Baptism
Baptism is the sacrament that gives our souls the new life of sanctifying grace by which we become children of God and heirs of Heaven. This is the first sacrament that we may receive. Unless we are baptized, we are forbidden to receive any other sacraments. This sacrament was instituted by Christ at His own Baptism and commanded at His Ascension:
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt. 3:16-17).
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38).
To have your infant baptized you must first meet with our pastor to learn more about the Church's teaching on this sacrament and on the obligations parents have in raising their children to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Contact our parish offices to make this appointment.
If your child has already reached the age of reason (seven years-old), he must be enrolled in our religious education program. He will be baptized at some point during his first year of study.
Confession
Confession, Penance, or Reconciliation, is the sacrament by which sins committed after baptism are forgiven through the absolution of the priest. Penance prompts the sinner to detest his sins, and incites him to offer satisfaction for them, and to amend his life in the future. Penance is the way by which after Baptism sanctifying grace is restored to the penitent who has committed mortal sin. The sacrament of Penance is the cure for spiritual illness of sin committed after baptism.
The sacrament of Penance includes three distinct acts:
-Contrition or sorrow for his sins
-Confession or telling them to the priest
-Satisfaction or performance of the Penance imposed by the priest
The practice of confessing to a priest has been continuous in the Church from the time of the Apostles. The Lord Jesus gave authority to the Apostles, the first priests and bishops of the Church to forgive sins:
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (Jn. 20:21-23).
We also read in Sacred Scripture that in the time of the Apostles the Christian converts came to them, and openly confessed their practices: “Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.” (Acts 19:18).
In the writings of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, in the very first centuries of the Christian era, the faithful are often advised and exhorted to confess their sins. St. Augustine says: “It is not enough that one acknowledge his sins to God, from whom nothing is hidden; he must also confess them to a priest, God's representative.”
Confessions are available each Saturday afternoon at St. Margaret’s from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and at St. Gabriel’s from 4:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. and throughout the week by appointment.
Holy Communion
The Holy Eucharist is a sacrament and a sacrifice in which the Savior Jesus Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity, is contained, offered, and received under the appearances of bread and wine. Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper the night before He died. When the Lord said, “This is My body,” the entire substance of the bread was changed into His body; and when he said, “This is My blood,” the entire substance of the wine was changed into his blood. After the substance of the bread and wine had been changed, only the appearances of bread and wine remained. (By the appearances of bread and wine we mean their color, taste, weight, shape, and whatever else appears to the senses.)
Christ gave His priests the power to change bread and wine into His Body and Blood when He made the Apostles priests at the Last Supper by saying to them: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Thus, He commanded them and their successors to renew till the end of time what He had just performed. This change of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ continues to be made in the Church by Jesus Christ, through His priests.
We are bound to render to the Holy Eucharist the same adoration and honor due to God Himself. It is a most wonderful privilege to have Christ actually present every moment of the day and night in our parish church. When the Blessed sacrament is in the tabernacle, it is covered with a curtain or veil, and a sanctuary lamp is kept burning before it. When we enter or leave the church, we should genuflect on the right knee towards the tabernacle, as a sign of adoration. This is why the tabernacle is the most precious part of a church.
We can show Jesus our love and gratitude by hearing Holy Mass every day and receiving Holy Communion, by paying Him a visit in the Blessed Sacrament, by attending Benediction, by spending an hour of adoration when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, and by other devotions.
Regarding our reception of the Eucharist, it can first be noted that the matter of this Sacrament is food and drink. The general effects of food and drink are that they sustain, give increase, restore, and give delight to the recipient.
Food and drink sustain the life of the person—they keep body and soul together. Without nutrients, we would die. They give increase—food and drink are necessary for the body to grow. Food and drink restore what has been lost to the body during its daily toil. And lastly, food and drink give delight to the recipient.
The reception of Holy Communion does all this for the soul. It sustains the life of grace in the soul by providing the recipient aid to avoid falling into sin and restrains and represses the lusts of the flesh. Each fruitful reception of Holy Communion gives an increase of Sanctifying Grace to the soul, making the recipient holier based on the recipient’s disposition. It restores what was lost—it forgives venial sins. And its reception gives delight and an increase of zeal for heavenly things to the souls of those who receive.
But it is important to note that the matter for the Eucharist is not any food or drink, but bread and wine. This is important because the choice of bread and wine as the matter for Communion represents another effect which other types of food and drink might not be able to express. This effect is the greater union and unity with Christ the Head and the members of His Mystical Body.
To receive this sacrament for the first time, children must be enrolled in our parish's religious education program. After two years of study, they receive their first Holy Communion.
Confirmation
Confirmation is the sacrament through which the Holy Spirit comes to us in a special way and enables us to profess our faith as strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ. Confirmation in a very special manner brings us the Holy Spirit with His seven-fold gifts: “Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 8:17).
Any Baptized Christian may be Confirmed. Although the sacrament is not necessary for salvation, it is sinful to neglect it, as it confers many graces. By Confirmation we become soldiers of Christ, for it strengthens us in the profession of our faith: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13).
We should receive the sacrament of Confirmation at the age when we pass from childhood to youth. At that period all kinds of temptations surround us, and we need special strength from God to resist them. In the early days of the Church, it was the custom to Confirm very young children. The sacrament of Confirmation is today delayed in order that the recipient may first have a basis of knowledge of the fundamentals of Faith. Even when Confirmation is administered to infants and very young children, they truly receive the sacrament. The age is a matter of discipline in a particular diocese.
The bishop is the usual minister of confirmation. Sometimes, however, the Holy See gives missionary priests the power to administer this sacrament. Pastors and administrators of parishes are granted the faculty of confirming, as extra-ordinary ministers, those among their lock and others in their territory who are in danger of death from sickness, accident or old age.
When giving Confirmation, the Bishop lays his hand on the head of the person he confirms, and anoints the forehead with Holy Chrism in the form of a cross as he says: “Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.”
The sacramental grace of Confirmation helps us to live our Faith loyally and to profess it courageously. The character of Confirmation is a spiritual and indelible sign which marks the Christian as a soldier in the army of Christ.
To receive this sacrament, children must be enrolled in our parish's religious education program. After two years of study, they receive first Holy Communion. After two more years of study following that, they will receive Confirmation.
Matrimony
Sacred Scripture begins with the creation and union of man and woman and ends with “the wedding feast of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:9). Scripture often refers to marriage, its origin and purpose, the meaning God gave to it, and its renewal in the covenant made by Jesus with his Church. Man and woman were created for each other.
By their marriage, the couple witnesses Christ's spousal love for the Church. One of the Nuptial Blessings in the liturgical celebration of marriage refers to this in saying, “Father, you have made the union of man and wife so holy a mystery that it symbolizes the marriage of Christ and his Church.”
The Sacrament of Marriage is a covenant, which is more than a contract. Covenant always expresses a relationship between persons. The marriage covenant refers to the relationship between the husband and wife, a permanent union of persons capable of knowing and loving each other and God. The celebration of marriage is also a liturgical act, appropriately held in a public liturgy at church. Catholics are urged to celebrate their marriage within the Eucharistic Liturgy.
Contact our parish offices to make arrangements to be married in one of our churches here in Riverdale. It is best to do so 6 months in advance of the wedding date you would prefer. The couple will have to meet with our pastor for several appointments to review the Church's teaching on marriage and attend the Archdiocese of New York’s Pre-Cana class.
Holy Orders
Holy orders is the sacrament through which men receive the power and grace to perform the sacred duties of bishops, priests, and other ministers of the Church. Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted this sacrament.
The Lord instituted the Sacrament of Holy Orders in this way:
-At the Last Supper He gave the Apostles and their successors the power to say Mass. He said, after consecrating His Body and Blood: “Do this in remembrance of me.” (Lk. 22:19). Thus He gave the Apostles the power to offer the Sacrifice of the Mass.
-On the day of the Resurrection, Our Lord gave the disciples power to forgive sins: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (Jn. 20:21-23).
-Finally, before the Ascension, Christ gave His disciples the mission to preach the gospel and dispense the sacraments: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded to you; and behold I am with you all days.” (Mt. 28:18-20).
They Consecrated Sts. Paul and Barnabas bishops, with prayer and the imposition of hands. In the same way St. Paul ordained St. Timothy when the Apostles established churches, upon their departure, they ordained and appointed successors (bishops) to whom they gave full powers, and other ministers (priests and deacons) to whom they transmitted part of their powers. “For this reason I admonish thee to stir up the grace of God which is in thee by the laying on of my hands.” (2 Tim. 1:6).
Some of the preliminary signs of a vocation to the priesthood are:
-That a boy or young man be capable of living habitually in the State of Grace.
-That he be attracted to the priesthood and manifest the attraction by frequent confession and communion, by a virtuous life, by a love of serving Mass, teaching catechism, helping others to be good Catholics. (Those who are called by God to be priests ordinarily receive no special revelation to this effect. God expects all to use the gifts of reason and of grace in determining their state of life.)
-That he has the right intention to save his soul and the souls of others; that he has good health and sufficient ability to succeed in the studies of the seminary; and that his qualifications be accepted by the bishop.
If a man in our parish feels called to the priesthood, he is most welcome to speak with any of our priests here who would be so happy and honored to provide any counsel they can.
The Vocations Office of the Archdiocese of New York: NYPriest | Archdiocese of New York Vocation Office
Anointing of the Sick
In the Church's Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, through the ministry of the priest, it is Jesus who touches the sick to heal them from sin – and sometimes even from physical ailment. His cures were signs of the arrival of the Kingdom of God. The core message of his healing tells us of his plan to conquer sin and death by his dying and rising.
The Rite of Anointing tells us there is no need to wait until a person is at the point of death to receive the Sacrament. A careful judgment about the serious nature of the illness is sufficient.
When the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given, the hoped-for effect is that, if it be God's will, the person be physically healed of illness. But even if there is no physical healing, the primary effect of the Sacrament is a spiritual healing by which the sick person receives the Holy Spirit's gift of peace and courage to deal with the difficulties that accompany serious illness or the frailty of old age.
Contact our rectory office if you are in need of this sacrament or if your or someone you know is sick and homebound and needs a priest to visit them.