SACRAMENTS

The Adult Faith Journey (Joining the Church)

Many people join the Church for many different reasons like wanting to share with family who is catholic, a strong sense of mission, a love of the liturgy or eucharist.

At the basis of each reason is a call by Christ to be part of this family of faith and to share in sacramental life.

The call is to the vocation of being another Christ.

The sacramental life is how we participate in this call and divine life. We use symbols and signs to express this.

The time we use symbols and signs is called liturgy.

Liturgy also means worship and praise. Liturgy is the event when the Church prays and then celebrates the life of God using rituals.

The first sacrament of Christian Initiation is called baptism. Baptism is the sacrament through which we enter the Church.

The second sacrament of Christian Initiation is called chrismation or confirmation. It is the sacrament that strengthens us for the journey of faith.

The last sacrament of Christian Initiation is the eucharist. This is the sharing of the Lord’s Body and Blood with the community at the Table of the Eucharist.

Baptism is the sacrament of entry into the Church and the eucharist is the sacrament of participation in the Church.

The journey of joining is called the catechumenate. It means “learning time”.

This time can be short or long. It is a time of discernment, prayer and participation in the life of the community.

If you’d like to know more please contact Donna Brown, Pastoral Coordinator for more details, Donna’s email is pastoral@pncathedral.org.nz