Sacraments celebrate what God has done for us. In Baptism, we celebrate that God welcomes us into the Christian famliy. In Confirmation/First Eucharist, we celebrate the full initiation into the Body of Christ. which is the completion of our Baptismal journey. In Reconciliation, we celebrate God's invitatoin to come back to our best selves, our faith community, and back to God when we have sinned.
Sacraments are one moment in our lifelong journey of faith. Just as friendships unfold, develop, and deepen over a lifetime, our own faith journey develops and deepens over our lifetimes as well. Eucharist continues to nourish us along the way, and Reconcilation celebrates our return anytime we lose our way.
At St. Joseph Parish, we have a preparation series for each sacrament to help participants understand, at their own level and ability, how God acts in our lives and how we respond. We relate this to the particular understanding of the anticipated sacrament. Growth, development, and deepening of faith don't happen magically. They are the fruit of study, prayer, reflection, and participation in our faith community. Each preparation series involves the candidates for a given sacrament as well as parents, sponsors, and the larger community at St. Joseph Parish.