About Sacraments

WHERE DO WE BEGIN? FAITH

A Christian's faith begins with belief in God, in Jesus, and in the message of love that Jesus taught and lived. He taught us that God is our Father, that we are loved personally, and that God wants to be close to us. Jesus taught us that if we want to know God, we can do so by looking at Jesus. All the love, compassion and mercy of Jesus are reflections of God. Jesus' own words to His apostle Philip are very specific: "Philip, whoever sees me, sees the Father!" (Jn. 14:9) Jesus also wanted to be close to us: "I will be with you always," He promised, "Even to the end of the world." (Mat. 28:20) "Everything we believe centers around the person of Jesus Christ. He was the perfect human being (like us in all things except sin) and also the Son of God.

THE CHURCH: THE SACRAMENT OF JESUS

Just as Jesus is the visible sign of our relationship with God, so we, the Church, are the visible sign of Jesus in the world today. We become the viable sign that God's message is still true and alive. We are sacraments of the presence of God. Through each Christian, Jesus is alive in the world right now. If we live the message as Jesus did, we are His people and His sacrament. We are a light to the world so that others might see and come to know "the Way, the Truth, and the life." (Jn. 14:6) This is what the Church is in reality, and each parish ought to be a reflection in miniature of that reality.

THE PARISH AS A SACRAMENT

Each parish is like a large family attempting to live out God's message the way Jesus did. We believe that God is tile head of the human family and we are all brothers and sisters, equal in God's eyes. It is only in actual everyday living that the beautiful ideas of Christianity can be tested and put into practice. Here we come face to face with reality. The parish Church should be the place where Christians meet to celebrate their faith and their life together.