|
|
Sacraments |
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
|
BAPTISM
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
BECOMING A CATHOLIC (RCIA)
|
|||||||||||||||
|
A warm welcome to all
who may be enquiring about sacraments at this time. There are seven Sacraments celebrated in
the Catholic Tradition, they are Baptism, Reconciliation (also called
Confession or Penance), Eucharist (also called Communion); Confirmation;
Anointing of the Sick; Marriage and Holy Orders. You can find out about any of these
sacraments by clicking on the links at the top of this page. If you are an adult
considering becoming a Catholic, interested in revisiting your faith or a
baptised Christian wanting to be received into the Catholic Church, please
click here to find out more information on this process. If you are a Catholic
wanting to have your child baptised, please click here. If you are a parent wanting
your children to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and/or Confirmation
and First Communion. Please click here. For further information
please contact the Parish Office or click on the relevant link below: ___________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||||||||||||
|
BAPTISM
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
BECOMING A CATHOLIC (RCIA)
|
|||||||||||||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________________ Sacramental Program for School-Age Children (for the Sacraments of Reconciliation,
Confirmation and First Eucharist): Surfers Paradise
Parish follows the Archdiocesan Sacramental Guidelines. To view a copy of these guidelines, please
click here.
The Sacramental Program is
entirely run by the Parish (not the Families that are members of
Surfers Paradise Parish (attend weekly Sunday Mass in Surfers Paradise
Parish), are enrolled in schools in Surfers Paradise Parish, or live in the
boundaries of Surfers Paradise Parish are eligible to enrol in the Surfers
Paradise Sacramental Program. Families that live outside the
boundaries, are not members of Surfers Paradise Parish (attend weekly Sunday
Mass in the Parish) or are not enrolled in schools within Surfers Paradise Parish
boundaries will need a letter of recommendation from the Parish Priest of the
Parish within which boundaries they live. Children who are baptised and aged
at least 7 years are eligible to celebrate 2nd Rite of Reconciliation. Registration forms for
Confirmation/Eucharist will be available week 1 of First Term of school. The Sacrament of
Confirmation will be celebrated on Friday, 28th May and Friday, 4th
June 2010. The Sacrament of First Eucharist
will be celebrated on the weekends of 29th & 30th
May and 5th & 6th June 2010. Registration forms for 2nd Rite of
Reconciliation will be available week 1 of Second Term of school. Registration closes for 2nd Rite
of Reconciliation on Friday, 25th June. Registrations received
after this date will be held over to 2011. The Sacrament of
Reconciliation will be celebrated on Tuesday, 31st August and
Wednesday, 1st September 2010. Please
note that Baptism and Reconciliation (also known as Penance or Confession) is
a pre-requisite for Confirmation and First Communion. Children must be 7 years or older to be
admitted to Reconciliation and 8 years or older to be admitted to
Confirmation and First Communion. Faith education takes
place in a number of different contexts: - The family (“ - The Parish - The School Parents play an instrumental
role in the preparation of their children for the Sacraments. There are some important steps to be aware
of if you are considering the Sacraments of Reconciliation and/or
Confirmation and First Eucharist in 2010:
The progressive introduction
of children to the sacraments includes discernment of their readiness, which
is not simply a matter of age. The child needs to be at home in and familiar
with the Sacred Liturgy of the community. The child will be judged ready to
receive the sacraments when the child has achieved appropriate faith
development, when adequate on-going faith support is assured and when
continued faith education is accessible to the child. This understanding of
READINESS GOES BEYOND YEAR LEVELS. The process of Christian
Initiation is subject to the law of the Church and each Diocese. The
order of the sacraments is as follows:
The Sacramental Program involves
attendance at compulsory information sessions, a Parent-Child Home-Program
and a one-on-one meeting with a member of our Parish Team. The Sacrament of Reconciliation was commonly known
as “Confession” or “Penance” depending on how old you are. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we
express sorrow for our sins, and God forgives us. Children would normally receive this
Sacrament before receiving Confirmation and Eucharist. Last year our Parish
conducted a preparation program for this Sacrament in April. Children
are usually considered ready to prepare for this Sacrament from around Grade
Two level, but can wait until they are older if they wish. This Sacrament is celebrated regularly for
adults at scheduled times.
Reconciliation is also celebrated on occasions using the 2nd Rite, which
involves communal prayers of repentance, followed by individual confession
and absolution. If you have a child who is at school-age wishing to
celebrate this sacrament for the first time, please read the details about
the Sacramental
Program above. If you are an adult
wishing to receive this sacrament for the first time, this can be arranged
via the RCIA
program. Confirmation & First Communion In the Archdiocese of
Brisbane, the Sacrament of Confirmation and the Sacrament of First Communion
(also called First reception of the Eucharist) are celebrated at the same time.
They are however two distinct sacraments with their own unique theologies.
Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist are the three Sacraments of
initiation. Through the reception of
these Sacraments our baptism is strengthened and renewed. In Holy Communion, or Eucharist, we receive Christ.
This sacrament is the centre and summit of prayer and worship in the Catholic
faith, and the highpoint of Christian Initiation. Children are usually considered ready to
prepare for this Sacrament from around Grade Three level, provided that they
have received their first sacrament of Reconciliation. Last year our Parish began a preparation program
for this Sacrament beginning at the end of Term Two. Preparation for
Confirmation and First Communion take place together, and Confirmation and
First Communion are celebrated on the same weekend. Most commonly we would celebrate
Confirmation on Friday evening and First Communion at the weekend mass. Children who have received First Communion
but not Confirmation can also take part in this program. 180 children from the Parish received these sacraments in October
last year. Trying to choose a Confirmation Name? Visit Saint
Search for all you need to know about your favourite holy men
and women. If you have a child who is at school-age wishing to
celebrate this sacrament for the first time, please read the details about
the Sacramental
Program above. If you are an adult
wishing to receive this sacrament for the first time, this can be arranged
via the RCIA
program. If you are considering
becoming a Catholic or finding out more about the Christian faith, this could
well be a time of mixed excitement and anxiety. The community of Surfers Paradise warmly
welcomes you and encourages you to take the time to discern God’s presence in
your life and whether this is the path that you are being called to. For adults wishing to be baptised or
welcomed into the Catholic Church, this is a journey. The journey is designed to allow you the
time, space and support to determine whether this is right for you. In the late sixties, the Catholic Church prescribed
a revision to the process for baptism and initiation into the Church for
adults. From this revision was born
the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) – A process which is
believed to more accurately model the rites of initiation in the early
Church. This rite is designed for
adults who, after hearing the mystery of Christ proclaimed, consciously and
freely seek the living God and enter the way of faith and conversion as the
Holy Spirit opens their hearts. By
God’s help they will be strengthened spiritually during their preparation and
at the proper time will receive the sacraments fruitfully. On a practical level the RCIA involves meeting
regularly for a prescribed period of time (usually 6-8 months) on a weekly
basis. These meetings normally occur
in someone’s home. The person who
lead’s each session is called the Catechist.
It is the Catechist’s role to prepare material on a given topic each
week and to facilitate discussion and conversation. Surfers Paradise Parish utilises a book
called “At Home With God’s People” by Fr Bill O’Shea and Peter Gagan. This book outlines 25 topics some of these
are: prayer, the bible, the Church, the Sacraments, the Mass, Sin and
Forgiveness, Marriage, Ministry, Authority and Social Justice. The RCIA is designed so that anyone can be involved
and without any obligation to be initiated into the Catholic Church at the
end of the process. Commonly the
people who take part in the RCIA are: non-baptised people who have
encountered Christianity through acquaintances, work or circumstance;
baptised Christians from other denominations who wish to become Catholic;
Catholics returning to faith after a period of absence; or simply people who
are curious to find out what Catholics believe. Those who wish to be baptised
or received into the Catholic Church at the end of this process will receive
their sacraments at the Easter Vigil 2008.
The first step in the enquiry process is to make an appointment to
meet with the Parish Pastoral Associate, Sue Thomas. Sue can be contacted on 5572 5433 Tuesday
to Friday or by e-mail here. Below are some photos of people
who completed the RCIA process in our community. |
||||||||||||||||
|
Above: Cecilia Kim
Chong (RCIA Candidate) being baptised by Right: Belinda Anne
Blyton (RCIA Candidate) being received into full communion and confirmed by
Fr Anthony Girvan, with Sponsor, Karen Harrison. 10 July 2005. |
|
|||||||||||||||
|
The Sacrament of the Anointing
of the sick is a sacrament of healing.
Traditionally this sacrament was reserved for the gravely ill and
dying. While the Sacrament is still
ministered in this way, it is further seen as a Sacrament that can be
received more than once in a person’s life when healing is needed, especially
for people experiencing ongoing sickness or poor physical or mental health. A Healing Mass is celebrated
at Sacred Heart Church on the first Tuesday of every month at 11 am. The sacrament of anointing can be received
at this mass. For instances of grave
illness or imminent death, people can contact the Parish Office on 5572 5433
for a priest to come and minister the Sacrament privately. If a parishioner is at a hospital outside
of the Parish, we can organise for a priest at a closer neighbouring parish
to visit and minister the sacrament. |
Above: Fr Nick Punch OP ministering the Sacrament of Anointing at the
conclusion of the 2005 Parish Mission.
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the
mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the
Church until the end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry.
It includes three degrees: episcopate [Bishop], presbyterate [Priest], and
diaconate [Deacon]. (CCC 1536). In the Roman Catholic Church this is a sacrament
that is available to men only and involves a process of discernment,
formation and placement. Married men
may be ordained as Deacons while Priests must be unmarried. If you are considering a vocation to the
priesthood, you may wish to make an appointment with one of the priests at
Surfers Paradise Parish or contact the Brisbane Director of Vocations Fr Ian Wren. For further information please see the
Brisbane Vocations web site http://vocations.catholic.net.au/.
|
||||||||||||||||
BAPTISM
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
BECOMING A CATHOLIC (RCIA)
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||
