For Catholics, the Sacrament of Baptism is the first step in a lifelong journey of commitment and discipleship. It is often called the “Door of the Church” as it is the first of seven sacraments. It initiates a person into the Catholic faith and welcomes them as a member of the church.  The Baptism of Adults typically takes place during the Easter Vigil Mass (Saturday night before Easter) and after the person has gone through the R.C.I.A. program. R.C.I.A. (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) is an ongoing inquiry program about the Catholic faith.  

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.   (taken from the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults)

By his Real Presence in the Eucharist Christ fulfills his promise to be with us "always, until the end of the age" (Mt 28:20). As St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, "It is the law of friendship that friends should live together. . . . Christ has not left us without his bodily presence in this our pilgrimage, but he joins us to himself in this sacrament in the reality of his body and blood" (Summa Theologiae, III q. 75, a. 1).  First Communion is the name given to a person’s first reception of the sacrament of Eucharist. It is typically received by children around the age of seven or eight following two years of sacramental preparation. At St. Mary it takes place during second grade following the sacrament of Reconciliation, but can also take place during the Easter Vigil when an adult enters the church through R.C.I.A.

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). 

When the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given, the hoped-for effect is that, if it be God's will, the person 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.

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. The celebration 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 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.