-6

Marriage is inherently good and pleasing to God. It is the highest expression of mutual affection and the deepest human communion.  Its clear purpose is love, companionship and procreation.

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“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8

Ordination to the priesthood is always a call and a gift from God. Christ reminded His Apostles that they needed to ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into the harvest.  Those who seek priesthood respond generously to God’s call.  This call from God can be recognized and understood from the daily signs that disclose His will to those in charge of discerning the vocation of the candidate.

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