Sacraments

Baptism
BAPTISMAL TEAM
The Baptismal Team aims to welcome, support and assist families preparing for the baptism of their child. Please contact one of the Priests on 9310 1747.

On being a Godparent

To be a Godparent means:

To accompany the godchildren on their way,

To discover the wonders of the world together with them,

To be their friend.
whenever they need a person who has got time to play, to talk or just to be there.

To be father or mother.
if parents are missing or don't understand,
if they fail or cannot cope with their task as parent or as Christians.

To intervene
between parents and children if there are conflicts when communication becomes difficult

To bear witness
   of what it means to live a Christian life
   of the reliability and the insecurity of faith,
   of the endeavor to be good,
   of how to deal with weakness, failure and guilt,
   of forgiveness offered and received.

And to pray for them and together with them
as a friend
for a lifetime

What Godparents have to do:

at the celebration of baptism:

To sign their godchildren with the cross,
To declare their readiness to help with the Christian education of their godchildren
To confess the faith of the church

during the first years:

To keep contact with the parents,
To build up a relationship with the godchild,
To pray for their godchild,
Occasionally to baby-sit if need be,
To remember the birthdays of their godchildren,
To join in the celebration of their name-feast,
To tell their godchild the story of their patron saint (their godparents in heaven)

at school age:

To pass on the faith:
by choosing presents (a bible, a prayer book a hymn book, a cross, a holy water bowl, a rosary)
by talking with the child on matters of faith,
by showing interest in their preparation for First communion, first Reconciliation, Confirmation,
by participating in worship together.

First Reconciliation
Please see Religious Education Program at the bottom of this page for students not attending Catholic Schools.

For more information on the Sacrament of Reconciliation click here.

First Holy Communion
Please see Religious Education Program at the bottom of this page for students not attending Catholic Schools.

Confirmation
Please see Religious Education Program at the bottom of this page for students not attending Catholic Schools.

Marriage

THINKING ABOUT ENGAGEMENT OR MARRIAGE?

Catholic Engaged Encounter can help get your life together off to a great start! (Parents/Grandparents - it's a great gift idea!) An Engaged Encounter weekend provides a couple the opportunity to discuss openly and honestly with each other their future lives together. Research indicates that couples who possess good communication, problem solving and decision making skills stand a much better chance of their marriage lasting. Ring 9281 8314 for booking information and 9451 1798 for enquiries.

Catholic Marriage Education Services also run information and preparation sessions.

Religious Education Program
Preparing children for the sacraments

Our parish runs an extensive after school Religious Education Program for those children in years 1 to 7 that are not attending Catholic Schools.

The program also prepares children for the Sacraments of Reconciliation, First Communion and Confirmation.

Classes run each Wednesday during term starting at 4pm.

For enquiries please contact Margaret on 9310 1747 (Wednesday 10.30am-5.30pm) or email. Costs are $30 per year for a single child, $40 per year for a family.

Candles for the Sacraments
Please email for details on personalised candles for baptisms, marriage and other special occasions.

www.instrumentum.com.au

The Sacrament of Reconciliation

The Sacrament of Reconciliation, often known simply as "confession" is God's Ocean of Mercy, Forgiveness and Healing, the grace of which is little understood in our time. People are often afraid of it, do not understand it, neglect it, see it as of no consequence, have had negative experiences of it, do not know how to go about it or have hardly matured in the practice of it since their childhood "First Confession". Often the same list of sins is hurriedly rattled off and people find themselves living no differently after their confession than they were before. Going to Confession helps us to ensure that we are not being lazy in our relationship with God. It is a time to be really honest with God. This is an invitation to us to think again and to return to the Sacrament more frequently with a renewed understanding of it.

Why Confession?
God loves us and longs to heal us and set us free. This He does when we turn to Him and tell Him of our sins. The awareness of personal sin is our starting point. "Yes, I am disordered; there is sin in my life, but other factors have affected me.:

Forgiveness
God forgave each one of us through His Son Jesus, when He suffered and died in expiation for our sins, from the Cross. He invites us to come to Him and acknowledge our sinfulness, thereby making the blood fo Jesus our healing remedy and our source of salvation. Confession is the means of receiving this forgiveness, by the direct touch of Jesus through His body the Church.

Healing
What is healed? Our guilt and sin are forgiven. We hope for healing for the wound caused by our own sins and those of others. The wounds of sin are wounds we carry within, and their pain is often crushing and crippling. They can lead us into sinful, compulsive actions and behaviours, hurtful to others and to ourselves. Conf3ession provides an opportunity to ask for help and healing in these areas.

..."Just as the wounds of sin are varied and multiple in the life of the individual and the community, so too the healing which penance provides is varied..." (New Rite of Penance no 7.)

What does confession involve?

Preparation through prayer, examination of conscience and sorrow for sin.

What is a sin?
Sin is any wilful, desire, word, action or omission forbidden by the law of God. It inflicts a wound not only on the sinner but also on one's neighbour and the whole Church. There are two kinds of sin, original sin (forgiven through Baptism) and actual sin (forgiven through genuine sorrow, often with Confession).

Actual sin is every sin which we ourselves commit. actual sin is either:

Mortal sin, involving a serious matter to which we give full, free, deliberate consent which deprives us of the Life of Christ and which, unrepented, would mean hell; or

venial sin involving serious matters to which we consent without full deliberation, or the everyday compromise, unloving deeds, decisions and attitudes we have made.

How often doe we hear Jesus say to us, "Why have you persecuted me?" Venial sin is the gateway to mortal sin. We are bound to confess to a priest each and every mortal sin of which we are aware, in order to receive forgiveness. This is the teaching of the Church. St. Paul tells us to, "Be very careful about the sort of lives you lead..." (Eph 5:15)

Sorrow
Expression of sorrow and contrition are an essential part of the path towards reconciliation with god, our neighbour and the Church. It is here we may change our lives and repair the damage, scandal, pain and hurt we have caused. Often confession only touches the surface of our lives, whilst our souls are sick due to lack of truth about ourselves and the effects our sins have on others. Superficial healing follows superficial sorrow, focused on how our sin hurt us rather than how it hurt Christ in others. True sorrow and consequent determination to change deepens healing.

"...Frequent confession helps us grow in genuine self-knowledge, humility, bad habits are corrected, spiritual neglect and tepidity are resisted, attained..."
(Pius XII Mystici Corporis. 1945).