THE SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH

This section of the parish website is dedicated to the various scaraments including; baptism, confession, confirmation, holy communion, marriage and anointing of the sick. 

Sacramental Preparation for Children

Our parish offers an extensive, imaginative and fun faith development programme for children preparing to receive the sacraments of First Reconciliation, Confirmation & Eucharist.

Children must be in Year 4 or above to take part in the programme which runs from September until June each year, during which time the children will receive all three of the above sacraments.

The children and their families attend Sunday Mass each week. The children receive instruction from our dedicated team of catechists during their own liturgy of the Word, leaving their parents free to engage with the liturgy at an adult level. Parents are also invited to attend three evening sessions designed to help them engage with the journey their children are making.

The whole parish supports the programme in prayer and through participation in the public celebrations held at Mass so as to mark the children's progress. First Confession is made during Advent, Confirmation in Eastertide and First Holy Communion is received at a special Mass in June. The families and parishioners who participate in this programme find it to be highly enriching and worth the great commitment required of them.

The programme can also be tailored to help older children prepare for the Sacrament of Baptism

Please feel free to contact either Sr Monica or Fr Michael should you wish to learn more about sacramental preparation. 

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) / Adult Journey in Faith

Those adults who desire to become full members of the Roman Catholic Church follow the RCIA process and are Baptised (when necessary), Confirmed and make their Holy Communion at the Easter Vigil. The RCIA is also open to Roman Catholic adults who have not completed the Sacraments of Initiation (namely Communion and Confirmation). Those who are already full members of the church are welcome to join the group to learn more about their faith.

From September until Easter the Group meets at St Francis' Church on alternate Wednesdays. Please contact Sr Monica for further details.

Fr Mike also runs a series of informal and relaxed enquiry evenings for those wishing to connect with their faith and the church. Details can be found in your parish newsletter.

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1210 Christ instituted the sacraments of the new law. There are seven: Baptism, Confirmation (or Chrismation), 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:¹ 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.

1211 Following this analogy, the first chapter will expound the three sacraments of Christian initiation; the second, the sacraments of healing; and the third, the sacraments at the service of communion and the mission of the faithful. This order, while not the only one possible, does allow one to see that the sacraments form an organic whole in which each particular sacrament has its own vital place. In this organic whole, the Eucharist occupies a unique place as the "Sacrament of sacraments": "all the other sacraments are ordered to it as to their end."²