Sacraments

 

The liturgy of the Church revolves around the sacraments.  Jesus entrusted seven sacraments to the Church: Baptism, the Eucharist, Reconciliation, Confirmation, Marriage, the Sacrament of the Sick and Holy Orders.

 

Each of these sacraments is an efficacious sign in which we receive the grace and divine life of God through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Through the sacraments, especially baptism and the Eucharist, Jesus fulfills his promise to us: “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt 28:20).

The Sacraments of Christian Initiation

Baptism
Baptism is the sacrament that is the basis of the entire Christian life, and is the door which gives access to the other sacraments. 

Parents who wish to have their child baptized need to be registered members of St. Stephen’s. >Learn more.

 

Eucharist
The sacrament of the Eucharist is the source and summit of weekly Christian life. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation participate with the whole community in the Lord’s own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist. >Learn more.

 

Reconciliation
Those who participate in the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God’s mercy and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded, and which by charity, example and prayer labors for their conversion. >Learn more.

 

RCIA: Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
>Learn more.

 

CIC: Christian Initiation of Children
>Learn more.

 

Confirmation
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. >Learn more.

 

Matrimony
The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.

 

Couples wishing to celebrate the Sacrament of Marriage with Mass or Liturgy of the Word are asked to enter a process of preparation at least nine months in advance of their intended wedding date. >Learn more.

 

Sacrament of Anointing
Sacred Anointing invites all those who are dealing with acute or chronic illness, young or old, physical or otherwise, to unite their suffering to the Passion and death of Christ and to turn to Jesus, the great miracle worker, and other members of the Church for healing and grace. >Learn more.

 

Holy Orders
Holy Orders is a vocational sacrament for the ordained priesthood. Through this sacrament the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church. It includes three degrees: episcopate, presbyterate and diaconate. >Learn more.

 

Funerals
For the Christian the day of death inaugurates, at the end of their sacramental life, the fulfillment of their new birth begun at Baptism. A priest or deacon works with the family to organize an appropriate celebration of the deceased’s entry into God’s heavenly kingdom. >Learn more.