Baptism
In the Rite of Baptism for Children, the Priest or Deacon addresses parents in the following words: “You have asked to have your children baptized. In doing so you are accepting the responsibility of training them in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring them up to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor. Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?”
With these words, the Church entrusts parents with the responsibility of raising their children in the Catholic faith. Parents engaged in adult formation and active in the life and mission of their parish provide a compelling witness to their children. Family participation in the Sunday Mass and commitment to service within and beyond the parish community demonstrates enthusiasm for the Catholic faith. Formation sessions prior to Baptism can help parents discern God’s presence in their lives. Rehearsals are conducted at these classes so it’s is important to attend.
To inquire about or schedule a Baptism, please contact :
Joy Weir
1-804-212-3893
Confirmation
Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the “sacraments of Christian initiation,” whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. By the Sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized are most perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. We become true witnesses of Christ, spreading the Word of God through our Catholic faith. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.
For information about Adult Confirmation please email:
Maria Thorsen
Director of Religious Education
For information about Youth Confirmation please email:
Joy Weir
Youth Minister
First Holy Communion
The seven sacraments have their origins in the life and teachings of Jesus. The sacraments are signs of the new covenant between God and humans. The Sacrament of First Holy Communion completes the Sacraments of Initiation, nourishing the baptized with Christ’s own Body and Blood and uniting us with God and one another in Jesus.
For information about First Holy Communion please see overview below. Direct questions to:
Joy Weir
Sacramental Preparation for First Penance and First Holy Communion
Sacramental Preparation for First Penance and First Holy Communion takes place in Second Grade and includes formation classes for the children and parents. Children who are beyond second grade who have not received their First Holy Communion are welcome and encouraged to attend these classes.
All classes begin with a Pot-Luck Family Lunch following the 11:00 am Mass in the Parish Hall. Contact Joy Weir for the full calendar.
Contact Joy Weir
Penance
Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God’s mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion.
It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner’s personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction.
It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a “confession” – acknowledgment and praise – of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man.
It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest’s sacramental absolution God grants the penitent “pardon and peace.”
It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the live of God who reconciles: “Be reconciled to God. He who lives by God’s merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord’s call: “Go; first be reconciled to your brother.”
Penance is available regularly at 4pm on Saturdays and following the 7pm Mass on Wednesdays. Check our Cathedral calendar for any changes to the schedule.
Marriage
Most Striking Place to Worship!
Congratulations to the Cathedral, the Most Striking Place to Worship, as judged and selected by the readership of Richmond Bride! Please join in thanking our wedding coordinators, religious celebrants, musicians, and all individuals who earned this designation through their tireless work in creating a truly blessed and memorable sacrament for over 60 couples each year!
The couple’s home priest or deacon prepares them for marriage. Normally, this is the priest or deacon of the parish where the couple regularly attends Mass, or the parish in which one of them resides. The cathedral rector (priest) or a cathedral deacon will only prepare those couples who are members of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.
Weddings are scheduled once the priest or deacon conducting the marriage preparation has met with the couple and completed the prenuptial investigation, verifying that there are no impediments to the marriage.
Either the couple’s home priest or deacon, or the cathedral rector or a cathedral deacon, can officiate the wedding. A cleric other than the cathedral rector must receive delegation (authorization) for the wedding (Code of Canon Law, canon 1108).
If neither the bride nor the groom resides within the boundaries of the cathedral parish, each must obtain permission from his or her territorial pastor to be married at the cathedral (canon 1115). This permission is required even if the territorial pastor of the bride and / or groom is to himself officiate the wedding at the cathedral.
The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.
Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of “the wedding-feast of the Lamb. Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its “mystery,” its institution and the meaning God has given it, its origin and its end, its various realizations throughout the history of salvation, the difficulties arising from sin and its renewal “in the Lord” in the New Covenant of Christ and the Church.
The sacrament of Matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It gives spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ has loved his Church; the grace of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of the spouses, strengthens their indissoluble unity, and sanctifies them on the way to eternal life (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1799).
Contact: Janice Guzman
Holy Orders
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, presbyterate, and diaconate.
Given the importance that the ordination of a bishop, a priest, or a deacon has for the life of the particular Church, its celebration calls for as many of the faithful as possible to take part. It should take place preferably on Sunday, in the cathedral, with solemnity appropriate to the occasion. All three ordinations, of the bishop, of the priest, and of the deacon, follow the same movement. Their proper place is within the Eucharistic liturgy.
The essential rite of the sacrament of Holy Orders for all three degrees consists in the bishop’s imposition of hands on the head of the ordinand and in the bishop’s specific consecratory prayer asking God for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and his gifts proper to the ministry to which the candidate is being ordained.
The grace of the Holy Spirit proper to this sacrament is configuration to Christ as Priest, Teacher, and Pastor, of whom the ordained is made a minister.
Anointing of the Sick
By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ.
The Anointing of the Sick “is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived.”
If a sick person who received this anointing recovers his health, he can in the case of another grave illness receive this sacrament again. If during the same illness the person’s condition becomes more serious, the sacrament may be repeated. It is fitting to receive the Anointing of the Sick just prior to a serious operation. The same holds for the elderly whose frailty becomes more pronounced.
Source: Catechism of the Catholic Church
Funerals
Before contacting us regarding a funeral, please begin making arrangements with a funeral home.
Funeral Masses are typically celebrated during the weekday and generally take place at 12:00 Noon.
We offer you our sincere condolences.
Contact: Janice Guzman