420 East 6th Street, Minonk, Illinois 61760, United States
Our Seven Sacraments
Baptism
Reconciliation
Reconciliation
"Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as children of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission”
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1213-1274
Baptism is the first Sacrament of Initiation. Through baptism, a person is cleansed of all sin, reborn, and sanctified in Christ through water and the Holy Spirit.
To schedule a baptism, please call the Parish Office - 815-853-4558
Reconciliation
Reconciliation
Reconciliation
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
John 20: 21-23
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a conversion of heart away from sin and toward God. It begins with remorse for having offended God and entails both a change in one’s life and a determination to avoid the further occasion of sin (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1427-33).
The Parts of the Sacrament
The sacrament consists of four parts or acts of the penitent:
- Contrition: In order to be forgiven, we need to have sorrow for our sins. This means turning away from evil and turning to God. It also includes determination to avoid such sins in the future (USCCA, 265).
- Confession: For there to be true repentance, the words of remorse must be spoken aloud. Confession is the barring of the soul, the humble prostration before the Father who runs to meet the repentant sinner, and welcomes with embracing love (Liturgy Documents Vol. 2, 160).
- Act of Penance: Consists of prayer, an offering, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, and/or sacrifices. Such pennies help become co-heirs with the risen Christ. (Liturgy Documents Vol. 2, 160).
- Absolution: The penitent is invited to express sorrow, in one’s own words or from a choice of prayers. With the imposition of hands, the priest’s absolution completes the sacrament by being a visible sign of GOd’s mercy and pardon to the repentant sinner, a sign made in, by, and through the Church.
To Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, please visit us during our 1st Saturday of the Month Adoration or before our 4 pm Saturday mass.
Holy Eucharist
Reconciliation
Holy Eucharist
"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remain in me and I in him.”
John 6:53-56
The Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian Life” (Lumen Gentium, 11). It is the sacrament in which Christ is really and truly present under the appearances of bread and wine. The Sacrament of the Eucharist was described as follows by the Second Vatican Council:
At the Last Supper, on the night when he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the Sacrifice of the Cross throughout the centuries until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1322-1419).
The Effects of the Eucharist
Unites the Recipient to Christ: The first effect of the Eucharist is to unite the recipient to Christ, for the Eucharist contains Christ himself. This union was what Christ promised in the Bread of Life Discourse (John 6:56).
Gives Life: For just as material food and drink assist in maintaining, improving, and building up our life, so too does the Eucharist — the “true food” and “true drink” — bestow life (John 6:54).
Gives a Share in the Life of Christ and the Trinity: The life that is nourished by the Eucharist extends to the spiritual life, to eternal life that will culminate in the future resurrection of the body (John 6:55).
Unites the Church: The social or communitarian aspect to the Eucharist builds up the mystical body of Christ. Just as the Christian faithful are united to each other in faith and baptism, so too are they united in Christ through the eucharist (Catholic Bible Dictionary, 259).
Confirmation
Holy Matrimony
Holy Eucharist
By the sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched wit ha special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence, they are true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.
Lumen Gentium 11; cf. OC Introduction 2.
Along with baptism and the Eucharist, Confirmation is considered one of the three “sacraments of initiation.” Confirmation was instituted by Christ in his promise to send the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-21).
That promise found fulfillment at Pentecost, when the Holy spirit descended on the apostles. The Apostles were transformed by the Holy Spirit, receiving the powers of speaking persuasively, performing miracles, and demonstrating the personal holiness of Christian life (Catholic Bible Dictionary, 159).
The Effects of Confirmation
Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the Apostles on the day of Pentecost (Catechism of the Catholic Church,1302-1303):
- it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation
- it unites us more firmly to Christ
- it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit within us
- it renders our bond with the Church more perfect
- it gives a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross.
Holy Matrimony
Holy Matrimony
Holy Matrimony
” A man, therefore, will leave his father and mother and will cling to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. And so the yare no longer two, they are one flesh; what God, then, has joined, let no man put asunder.”
Mathew 19:5-6
To Schedule a Wedding - please call the Parish Office - 815-853-4558
Holy Orders
Holy Matrimony
Holy Matrimony
"In the Church and on behalf of the Church, priests are a sacramental representation of Jesus Christ. They exist and act in order to proclaim the Gospel to the world and to build up the Church in the name and person of Christ, the Head and Shepherd.”
St. Pope John Paul II, Pastores Dabo Vobis
Anointing of the Sick
Anointing of the Sick
Anointing of the Sick
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.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1499
What is Anointing of the Sick?
Known as one the sacraments of healing, this sacrament was instituted by Christ to strengthen the sick and dying to face the challenges that come with illness, to interceded for the restoration of health, and to remit the sin of the infirm.
This sacrament is not only for those who are at the point of death. “When 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” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1514).
Therefore the sacrament may be received by anyone who has a serious illness, those preparing for surgery, and those who suffer difficulties because of advanced age.
Who Administers this Sacrament?
Only priests (bishops and presbyters) are ministers of the Anointing of the Sick. Those administering the sacrament will do so using oil blessed by the bishop, or if necessary by the celebrating presbyter himself. The faithful should encourage the sick to call for a priest to receive this sacrament (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1516).
How is this Sacrament Celebrated?
Like all 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 (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1518).
The celebration of the sacrament includes the following principal elements:
- priests lays his hands on the sick
- praying over the sick in the faith of the Church
- anointing of the sick with oil blessed by the bishop
If circumstances allow it, the celebration of the sacrament can be preceded by the sacrament of penance and followed by the sacrament of the Eucharist.
How do I Arrange to Receive this Sacrament?
To request an anointing please contact the parish office or one of our priests. Please include the following information
- Name and phone number of the sick
- name and phone number of the caller and your relationship to the sick
- Location of the sick (home, hospital, nursing home, etc.)
- Purpose of the visit (anointing, communion, confession, etc.)