We recognize that the Sacraments have a visible and invisible reality, a reality open to all the human senses but grasped in its God-given depths with the eyes of faith. When parents hug their children, for example, the visible reality we see is the hug. The invisible reality the hug conveys is love. We cannot "see" the love the hug expresses, though sometimes we can see its nurturing effect in the child.
The visible reality we see in the Sacraments is their outward expression, the form they take, and the way in which they are administered and received. The invisible reality we cannot "see" is God's grace, his gracious initiative in redeeming us through the death and Resurrection of his Son. His initiative is called grace because it is the free and loving gift by which he offers people a share in his life, and shows us his favor and will for our salvation. Our response to the grace of God's initiative is itself a grace or gift from God by which we can imitate Christ in our daily lives.
The saving words and deeds of Jesus Christ are the foundation of what he would communicate in the Sacraments through the ministers of the Church. 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.
Baptism - Revelation & Tradition
After his resurrection Christ gives this mission to his apostles: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt 28: 19-20).
Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door, which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism, we are freed from sin and reborn as sons and daughters of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church, and made sharers in her mission (CCC#1213).
Since the beginning of the Church, adult Baptism is the common practice where the proclamation of the Gospel is still new. The catechumenate (preparation for Baptism) therefore occupies an important place. This initiation into Christian faith and life should dispose the catechumen to receive the gift of God in Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist (CCC#1247).
The practice of infant Baptism is an immemorial tradition of the Church. There is explicit testimony to this practice from the second century on, and it is quite possible that, from the beginning of the apostolic preaching, when whole "households" received baptism, infants may also have been baptized (CCC#1252 and Acts 16:15, 33;18: 8, 1; Cor. 1:16).
For all the baptized, children or adults, faith must grow after Baptism. For this reason the Church celebrates each year at the Easter Vigil the renewal of baptismal promises. Preparation for Baptism leads only to the threshold of new life. Baptism is the source of that new life in Christ from which the entire Christian life springs forth (CCC#1254).
Sacred Heart and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus
Infant Baptisms are typically celebrated on a Saturday afternoon or by appointment.
Infant Baptism Preparation Class is by appointment. Please contact the Parish Office on 01803 557518 for more information or to schedule an infant baptism.
Adult Baptisms are celebrated in conjunction with the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) and are celebrated primarily at the Easter Vigil.
Confirmation - Revelation & Tradition
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. For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence, they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed (#1285).
When Confirmation is celebrated separately from Baptism, as is the case in the Roman Rite, the Liturgy of Confirmation begins with the renewal of baptismal promises and the profession of faith by the confirmands. This clearly shows that Confirmation follows Baptism. When adults are baptized, they immediately receive Confirmation and participate in the Eucharist (#1298).
Every baptized person not yet confirmed can and should receive the sacrament of Confirmation. Since Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist form a unity, it follows that "the faithful are obliged to receive this sacrament at the appropriate time," for without Confirmation and Eucharist, Baptism is certainly valid and efficacious, but Christian initiation remains incomplete (#1306).
To receive Confirmation one must be in a state of grace. One should receive the sacrament of Penance in order to be cleansed for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. More intense prayer should prepare one to receive the strength and graces of the Holy Spirit with docility and readiness to act (Acts 1:14 and #1310).
Candidates for Confirmation, as for Baptism, fittingly seek the spiritual help of a sponsor. To emphasize the unity of the two sacraments, it is appropriate that this be one of the baptismal godparents (#1311).
Sacred Heart and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus
For Catholics baptized as infants and who have received appropriate religious education, the Sacrament of Confirmation is celebrated with members of our neighbouring Parish, The Assumption of Our Lady, Torquay.
The following conditions apply:
For people over the age of seven who are un-baptized or who have been baptized in another Faith tradition or who have been baptized Catholics who have not received religious education, Confirmation may be received during the Easter Vigil after completing preparation through the RCIA process. (See RCIA for Adults or RCIA for Children).
Eucharist (Holy Communion) - Revelation & Tradition
The Lord addresses an invitation to us, urging us to receive him in the sacrament of the Eucharist: "Truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you (Jn. 6:53, #1384).
To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to Holy Communion (1 Cor. 11:27-29, #1385).
The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life". The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch (#1324).
If from the beginning Christians have celebrated the Eucharist and in a form whose substance has not changed despite the great diversity of times and liturgies, it is because we know ourselves to be bound by the command the Lord gave on the eve of his Passion: "Do this in remembrance of me (1 Cor. 11:24-25, #1356).
The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the sacraments as "the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend". In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist "the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained. This presence is called 'real' - by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence as if they could not be 'real' too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present (#1374).
In the liturgy of the Mass, we express our faith in the real presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine by, among other ways, genuflecting or bowing deeply as a sign of adoration of the Lord. "The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn veneration of the faithful, and carrying them in procession (#1378).
In addition, the Church offers to those who are sick or about to have surgery, or are dying the Holy Eucharist. This is why consecrated hosts are reserved in the tabernacle for such visits at any time.
The Church knows that the Lord comes even now in his Eucharist and that he is there in our midst. However, his presence is veiled. Therefore, we celebrate the Eucharist "awaiting the blessed hope and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, asking "to share in your glory when every tear will be wiped away. On that day, we shall see you, our God, as you are. We shall become like you and praise you forever through Christ our Lord (#1404).
Sacred Heart and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus
The liturgy of the Eucharist is celebrated during all Masses.
First Holy Communion is celebrated for children after being prepared on the first Holy Communion programme (Dynamic Catholic) in association with our primary school, The Sacred Heart RC Primary School.
First Holy Communion for adults is celebrated with the other Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil (RCIA).
Weekly Adoration is celebrated in the Church between 9:00am and 10.00am on Fridays.
Please contact the Parish Office on 01803 557518 for more information.
Reconciliation - Revelation & Tradition
It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the love of God who reconciles: "Be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:20). He who lives by God's merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord's call: "Go; first be reconciled to your brother (Mt 5:24).
It is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus' call to conversion, the first step in returning to the Father from whom one has strayed by sin (Mk 1:15, Lk 15:18). It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner's personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction. Christ's call to conversion continues to resound in the lives of Christians (#1423).
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 (#1424).
Only God forgives sins (Mk 2:7). Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, "The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" and exercises this divine power: "Your sins are forgiven” (Mk 2:5, 10, Lk 7:48). Further, by virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men to exercise in his name (Jn. 20: 21:23, #1441).
During his public life Jesus not only forgave sins, but also made plain the effect of this forgiveness: he reintegrated forgiven sinners into the community of the People of God from which sin had alienated or even excluded them. A remarkable sign of this is the fact that Jesus receives sinners at his table, a gesture that expresses in an astonishing way both God's forgiveness and the return to the bosom of the People of God (#1443).
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 labours for their conversion (#1422).
Sacred Heart and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is celebrated:
Saturday from 5:15 – 5:45pm (or anytime by appointment)
For Examination of Conscience and How to go to Confession guidelines for adults, click here; for children, click here.
Advent or Lenten penitential services (See parish calendar for dates).
Anointing of the Sick - Revelation & Tradition
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 (James 5:14-16, Rom 8:17, Col 1:24, Tim 2:11-12, 1 Pet 4:13, #1499).
Illness can lead to anguish, self-absorption, sometimes even despair and revolt against God. It can also make a person more mature, helping him discern in his life what is not essential so that he can turn toward that which is. Very often illness provokes a search for God and a return to him (#1501).
The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick has as its purpose the conferral of a special grace on the Christian experiencing the difficulties inherent in the condition of grave illness or old age (#1527).
The proper time for receiving this holy anointing has certainly arrived when the believer begins to be in danger of death because of illness or old age. (#1528) The Holy Spirit gives to some a special charism of healing so as to make manifest the power of the grace of the risen Lord. But even the most intense prayers do not always obtain the healing of all illnesses. Thus St. Paul must learn from the Lord that "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness," and that the sufferings to be endured can mean that "in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his Body, that is, the Church (1 Cor. 12:9,28, 30, 2 Cor. 12:9, Col. 1:24, #1508).
However, the apostolic Church has its own rite for the sick, attested to by St. James: "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders [presbyters] of the Church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Tradition has recognized in this rite one of the seven sacraments (James 5:14-15, #1510).
Like all the sacraments, the Anointing of the Sick is a liturgical and communal celebration, whether it takes place in the family home, a hospital or church, for a single sick person or a whole group of sick persons. It is very fitting to celebrate it within the Eucharist, the memorial of the Lord's Passover. If circumstances suggest it, the celebration of the sacrament can be preceded by the sacrament of Penance and followed by the sacrament of the Eucharist. As the sacrament of Christ's Passover, the Eucharist should always be the last sacrament of the earthly journey, the "viaticum" for "passing over" to eternal life (#1517).
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 (#1514). 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 (#1515).
The special grace of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick has as its effects:
the uniting of the sick person to the passion of Christ, for his own good and that of the whole Church; the strengthening, peace, and courage to endure in a Christian manner the sufferings of illness or old age; the forgiveness of sins, if the sick person was not able to obtain it through the sacrament of Penance; the restoration of health, if it is conducive to the salvation of his soul; the preparation for passing over to eternal life (#1532).
Sacred Heart and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus
The sacrament of the Sick during Mass is celebrated once a year at a special Mass in October.
In case of emergency or in need of a priest call the parish office on 01803 557518.
Marriage - Revelation & Tradition
Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone. The woman, "flesh of his flesh," his equal, his nearest in all things, is given to him by God as a "helpmate"; she thus represents God from whom comes our help. "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. The Lord himself shows that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the Creator had been "in the beginning": "So they are no longer two, but one flesh (Gen 2:18-25, Mt 19:6).
"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 (#1601).
In his preaching Jesus unequivocally taught the original meaning of the union of man and woman as the Creator willed it from the beginning permission given by Moses to divorce one's wife was a concession to the hardness of hearts. The matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself has determined it "what therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder (Mt 19:8, Mt 19:6).
This unequivocal insistence on the indissolubility of the marriage bond may have left some perplexed and could seem to be a demand impossible to realize. However, Jesus has not placed on spouses a burden impossible to bear, or too heavy - heavier than the Law of Moses. By coming to restore the original order of creation disturbed by sin, he himself gives the strength and grace to live marriage in the new dimension of the Reign of God. It is by following Christ, renouncing themselves, and taking up their crosses that spouses will be able to "receive" the original meaning of marriage and live it with the help of Christ. This grace of Christian marriage is a fruit of Christ's cross, the source of all Christian life (Mk 8:34, Mt 11:29-30, Mt 19:11 #1615).
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 (#1661).
Marriage is based on the consent of the contracting parties, that is, on their will to give themselves, each to the other, mutually and definitively, in order to live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love (#1662). Since marriage establishes the couple in a public state of life in the Church, it is fitting that its celebration be public, in the framework of a liturgical celebration, before the priest (or a witness authorized by the Church), the witnesses, and the assembly of the faithful (#1663).
Unity, indissolubility, and openness to fertility are essential to marriage. Polygamy is incompatible with the unity of marriage; divorce separates what God has joined together; the refusal of fertility turns married life away from its "supreme gift," the child (#1664). Thus, the marriage bond has been established by God himself in such a way that a marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. This bond, which results from the free human act of the spouses and their consummation of the marriage, is a reality, henceforth irrevocable, and gives rise to a covenant guaranteed by God's fidelity. The Church does not have the power to contravene this disposition of divine wisdom (#1640).
Sacred Heart and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus
Notice of Marriage celebrations at the Sacred Heart must be scheduled six months prior to the date intended for the celebration.
Marriage preparation (in conjunction with SmartLoving.org) for the couple is required.
Please contact the Parish Office on 01803 557518 for more information and to schedule.
Holy Orders - Revelation & Tradition
Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist are the Sacraments of Initiation and ground the common vocation of all Christ’s disciples: a call to holiness and to evangelize the world. This ‘universal call to holiness,’ however, is lived out in many different ways in the Church as we all strive to respond to God’s individual call to lay down our lives in service to Him and the Church. Hence, every Christian believer is given some ‘Call’ by God to be a priest, religious, consecrated, married, deacon, or to remain in the celibate life for the sake of the Kingdom.
For more information and resources from our National Vocation Office, please visit their website at www.ukvocation.org or speak to our Diocesan Vocations Director, Fr. Ralph Candy, on 01803 557518 or email him at vocation@prcdtr.org.uk