Recently Deceased and Funeral Information Just like baptisms and marriages, so at death: The rites of a community serve several purposes. They convey a great deal about how death is understood in the group, and about what relationship there is between the living and dead. They ... [read more]
Matrimony
When two people marry, the whole complex gathering of rites-some from the state, some from the family, some from the church-serves many purposes. For one, they show what all these groups think about marriage, and they try to impress these understandings on the couple. For ... [read more]
Liturgy of the Hours
Long ago, our ancestors in faith had ways for individuals and households to praise and thank God constantly, with the poetic richness of praying at morning and evening with hymns and psalms known by heart. As time went on we lost those forms of prayer. In more recent times, some ... [read more]
Holy Orders
The Sacrament of Holy Orders is according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church "the sacrament of apostolic ministry."(For a full discussion of Holy Orders see CCC paragraphs1536-1600) "Ordination" comes from the Latin word ordinatio, which means to incorporate someone into ... [read more]
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and Children
Rite of Christian Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist Every society that wants to continue must admit new members. This is true of sporting leagues, universities, the unions, the United States and churches. In some societies, very little may be required to gain ... [read more]
Sacraments
The eucharist is and remains the "source and summit" of our encounter with God in Christ. Yet the other rich and various rites of the church provide the foundation, context and entry point that help us all appreciate the centrality of the eucharist in our communal experience of ... [read more]
First Eucharist (formerly known as First Communion)
Eucharist Eucharist comes from the Greek eucharistia, meaning thanksgiving. Ever since Pentecost, when the Church, the People of God, began building a church, they were sustained with the spiritual food in times of trialsl and in time of celebration. Eucharist is that food, ... [read more]
The Rite of Confirmation
The Gathering Rite includes a welcoming hospitality for the guests and candidates. The procession of the candidates precedes the procession of the celebrant, pastor, assisting priests, lector(s) and servers. The entire assembly is invited to join in singing the gathering song. ... [read more]
Confirmation
The Rite of Confirmation The debate within the church about this sacrament is reflected in the variety of ages suggested for its celebration. In some places, the church confirms infants when they are baptized. In other cultures, confirmation may come at the same time as first ... [read more]
The Rite of Baptism
RITE OF BAPTISM (For Children Under the Age of 7) Congratulations on the birth of your child! We look forward to welcoming your child into God’s family and as a member of the Holy Family community. To begin the process for Baptizing your child at Holy Family, South ... [read more]
