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updated 4/27/2012
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"The Sacraments are outward signs,
instituted by Christ, to give grace."
—The Baltimore Catechism
The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace.
—The Book of Common Prayer
A sacrament is a sacred sign of worship by which we come into intimate personal contact with Christ and receive his grace . . . The seven sacraments are "signs" in this way: when the visible ceremony takes place, Christ brings about an invisible spiritual change within us.
—Anthony Wilhelm in Christ Among Us
God does not limit himself to these rites; they are patterns of countless ways by which God uses material things to reach out to us. Sacraments sustain our present hope and anticipate its future fulfillment.
—The Book of Common Prayer
Sacraments are very specific events in which God touches us through creation and transforms us into living Christs. The two main sacraments are baptism and the Eucharist. In baptism water is the way to transformation. In the Eucharist it is bread and wine. The most ordinary things in life—water, bread, and wine—become the sacred way by which God comes to us.
These sacraments are actual events. Water, bread, and wine are not simple reminders of God's love; they bring God to us. In baptism we are set free from the slavery of sin and dressed with Christ. In the Eucharist, Christ himself becomes our food and drink.
—Henri J. M. Nouwen
When God took on flesh in Jesus Christ, the uncreated and the created, the eternal and the temporal, the divine and the human became united. This unity meant that all that is mortal now points to the immortal, all that is finite now points to the infinite. In and through Jesus all creation has become like a splendid veil, through which the face of God is revealed to us ... This is called the sacramental quality of the created order. All that is is sacred because all that is speaks of God's redeeming love. Seas and winds, mountains and trees, sun, moon, and stars, and all the animals and people have become sacred windows offering us glimpses of God.
—Henri J. M. Nouwen
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Holy Baptism is the sacrament by which God adopts us as his children and makes us members of Christ's Body, the Church, and inheritors of the kingdom of God.
—The Book of Common Prayer
Baptism is the sacrament in which Christ joins us to himself as a member of his Church . . . By baptism, Christ initiates us into his Church, joins us to his body, the Christian Community . . . Christ frees us from sin and gives us grace in baptism by joining us to himself in his own death and resurrection.
—Anthony Wilhelm, Christ Among Us
The Sacrament of Baptism is administered to infants and young children during Sunday Mass and to teens and adults during the Easter Vigil. Please contact your parish office to arrange for a baptism.
Confirmation is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop.
—The Book of Common Prayer
Confirmation is the sacrament in which Christ gives the Holy Spirit to continue and complete our baptismal commitment, especially our bearing witness for our faith . . . At confirmation Christ sends the Holy Spirit in a fuller outpouring of his indwelling presence . . . Confirmation leads the Christian to a deeper life of the Spirit within . . . The Holy Spirit is especially associated with maturely and courageously "bearing witness" to our beliefs and moral convictions.
—Anthony Wilhelm, Christ Among Us
The Sacrament of Confirmation is administered by bthe local pastor during the Easter Vigil to those who are being received into the Church during the Vigil. The Sacrament is administered to all others during the bishop's visitation. Confirmation classes begin every autumn.
The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament commanded by Christ for the continual remembrance of his life, death, and resurrection, until his coming again.
—The Book of Common Prayer
The Holy Eucharist is Jesus Christ living among us under the appearance of bread and wine . . . Jesus Christ lives among us in the Holy Eucharist for a purpose—to make present for us his death and resurrection so that we can take part . . . Holy Communion is our great and joyous meal of love, unity, and thanksgiving . . . Christ through Holy Communion also unites us with one another, making us "one body," one Church.
—Anthony Wilhelm, Christ Among Us
At least one celebration of the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist is provided every weekend for the members of the parishes, missions and ministries affiliated with the Rumney Marsh Diocese.
First Holy Communion is celebrated at the Easter Vigil for those who are being received during the Vigil and for all others at a Sunday Mass during the Easter Season.
Holy Communion is brought to the shut-ins—as well as others unable to participate in weekend Mass—by appointment.
Holy Viaticum—i.e., "Communion of the Dying"—will be brought at any time when a person is in proximate danger of death.
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Reconciliation (AKA Penance, Confession)
Reconciliation of a Penitent, or Penance, is the rite in which those who repent of their sins may confess them to God in the presence of a priest, and receive the assurance of pardon and the grace of absolution.
—The Book of Common Prayer
Penance, or Reconciliation, is the special sacrament by which Christ forgives our sins and reconciles us to our fellow Christians . . . One is reconciled by the priest, the representative of the Church, because one has offended the whole Church by one's sins, and one comes to be reconciled to one's fellow Christians . . . An acknowledgement of one's guilt before others has usually been the first step in receiving God's forgiveness . . . We can acknowledge our guilt, ask forgiveness, and be reconciled either privately—also called confession—or publicly, in a penitential service.
—Anthony Wilhelm, Christ Among Us
We all have our secrets: thoughts, memories, feelings that we keep to ourselves. Often we think, "If people knew what I feel or think, they would not love me." These carefully kept secrets can do us much harm. They can make us feel guilty or ashamed and may lead us to self-rejection, depression, and even suicidal thoughts and actions.
One of the most important things we can do with our secrets is to share them in a safe place, with people we trust. When we have a good way to bring our secrets into the light and can look at them with others, we will quickly discover that we are not alone with our secrets and that our trusting friends will love us more deeply and more intimately than before. Bringing our secrets into the light creates community and inner healing. As a result of sharing secrets, not only will others love us better but we will love ourselves more fully.
—Henri J. M. Nouwen
A General Absolution is granted at all Masses celebrated at the parishes, missions and ministries affiliated with the Rumney Marsh Diocese. Individual celebrations of the Sacrament of Reconciliation—i.e., "private Confessions"—may be arranged by appointment.
Holy Unction (AKA Anointing of the Sick)
Holy Unction is the rite of anointing the sick with oil, or the laying on of hands, by which God's grace is given for the healing of spirit, mind, and body.
—The Book of Common Prayer
In the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, Christ uses the anointing and prayers of the priest to give comfort and strength to the soul and sometimes to the body of one seriously ill . . . This sacrament is the prayer of the Church-family, represented by the priest, that the sick person will soon return to his or her place among them . . . But if the sickness is our last, this sacrament will help us toward the great family of heaven . . . This is primarily Christ's sacrament for the healing of sickness, more than a help for the dying, and should be given as soon as possible in any serious illness.
—Anthony Wilhelm, Christ Among Us
The Sacrament of Holy Unction—AKA the "Anointing of the Sick"—is administered in all parishes and missions affiliated with the Rumney Marsh Diocese after Mass one Sunday each month and at other times by appointment.
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Holy Matrimony (AKA Marriage, Holy Union)
Holy Matrimony is Christian marriage, in which two individuals enter into a life-long union, make their vows before God and the Church, and receive the grace and blessing of God to help them fulfill their vows.
—After The Book of Common Prayer
Christ made Marriage a sacrament in that he gave it a new meaning, a new power, and a new beauty...Marriage is the sacrament by which Christ joins two Christians in a grace-giving, lifelong union of mutual growth and creativity...Marriage is in a special way a sacrament of the Church-community, the "whole Christ" uniting the couple by their communal love and pledging the couple their lifelong support...A Christian marriage is a sign to the world of Christ's presence among us.
—After Anthony Wilhelm, Christ Among Us
The Sacrament of Matrimony is administered after a suitable period of preparation. Please contact your local pastor at least 18 months prior to your proposed wedding date for more information.
Ordination is the rite in which God gives authority and the grace of the Holy Spirit to those being made bishops, priests, and deacons, through prayer and the laying on of hands by bishops.
—The Book of Common Prayer
Today it is increasingly seen that the Church is a community in which different people have different gifts, all of which are necessary and important . . . every Christian shares in Christ's priesthood and is a special mediator between God and humankind . . . [Yet,] there have always been priests among us, mediators between God and humankind . . . Jesus Christ is the one priest of the new covenant, the great and only necessary mediator between God and us . . . Christ chose the apostles to carry on his work . . . From the first century there has been a hierarchy of orders in the Church—bishops, priests, and deacons . . . and those chosen for service in these roles receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders as the Church's witness to their call.
—Anthony Wilhelm, Christ Among Us
The Sacrament of Holy Orders is administered when indicated by legitimate need and when a ministry candidate has completed the appropriate program of formation. For further information you may wish to check out our diocesan web site—www.themissiondiocese.com.
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