YBCatholic meets on Wednesdays at 6:30 immediately after the parish dinner - everyone is invited and encouraged to attend! Sign up for text/email updates below!
Some of the most important and necessary building blocks of human life are so often taken for granted: water, air, fire, food . . . We live each day without any sense of gratitude for these blessings that sustain our physical life. And so it is for our spiritual life. The sacraments are the very lifeblood of our soul, yet in the midst of our busy lives, we can fail to understand their power and importance. Without them, we are spiritually dead. With them, the very life of God runs through us.
Highlights include:
• How the sacraments are anchored in the life and death of Jesus and are the medium through which He pours His life into our souls
• The purpose, meaning, and symbolism behind the matter of the sacraments
• How Christ administers His sacraments through human hands and what our own role is in receiving them
• An expert dissection of the instrumentality, effects, elements, character, and fruits of each sacrament.
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) outlines the steps for the formation of catechumens, bringing their conversion to the faith to a greater maturity. It helps them respond more deeply to God’s gracious initiative in their lives and prepares them for union with the Church community. This process is meant to form them into the fullness of the Christian life and to become disciples of Jesus, their teacher. This includes an initiation into the mystery of salvation, the practice of faith, hope, and love, and other virtues in a succession of liturgical rites.
Persons baptized into another Christian church and now seeking full communion with the Catholic Church are also welcomed to participate along with catechumens in the RCIA in the process of learning about the Catholic faith and being formed in that faith. They bring to the process of preparation their prior experience of Christian life and prayer. For a baptized Christian, reception into full communion with the Catholic Church involves reception of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation and then a Profession of Faith followed by the celebration of Confirmation and the Eucharist.