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Archdiocese of Newark

The Roman Catholic Church of St. Anne
15-05 St.Anne Street * Fair Lawn,NJ 07410 * Phone:201.791.1616 * Fax:201.791.1871

Sacraments

The sacraments of healing are Reconciliation and Anointing of the sick.

If marriage and holy orders reveal that God is always moving us to self-donation on behalf of others and common good, reconciliation and anointing of the sick reveal that God never gives up on us when we are caught up in the cycle of self-preoccupation, the sinfulness of the human condition.

Sacraments of Initiation:

There are three sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. As the name implies, these are encounters with Christ which introduce a person into the life the Christ shares with the Father and Holy Spirit, i.e. into the inner life of God himself.

This may come across as a bit esoteric but that's because we often think of sacraments as opportunities to "get something" from God. We find ourselves using God the way we often use others. Christ came to show us, however, that God desires to be our friend and the essence of friendship is sharing one's life with one's friend. Since God's life is the life of the Father and Son loving each other perfectly through the Spirit, he invites us, in these first sacraments, to share that life with us.

Sacrament of Baptism

This sacrament introduce a person into the life of the Christian community, which is a life based on God's love for us. We are therefore always urged to love one another, in his image and likeness.

We say that we are "baptized into Christ's death and resurrection". This phrase means that in baptism, Christ opens us to the experience of his total commitment to us that his dying for us symbolizes. He once said "what greater love can one have than to lay down one's life for one's friends." Well, in baptism, we enter into that "greater love" that draws us into the life of God, the life of the Risen Christ.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you," (Mt. 28:19-20)

Sacrament Of Healing - Reconciliation

RECONCILIATION shows us Christ reaching out to us to heal of the self-centered choices we've made that have placed us over and against the good of ourselves, others, or the community at large.

Just as he forgave the repentant thief, he also forgives us.

Just as he sat with tax collectors and prostitutes, he never runs from us in our worst moments. He doesn't want to coddle us. He wants to heal us, i.e. to draw us away from self-defeating preoccupations to self-enhancing service.

Far from whitewashing our guilt, he wants to challenge us to leave our guilt behind and to embrace what is best in our hearts. This is what reconciliation does, by bringing us back to him through the forgiveness offered through the priest, Christ brings us back to the challenges of living our discipleship in a community of disciples

Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered each Saturday from 1:00-2:00 pm

Sacrament of Initiation - Eucharist
We get the opportunity to become like God through our life in the Church. Sacraments of initiation introduce a person into the life of the Christian community, which is a life based on God's love for us.

We are therefore always urged to love one another, in his image and likeness. You can see this the first time that you celebrate the Eucharist and every time thereafter.

In receiving the Body and Blood of Christ (i.e. Christ's very self), we receive the essence of God, we let God touch us. This touch, in turn, moves us to treat each other with greater respect, forgiveness, and compassion. His friendship urges us to be friends.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it and giving it to his disciples said, 'Take and eat; this is my body.' Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, 'Drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins."

Mt. 26:26-28; Mk 14:22-24; Lk 22:17-20;1Cor 11:23-25

Jesus said: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world ..."

John 6:51-55.

Sacrament of Initiation - Confirmation

Sacraments of initiation introduce a person into the life of a community which is a life based on God's love for us.

We are therefore always urged to love one another, in his image and likeness. You can see this the first time that you celebrate the Eucharist and every time thereafter. In receiving the Body and Blood of Christ (i.e. Christ's very self), we receive the essence of God, we let God touch us. This touch, in turn, moves us to treat each other with greater respect, forgiveness, and compassion. His friendship urges us to be friends.

Baptism and Confirmation begin this lifelong process. We say that we are "baptized into Christ's death and resurrection". This phrase means that in baptism, Christ opens us to the experience of his total commitment to us that his dying for us reveals.

He once said "what greater love can one have than to lay down one's life for one's friends." Well, in baptism, we enter into that "greater love" that draws us into the life of God, the life of the Risen Christ.

Confirmation completes this initiation by revealing to us that this "greater love" is the experience of the God's Spirit. Just as the Spirit unites the Father and the Son in their eternal commitment to each other, so too, the same Spirit moves us to deeper commitments of dedication and self-giving to one another, to the Church, and thus to God.

God's Spirit seeks to renew our use of the talents and skills that God has given to us on behalf of the world around us.

Sacrament of Healing - Anointing of the Sick
ANOINTING OF THE SICK seeks to bring Christ's healing touch to people who are separated from the community.

Sickness, in whatever form it takes - disease, psychological and emotional distress, addictions - have the effect of driving people into themselves. They are isolated from their families, friends, and coworkers, not only physically but in their spirits also.

They often are angry, depressed, fearful, and full of questions about God, life, and the sincerity of others. In a word, they are cut off within and without.

Just as Christ reached out to all who were sick when he walked this earth, he still reaches out to the sick right now. The anointing of the sick reveals his reach.

His primary desire, it seems, is to heal the suffering of his brothers and sisters by restoring them to their center in him. By being re-centered in his presence, those who are sick find themselves no longer alone and no longer cut off.

This can sometimes be a source of peace in God's presence, of courage and hope in the face of their sufferings, of gratitude for the goodness of those around them, and of strength to fight their illness.

Sacrament of Vocation - Holy Orders

HOLY ORDERS call our attention to another dimension of God's action in our lives. We are not just part of a family. Every family, every marriage, is part of a larger community and the quality of that community affects the quality of marriages, friendships, and individual lives.

Holy Orders reveal that God acts in the communities of which we are a part by raising up leaders who strive to be disciples in such a way that others see discipleship in their own lives.

Ordained persons, in other words, do not just call people to follow Christ. They truly lead when they help others to see the action of Christ in their relationships, work, and play. They do this because they have first seen it in themselves. By continually calling a community to discipleship, they remind non-ordained persons that they are responsible to act in a similar way in their circle of relationships.

Sacrament of Vocation - Matrimony

By giving of themselves in love in a marital union, a couple reveals the love that Christ has for all of us. As they work out their loves through the ups and downs of relationship building, they show us how God works his love for us, drawing us from self-centered lives to lives of self-giving.

By doing this, married couples remind all of us, married or unmarried, that this is how God acts within all of our lives. Since Christ reveals that the essence of God is self-gift, genuine friendship if you will, then the sure way of knowing how we are participating in his life is through the experience of moving beyond the slavery of self-preoccupation to the freedom of self-donation. Whenever that happens in us, we are experiencing the Spirit of marriage, even if we're not married.

"The Lord God said: 'It is not good for the man to be alone'..That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body."

(Gen. 2:18,24)

Sacrament of Baptism This sacrament introduce a person into the life of the Christian community, which is a life based on God's love for us. We are therefore always urged to love one another, in his image and likeness. We say that we are "baptized into Christ's death and resurrection". This phrase means that in baptism, Christ opens us to the experience of his total commitment to us that his dying for us symbolizes. He once said "what greater love can one have than to lay down one's life for one's friends." Well, in baptism, we enter into that "greater love" that draws us into the life of God, the life of the Risen Christ.		Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you," (Mt. 28:19-20)
Sacrament Of Healing - Reconciliation RECONCILIATION shows us Christ reaching out to us to heal of the self-centered choices we've made that have placed us over and against the good of ourselves, others, or the community at large. Just as he forgave the repentant thief, he also forgives us. Just as he sat with tax collectors and prostitutes, he never runs from us in our worst moments. He doesn't want to coddle us. He wants to heal us, i.e. to draw us away from self-defeating preoccupations to self-enhancing service. Far from whitewashing our guilt, he wants to challenge us to leave our guilt behind and to embrace what is best in our hearts. This is what reconciliation does, by bringing us back to him through the forgiveness offered through the priest, Christ brings us back to the challenges of living our discipleship in a community of disciples Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered each Saturday from 1:00-2:00 pm
Sacrament of Initiation - Eucharist We get the opportunity to become like God through our life in the Church. Sacraments of initiation introduce a person into the life of the Christian community, which is a life based on God's love for us. We are therefore always urged to love one another, in his image and likeness. You can see this the first time that you celebrate the Eucharist and every time thereafter. In receiving the Body and Blood of Christ (i.e. Christ's very self), we receive the essence of God, we let God touch us. This touch, in turn, moves us to treat each other with greater respect, forgiveness, and compassion. His friendship urges us to be friends.		While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it and giving it to his disciples said, 'Take and eat; this is my body.' Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, 'Drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins." Mt. 26:26-28; Mk 14:22-24; Lk 22:17-20;1Cor 11:23-25 Jesus said: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world ..." John 6:51-55.
Sacrament of Initiation - Confirmation Sacraments of initiation introduce a person into the life of a community which is a life based on God's love for us. We are therefore always urged to love one another, in his image and likeness. You can see this the first time that you celebrate the Eucharist and every time thereafter. In receiving the Body and Blood of Christ (i.e. Christ's very self), we receive the essence of God, we let God touch us. This touch, in turn, moves us to treat each other with greater respect, forgiveness, and compassion. His friendship urges us to be friends. Baptism and Confirmation begin this lifelong process. We say that we are "baptized into Christ's death and resurrection". This phrase means that in baptism, Christ opens us to the experience of his total commitment to us that his dying for us reveals. He once said "what greater love can one have than to lay down one's life for one's friends." Well, in baptism, we enter into that "greater love" that draws us into the life of God, the life of the Risen Christ. Confirmation completes this initiation by revealing to us that this "greater love" is the experience of the God's Spirit. Just as the Spirit unites the Father and the Son in their eternal commitment to each other, so too, the same Spirit moves us to deeper commitments of dedication and self-giving to one another, to the Church, and thus to God. God's Spirit seeks to renew our use of the talents and skills that God has given to us on behalf of the world around us.

Sacrament of Healing - Anointing of the Sick ANOINTING OF THE SICK seeks to bring Christ's healing touch to people who are separated from the community. Sickness, in whatever form it takes - disease, psychological and emotional distress, addictions - have the effect of driving people into themselves. They are isolated from their families, friends, and coworkers, not only physically but in their spirits also. They often are angry, depressed, fearful, and full of questions about God, life, and the sincerity of others. In a word, they are cut off within and without. Just as Christ reached out to all who were sick when he walked this earth, he still reaches out to the sick right now. The anointing of the sick reveals his reach. His primary desire, it seems, is to heal the suffering of his brothers and sisters by restoring them to their center in him. By being re-centered in his presence, those who are sick find themselves no longer alone and no longer cut off. This can sometimes be a source of peace in God's presence, of courage and hope in the face of their sufferings, of gratitude for the goodness of those around them, and of strength to fight their illness.

Sacrament of Vocation - Holy Orders HOLY ORDERS call our attention to another dimension of God's action in our lives. We are not just part of a family. Every family, every marriage, is part of a larger community and the quality of that community affects the quality of marriages, friendships, and individual lives. Holy Orders reveal that God acts in the communities of which we are a part by raising up leaders who strive to be disciples in such a way that others see discipleship in their own lives. Ordained persons, in other words, do not just call people to follow Christ. They truly lead when they help others to see the action of Christ in their relationships, work, and play. They do this because they have first seen it in themselves. By continually calling a community to discipleship, they remind non-ordained persons that they are responsible to act in a similar way in their circle of relationships.

Sacrament of Vocation - Matrimony By giving of themselves in love in a marital union, a couple reveals the love that Christ has for all of us. As they work out their loves through the ups and downs of relationship building, they show us how God works his love for us, drawing us from self-centered lives to lives of self-giving. By doing this, married couples remind all of us, married or unmarried, that this is how God acts within all of our lives. Since Christ reveals that the essence of God is self-gift, genuine friendship if you will, then the sure way of knowing how we are participating in his life is through the experience of moving beyond the slavery of self-preoccupation to the freedom of self-donation. Whenever that happens in us, we are experiencing the Spirit of marriage, even if we're not married.		"The Lord God said: 'It is not good for the man to be alone'..That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body." (Gen. 2:18,24)