“Christ is the sacrament of the invisible God - a sacrament that indicates presence. God is with us.”
- Saint John Paul II -
Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church recognizes the existence of Seven Sacraments instituted by the Lord. They are the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist), the Sacraments of Healing (Penance and the Anointing of the Sick), and the Sacraments at the Service of Communion (Marriage and Holy Orders). Through the Sacraments, God shares his holiness with us so that we, in turn, can make the world holier.
A sacrament is an "efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us through the work of the Holy Spirit" (Catechism of the Catholic Church 774, 1131). "The seven sacraments touch all the stages of Christian life: they give birth and increase healing and mission to the Christian's life of faith. There is thus a certain resemblance between the stages of natural life and the stages of the spiritual life" (Catechism 1210).
According to the Second Vatican Council, "The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the body of Christ, and finally, to give worship to God. Because they are signs, they also instruct. They not only presuppose faith, but by words and objects they also nourish, strengthen, and express it; that is why they are called 'sacraments of faith.' They do indeed impart grace, but, in addition, the very act of celebrating them disposes the faithful most effectively to receive this grace in a fruitful manner, to worship God duly, and to practice charity" (Sacred Constitution on the Liturgy,59).
To learn about preparing for and celebrating the sacraments at St. Francis de Sales, please view the list of links provided on this page. Contact the parish office if you have further questions and/or have special circumstances you'd like to discuss.
To learn more about the sacraments, see the United State's Catholic Conference of Bishop's website. You can click here to go to their page on the sacraments. It offers more details about each of the seven sacraments. You may also want to view a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Faith online or purchase a copy (ISBN: 978-1-57455-110-5) which gives even more details about the sacraments and how they are to be celebrated.