BAPTISM
(Please click on link under “Sacraments”for more information)
FIRST RECONCILIATION &FIRST EUCHARIST
Children,ages 7 and older,typically in the second grade,are invited along with their parents,to participate in a program that will prepare them for reception of both the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist.
(Please click on link under “Sacraments”for more information)
CONFIRMATION
RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults)
The letters “RCIA”stand for the “Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults”,the document flowing from Vatican II,which guides the process by which adults are initiated into our Roman Catholic community. The RCIA describes a process in which men and women are guided and cared for as they awaken in faith and are gradually introduced to the Catholic way of life.
The RCIA process is a series of carefully planned stages,marked by liturgical rites in the presence of the whole community,in which new Catholics embark on and join us in a continuing and deepening conversion into faith and discipleship. The RCIA takes the distinctive history and spiritual needs of each person into account,differentiating between the baptized and the unbaptized,the catechized and the uncatechized. The needs of mature,practicing Christians from other faith traditions are condisered on an individual basis.
1.Pre Catechumenate or Inquiry:Seekers ask hard questions about Christianity and receive truthful,life-sharing answers from Catholic Christians through informal discussion as they decide whether or not to embark on this journey.
2. Catechumenate:The word catechumenate means “time of serious study”and inquirers who become catechumens —those who have not been baptized —or candidates —baptized Christians who have not been confirmed as Roman Catholics —join us at Sunday Mass during the Liturgy of the Word,after which they move to a parish meeting area to continue reflecting on the Scriptures. The length of the catechumenate varies according to individual need. The norm is a year or more.
3. Mystagogy:During the phase of mystagogia ,which means “leading into the mysteries”. The newly initiated meet weekly between Easter and Pentecost to explore and confirm the Easter experience. From Pentecost until the following Easter,Mystagogia continues with intermittent meetings. Mystagogia is the final stage of the RCIA process,but it is in turn the beginning of a pilgrimage of lifelong,continuous conversion in full communion with the Roman Catholic community of Christians.
This is a process that will enrich the lives of the candidates as well as the life of our parish. People who would like more information on this process should contact Sharon Laronga at 978-692-6353,ext. 27.
MARRIAGE
(Please click on link under “Sacraments”for more information)