What is a Sacrament?
A Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.
an outward sign
An outward sign is an action performed by a minister, usually a priest, using things (water, oil, etc.), words, and/or gestures which give significance to what is being done.
instituted by Christ
Between the time He began public life and the time He ascended into heaven, Jesus fashioned the seven Sacraments. When He ascended into heaven, that put an end to the making of Sacraments. The Church cannot institute new Sacraments. There can never be more or fewer than seven Sacraments.
to give grace
Grace is what is given to us by God so that we might have eternal life.
In the Catholic Church, there are seven sacraments: Baptism, Penance, Eucharist, Confirmation, Matrimony, Anointing of the Sick, and Holy Orders.
You can read about each sacrament below.
Baptism
The origin and foundation of Christian Baptism is Jesus. Before starting His public ministry, Jesus submitted himself to the baptism given by John the Baptist.
The waters did not purify Him; instead, He cleansed the waters. Jesus did not need to be baptized, because He was totally faithful to the will of His Father
and free from sin. However, He wanted to show His solidarity with human beings in order to reconcile them to the Father. By commanding His disciples to baptize all nations, He established the means by which people would die to sin, Original and actual, and begin to live a new life with God.
“In Baptism, the Holy Spirit moves us to answer Christ’s call to holiness. In Baptism, we are asked to walk by the light of Christ and to trust in His wisdom.
We are invited to submit our hearts to Christ with ever-deeper love.”
~from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults
If you want to receive the Sacrament of Baptism at St. Hubert Church, email the Parish Office
at [email protected] or call at 360-221-5383 for more information.
Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”
John 6:51, 53
Eucharist
When Jesus instituted the Eucharist, he gave a final meaning to the blessing of the bread and the wine and the sacrifice of the lamb.
The Gospels narrate events that anticipated the Eucharist. The miracle of the loaves and fishes, reported in all four Gospels, prefigured the unique
abundance of the Eucharist. The miracle of changing water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana manifested the divine glory of Jesus and the heavenly
wedding feast we share at every Eucharist. In his dialogue with the people at Capernaum, Christ used his miracle of multiplying the loaves of bread
as the occasion to describe himself as the Bread of Life.
~from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults
Click here for more information about the Sacrament of First Eucharist at St. Hubert Church.
Confirmation
The prophets of the Old Testament foretold that God’s Spirit would rest upon the Messiah to sustain his mission. Their prophecy was fulfilled when
Jesus the Messiah was conceived by the Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus on the occasion of his baptism by John.
Jesus’ entire mission occurred in communion with the Spirit. Before he died, Jesus promised that the Spirit would be given to the Apostles and to the
entire Church. After his death, he was raised by the Father in the power of the Spirit.
Confirmation deepens our baptismal life that calls us to be missionary witnesses of Jesus Christ in our families, neighborhoods, society, and the world. …
We receive the message of faith in a deeper and more intensive manner with great emphasis given to the person of Jesus Christ, who asked the Father
to give the Holy Spirit to the Church for building up the community in loving service.
~from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults
Click here for more information about receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation at St. Hubert Church.
Penance
Not only does the Sacrament of Penance free us from our sins but it also challenges us to have the same kind of compassion and forgiveness for
those who sin against us. We are liberated to be forgivers. We obtain new insight into the words of the Prayer of St. Francis:
“It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.”
Jesus entrusted the ministry of reconciliation to the Church. The Sacrament of Penance is God’s gift to us so that any sin committed after Baptism can be forgiven. In confession, we have the opportunity to repent and recover the grace of friendship with God. It is a holy moment in which we place ourselves
in his presence and honestly acknowledge our sins, especially mortal sins. With absolution, we are reconciled to God and the Church.
The Sacrament helps us stay close to the truth that we cannot live without God.
“In him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28
~from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults
Confession is on Saturday at 4:00pm or by appointment.
Anointing of the Sick
In the Church’s Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, through the ministry of the priest, it is Jesus who touches the sick to heal them from sin, and
sometimes even from physical ailment. His cures were signs of the arrival of the Kingdom of God. The core message of his healing tells us of his plan to
conquer sin and death by his dying and rising.
The Rite of Anointing of the Sick tells us there is no need to wait until a person is at the point of death to receive the Sacrament.
A careful judgment about the serious nature of the illness is sufficient.
When the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given, the hoped-for effect is that, if it be God’s will, the person will be physically healed of illness.
But, even if there is no physical healing, the primary effect of the Sacrament is a spiritual healing by which the sick person receives the Holy Spirit’s gift
of peace and courage to deal with the difficulties that accompany serious illness or the frailty of old age.
~from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults
If you want to request the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, email the parish office at [email protected] or call the office at (360) 221-5383.
Matrimony
Sacred Scripture begins with the creation and union of man and woman and ends with “the wedding feast of the Lamb” (Rev 19:7, 9). Scripture often refers to marriage, its origin and purpose, the meaning God gave to it, and its renewal in the covenant made by Jesus with his Church.
By their marriage, the couple witnesses Christ’s spousal love for the Church. One of the Nuptial Blessings in the liturgical celebration of marriage refers to this in saying, “Father, you have made the union of man and wife so holy a mystery that it symbolizes the marriage of Christ and his Church.”
The Sacrament of Marriage is a covenant, which is more than a contract. Covenant always expresses a relationship between persons. The marriage covenant refers to the relationship between the husband and wife, a permanent union of persons capable of knowing and loving each other and God. Thecelebration of marriage is also a liturgical act, appropriately held in a public liturgy at church. Catholics are urged to celebrate their marriage within the Eucharistic Liturgy.
~from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults
If you wish to be married at St. Hubert Church, email the parish office at [email protected] or call the office at (360) 221-5383.
Isaiah 6:8
Holy Orders
From the moment of Jesus’ conception in the womb of Mary until his Resurrection, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. In biblical language, he was anointed by the Holy Spirit and thus established by God the Father as our high priest. As Risen Lord, he remains our high priest. … While all the baptized share in Christ’s priesthood, the ministerial priesthood shares this through the Sacrament of Holy Orders in a special way.
Ordination to the priesthood is always a call and a gift from God. Christ reminded his Apostles that they needed to ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into the harvest. Those who seek priesthood respond generously to God’s call using the words of the prophet, “Here I am, send me.” (Is 6:8). This call from God can be recognized and understood from the daily signs that disclose his will to those in charge of discerning the vocation of the candidate.
~from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults
What is the sacrament of holy orders?
Holy means “set apart” and order designates an established body with a hierarchy. Ordination is a legal incorporation into an order.
All members of the Church participate in the priesthood of all believers through baptism. However, some men are called to serve Jesus and the Church today through the celebration of the sacrament of holy orders. Through their leadership in the Church, they help continue Jesus’ presence on earth in the apostolic ministry.
Those who are called to be priests are ordained through the Rite of Ordination. In celebrating this rite, men receive a permanent spiritual mark, called a character, signifying that they represent Jesus’ presence in the Church.
There are three levels of participation in the sacrament of holy orders: as bishop, as priest and as deacon.
BISHOP: A bishop receives the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders. He is the head or ordinary of the local Church. The local area entrusted to him is called a diocese. A bishop is also a member of the episcopal college: all the bishops who, with the pope, guide the Church.
PRIEST: Priests serve the community in various ways. They may be called to serve in their dioceses or as religious order priests, carrying out the mission of a particular religious community. They preside at liturgies, preach, administer the sacraments, counsel people, serve as pastors and teach.
DEACON: Deacons help and serve bishops by serving the needs of the Church, proclaiming the Gospel, teaching and preaching, baptizing, witnessing marriages and assisting the priest celebrant at liturgies.
Deacons are ordained for service in the Church. There are deacons who are studying to become priests (transitional deacons) as well as deacons, including married men, who are called to remain deacons for life and serve the Church in this capacity (permanent deacons).
Priests receive the sacrament of holy orders in the Rite of Ordination. The bishop lays his hands on the head of the candidate and says a prayer asking for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In one part of the rite, the candidate lies in front of the altar while the Litany of the Saints is sung or recited. In another part of the rite, a priest’s hands are anointed with chrism. In the rite for a bishop, the new bishop’s head is anointed.
(adapted from Sacrament of Holy Orders, Loyola Press)
~ from the Archdiocese of Seattle
Contact Fr. Chris Hoiland at [email protected] for more information about a calling to the priesthood.