Eucharist
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. They are, as true witnesses of Christ, thus more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.
At the birth of the Church, the apostles, in fulfillment of Christ’s will, imparted to the newly baptized by the laying on of hands the gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of Baptism. The imposition of hands is the origin of the Sacrament of Confirmation, which in a certain way continues the grace of Pentecost in the Church today. (See Acts 2:1-42)
Confirmation imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, the “character,” which is the sign that Jesus Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of his Spirit.
Youth
For more information about the requirements for the reception of Confirmation, please contact the Parish Office.
Click here for the schedule.
Adults
If you missed Confirmation as a youth and would like to be confirmed, call the parish office to find out more information. For some, the preparation process may involve the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Your preparation process will vary based on your faith formation background.
At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet ‘in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us’.
The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” The other sacraments and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.
In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist “the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained”. (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1323-74; Luke 22:7-20; Matthew 26:17-29; Mark 14:12-25; John 6; 1st Corinthians 10:16-21, 11:23-29).
First Holy Communion
The Prerequisites for children preparing for their first communion include:
1. Baptism
2. First Reconciliation Preparation
3. Weekly attendance at Mass
4. Completion of parish or parish school religious education program the year prior and the year of sacrament preparation. Preparation normally begins in 2nd grade. The process involves a regular attendance of religion class and attendance at a parent/child retreat. First Eucharist Celebrations usually occur in early May. For more information, contact the Parish Office.
Adults who have never received their first holy communion would typically prepare for this Sacrament through the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA).