St. Anthony of PaduaRoman Catholic Church, Kincardine

Holy Communion is the act by which we receive the sacrament of Holy Eucharist. The sacrament of the Holy Eucharist was instituted as a food, a spiritual food.

That is why the outward sign of this sacrament—the appearances of bread and wine—is a sign of nourishment, just as in Baptism the outward sign is water, a sign of cleansing.

The action by which we as individuals receive the Holy Eucharist is an act of eating. We swallow the appearances of bread and wine under which as individuals receive the Holy Eucharist is an act of eating. We swallow the appearances of bread and wine under which Jesus is present. This is the action which we call Holy Communion

Information:

• Parents are kindly requested to complete the registration form and have it delivered to the Parish office.

Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the “sacraments of Christian initiation,” whose unity must be safeguarded. 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.”

WHO CAN RECEIVE THIS SACRAMENT?

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.

Information:

• The Sacrament of Confirmation is conferred upon our young members who are in Grades 7 and 8, by a Diocesan or visiting Bishop.
• Confirmation will be scheduled for a Sunday in the Easter Season, but only in even years, e.g. 2017,  2019, etc.
• Youth attending St. Anthony School will receive instruction at the school and in the parish.
• Youth attending a public school are required to prepare through home catechesis provided by the Diocese of Hamilton http://hamiltondiocese.com/offices/catechesis/correspondence/ 
• Contact the parish priest for more information

You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” One must appreciate the magnitude of the gift God has given us in the sacraments of Christian initiation in order to grasp the degree to which sin is excluded for him who has “put on Christ.” But the apostle John also says: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” And the Lord himself taught us to pray: “Forgive us our trespasses,”linking our forgiveness of one another’s offenses to the forgiveness of our sins that God will grant us.

Conversion to Christ, the new birth of Baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Body and Blood of Christ received as food have made us “holy and without blemish,” just as the Church herself, the Bride of Christ, is “holy and without blemish.” Nevertheless the new life received in Christian initiation has not abolished the frailty and weakness of human nature, nor the inclination to sin that tradition calls concupiscence, which remains in the baptized such that with the help of the grace of Christ they may prove themselves in the struggle of Christian life. This is the struggle of conversion directed toward holiness and eternal life to which the Lord never ceases to call us.

Sin is before all else an offense against God, a rupture of communion with him. At the same time it damages communion with the Church. For this reason conversion entails both God’s forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church, which are expressed and accomplished liturgically by the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation

Penance requires . . . the sinner to endure all things willingly, be contrite of heart, confess with the lips, and practice complete humility and fruitful satisfaction.”

Information:

• The Sacrament is celebrated every Saturday from 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM and at any time on request
• We welcome our young members in Grade Two to prepare for First Reconciliation and First Communion.
• Preparation for First Reconciliation and First Communion will take place at the church.
• Children attending a public school are required to prepare through home catechesis provided by the Diocese of Hamilton. http://hamiltondiocese.com/offices/catechesis/correspondence/
• First Reconciliation is celebrated on a designated day.
• For practical reasons, First Communion is celebrated on a designated Saturday.
• Registration, including your child’s baptism information, is required.
• For information regarding the preparation for the sacraments, see the Parish Events page.
• Please contact the Parish office for further details.

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

Illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted in human life. In illness, man experiences his powerlessness, his limitations, and his finitude. Every illness can make us glimpse death. 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.

Christ’s compassion toward the sick and his many healings of every kind of infirmity are a resplendent sign that “God has visited his people” and that the Kingdom of God is close at hand. Jesus has the power not only to heal, but also to forgive sins; he has come to heal the whole man, soul and body; he is the physician the sick have need of. His compassion toward all who suffer goes so far that he identifies himself with them: “I was sick and you visited me.” His preferential love for the sick has not ceased through the centuries to draw the very special attention of Christians toward all those who suffer in body and soul. It is the source of tireless efforts to comfort them.

Information:

• The anointing of the sick is administered to bring spiritual and even physical strength during an illness or if entering hospital.
• It is fitting to receive this sacrament when someone begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age.
• If the person who was anointed recovers, they can receive this sacrament again if the need arises, as noted above.

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 parties to a marriage covenant are a baptized man and woman, free to contract marriage, who freely express their consent; “to be free” means:

• not being under constraint;
• not impeded by any natural or ecclesiastical law.

 The Church holds the exchange of consent between the spouses to be the indispensable element that “makes the marriage.” If consent is lacking there is no marriage.

Information:

• Couples planning marriage should contact the Parish Priest at least ONE year prior to the proposed wedding date.
• Taking part in a Marriage Preparation Program is mandatory. Online booking for this program is available
• Please contact the Parish Office to schedule a meeting with the pastor
• Please contact Family Ministry Office of the diocese. www.hamiltondiocese.com >Pastoral Offices >Family Ministry, Contact number: 905 528 7988, extensions: 2237 or 2249

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

The word order in Roman antiquity designated an established civil body, especially a governing body. Ordinatio means incorporation into an ordo. In the Church there are established bodies which Tradition, not without a basis in Sacred Scripture, has since ancient times called taxeis (Greek) or ordines. And so the liturgy speaks of the ordo episcoporum, the ordo presbyterorum, the ordo diaconorum. Other groups also receive this name of ordo: catechumens, virgins, spouses, widows,. . . .

St. Paul said to his disciple Timothy: “I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Tim 1:6), and “If any one aspires to the office of bishop, he desires a noble task.” (1 Tim 3:1) To Titus he said: “This is why I left you in Crete, that you amend what was defective, and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you” (Titus 1:5).

The whole Church is a priestly people. Through Baptism all the faithful share in the priesthood of Christ. This participation is called the “common priesthood of the faithful.” Based on this common priesthood and ordered to its service, there exists another participation in the mission of Christ: the ministry conferred by the sacrament of Holy Orders, where the task is to serve in the name and in the person of Christ the Head in the midst of the community.

Information:

• Are you  prayerfully considering the call to priesthood or religious life? Please speak to your Parish Priest.
• The  Vocation Office of the Diocese of Hamilton is committed to fostering and encouraging vocations, and will be happy to assist you and to address any questions that you may have.
• Vocations Office: www.HamiltonVocations.com
• May the Lord who calls each one of us to holiness and joy help you to know your vocation and to respond with an open and generous heart.