Sacraments

Reconciliation

Confessions are Saturday at 4:00 pm or any time by request.

The Sacrament of Penance is the first of two sacraments of healing. The Catechism of the Catholic Church mentions in the following order and capitalization different names of the sacrament, calling it the sacrament of conversion, Penance, confession, forgiveness and Reconciliation. It is the sacrament of spiritual healing of a baptized person from the distancing from God resulting from sins committed. When people sin after baptism, they cannot have baptism as a remedy; Baptism, which is a spiritual regeneration, cannot be given a second time.

The sacrament involves four elements: (1) Contrition (the penitent’s sincere remorse for wrongdoing or sin, repentance, without which the rite has no effect); (2) Confession to a priest who has the faculty to hear confessions (Canon 966.1) – while it may be spiritually helpful to confess to another, only a priest has the power to administer the sacrament; (3) Absolution by the priest; and, (4) Satisfaction or penance.

“Many sins wrong our neighbour. One must do what is possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries). Simple justice requires as much. But sin also injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationships with God and neighbour. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must ‘make satisfaction for’ or ‘expiate’ his sins. This satisfaction is also called ‘penance’”. In early Christian centuries, this element of satisfaction was quite onerous and generally preceded absolution, but now it usually involves a simple task for the penitent to perform later, in order to make some reparation and as a medicinal means of strengthening against further temptation.

The priest is bound by the “seal of confession”, which is inviolable. “Accordingly, it is absolutely wrong for a confessor in any way to betray the penitent, for any reason whatsoever, whether by word or in any other fashion.” A confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal incurs an automatic excommunication whose lifting is reserved to the Holy See.

In some dioceses, certain sins are “reserved” which means only certain confessors can absolve them. Some sins, such as violation of the sacramental seal, consecration of bishops without authorization by the Holy See, direct physical attacks on the Pope, and intentional desecration of the Eucharist are reserved to the Holy See. A special case-by-case faculty from the Sacred Penitentiary is normally required to absolve these sins.

Eucharist

Join us in celebrating the Eucharist at our Masses Saturday at 5:00 pm and Sunday at 8:30 am and 10:30 am.

For our daily Masses, click here.

The Eucharist, also called the Blessed Sacrament, is the sacrament (the third of Christian initiation, the one that the Catechism of the Catholic Church says “completes Christian initiation”) by which Catholics partake of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and participate in his one sacrifice. The first of these two aspects of the sacrament is also called Holy Communion. The bread (which must be wheaten, and which is unleavened in the Latin, Armenian and Ethiopic Rites, but is leavened in most Eastern Rites) and wine (which must be from grapes) used in the Eucharistic rite are, in Catholic faith, transformed in its inner reality, though not in appearance, into the Body and Blood of Christ, a change that is called transubstantiation. “The minister who is able to confect the sacrament of the Eucharist in the person of Christ is a validly ordained priest alone.” The word “priest” here (in Latin sacerdos) includes both bishops and those priests who are also called presbyters. Deacons as well as priests (sacerdotes) are ordinary ministers of Holy Communion, and lay people may be authorized in limited circumstances to act as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion.

The Eucharist is seen as “the source and summit” of Christian living, the high point of God’s sanctifying action on the faithful and of their worship of God, the point of contact between them and the liturgy of heaven. So important is it that participation in the Eucharistic celebration (see Mass) is seen as obligatory on every Sunday and holy day of obligation and is recommended on other days. Also recommended for those who participate in the Mass is reception, with the proper dispositions, of Holy Communion. This is seen as obligatory at least once a year, during Eastertide.

Confirmation

“In the Sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized person is “sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit” and is strengthened for service to the Body of Christ”.

For more information, or to sign your youth up, please email Rod Wood at Rod@StSebastianMi.org or call 616-878-1619

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.

Matrimony

Marriage arrangements must be made at least six months in advance.

For more information, please contact our Pastoral Associate, Mona Andre at 616-878-1619 ext. 116 or mona@stsebastianmi.org.

Saturday, November 9
8:30am at
St. Sebastian Church Youth Center
Click here for the Registration Form

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Matrimony, or Marriage, is another sacrament that consecrates for a particular mission in building up the Church, and that provides grace for accomplishing that mission. This sacrament, seen as a sign of the love uniting Christ and the Church, establishes between the spouses a permanent and exclusive bond, sealed by God. Accordingly, a marriage between baptized people, validly entered into and consummated, cannot be dissolved. The sacrament confers on them the grace they need for attaining holiness in their married life and for responsible acceptance and upbringing of their children. As a condition for validity, the sacrament is celebrated in the presence of the local Ordinary or Parish Priest or of a cleric delegated by them (or in certain limited circumstances a lay person delegated by the diocesan Bishop with the approval of the Episcopal Conference and the permission of the Holy See) and at least two other witnesses, though in the theological tradition of the Latin Church the ministers of the sacrament are the couple themselves. For a valid marriage, a man and a woman must express their conscious and free consent to a definitive self-giving to the other, excluding none of the essential properties and aims of marriage. If one of the two is a non-Catholic Christian, their marriage is licit only if the permission of the competent authority of the Catholic Church is obtained. If one of the two is not a Christian (i.e. has not been baptized), the competent authority’s dispensation is necessary for validity.
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PreCana Weekend — Saturday, Nov. 9, beginning at 8:30am
at St. Sebastian Church Youth Center
Click here for Registration Form

Anointing of the Sick

If you or someone you love is in need of an Anointing, please contact the parish office at 616-878-1619.

Anointing of the Sick is the second sacrament of healing. In this sacrament a priest anoints the sick with oil blessed specifically for that purpose. “The anointing of the sick can be administered to any member of the faithful who, having reached the use of reason, begins to be in danger by reason of illness or old age”. A new illness or a worsening of health enables a person to receive the sacrament a further time.

When, in the Western Church, the sacrament was conferred only on those in immediate danger of death, it came to be known as “Extreme Unction”, i.e. “Final Anointing”, administered as one of the Last Rites. The other Last Rites are Confession (if the dying person is physically unable to confess, at least absolution, conditional on the existence of contrition, is given), and the Eucharist, which when administered to the dying is known as “Viaticum”, a word whose original meaning in Latin was “provision for a journey”.

Funerals

For more information on Catholic burials and funeral Masses, please contact Sue Rose at 616-878-1619 ext. 101, sue@stsebastianmi.org or simply come by the parish office.

The death of one of our sisters and brothers is a significant event for us as the Church.  It is a time when we, who loved the deceased person, mourn our loss.  It is a time when we as a Church celebrate God’s gift of life and mark, with special rites and gatherings, the return of that life to our loving God.  It is a time when the Church earnestly seeks to minister with compassion not only to the deceased but to the living which includes their family, friends, and parishioners as well.