Sacraments and Sacramental Programs
places of encounter with GodA Message from Father Leo
- Do I want to grow in faith and in a personal friendship with Christ?
- Do I want to show that I belong to the Church and support the Church?
- Do I pray every day?
- Do I attend Sunday Mass?
- Am I prepared to accept and fulfil all the requirements of the preparation program?
- Am I prepared to continue to learn about and practise my faith?
Baptism
How to have your child baptised at St Paul’s
(click here for more information)
Eucharist
Children in Year 3 and above are able to prepare for the Sacrament of Holy Communion during Term 3.
Marriage
Getting Married in the beautiful St Paul's is surprisingly easy and affordable.
Reconciliation
The Sacrament of Reconciliation may be received by children from Year 3 onwards. This Sacrament precedes First Holy Communion.
Confirmation
Confirmation is the third Sacrament of Initiation and is available to children in Year 6 and above .
Anointing of the Sick
The Anointing of the Sick is offered to anyone who needs the healing presence of the Lord.
Visible and Invisible
We recognise that the Sacraments have a visible and invisible reality, a reality open to all the human senses but grasped in its God-given depths with the eyes of faith. When parents hug their children, for example, the visible reality we see is the hug. The invisible reality the hug conveys is love. We cannot “see” the love the hug expresses, though sometimes we can see its nurturing effect in the child.
A response to grace
The visible reality we see in the Sacraments is their outward expression, the form they take, and the way in which they are administered and received. The invisible reality we cannot “see” is God’s grace, his gracious initiative in redeeming us through the death and Resurrection of his Son. His initiative is called grace because it is the free and loving gift by which he offers people a share in his life, and shows us his favor and will for our salvation. Our response to the grace of God’s initiative is itself a grace or gift from God by which we can imitate Christ in our daily lives.
Jesus is the foundation
The saving words and deeds of Jesus Christ are the foundation of what he would communicate in the Sacraments through the ministers of the Church. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church recognizes the existence of Seven Sacraments instituted by the Lord. They are the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist), the Sacraments of Healing (Penance and the Anointing of the Sick), and the Sacraments at the Service of Communion (Marriage and Holy Orders). Through the Sacraments, God shares his holiness with us so that we, in turn, can make the world holier.