Sacraments at Holy
Cross
We celebrate with
reverence and joy the Sacramental life of the Catholic Church.
We teach, preach and offer
the Sacraments of Initiation,
Healing and Service.
The Sacraments of
Initiation-Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation, are
so called because they initiate or introduce us to the experience of Christian
life. Jesus called people to follow him and invited them into community and the
life of God. Our parish community does likewise when we celebrate.
Baptism
signifies our immersion in the Christian life and marks our spiritual rebirth
in the Church. Infant Baptisms are
held on the first (Spanish), second (English) and third, (Portuguese) Sundays
of the month at 1pm. It is necessary to
make prior arrangements at the rectory with a staff member (973-484-5678). Instructions
for parents are held on the preceding Monday at
Eucharist
(Holy Communion) celebrates our life as a community and the presence of Christ
in our midst. The Word is proclaimed and explained at every
Mass and we celebrate our unity with Christ in communion and service. Fully
initiated Catholics may partake of the Eucharist daily. See our homepage for daily and weekend Mass
times.
Children, teenagers and adults
who have not yet received their First Communion must be properly instructed and
prepared. The Religious Education Staff will be happy to serve them. ( link)
Confirmation seals our Baptism and
confirms our commitment both to the Church and to the work of Christ in the
world. After proper religious instruction and preparation, Confirmation is
celebrated annually at Holy Cross for children, teenagers and adults. The usual
minister of Confirmation is the local Ordinary (Bishop). His visit is an
occasion of joy for the entire parish.
The Sacraments of
Healing- Reconciliation and Anointing, celebrate and reveal to us
God’s power to heal us in soul and body.
Jesus called for
conversion and forgave those who were repentant. Frequently he cured the sick
and healed those who suffered in mind or body.
Reconciliation
(Confession or Penance) celebrates and reminds us of God’s mercy
and helps us to experience divine forgiveness, to forgive ourselves and to
become reconciled with others. Reconciliation is celebrated every Saturday at
regularly scheduled times. (
Anointing of the Sick (Extreme Unction) celebrates
and reminds us of God’s compassion and helps us to experience spiritual- and
sometimes physical- strengthening when we are sick. Urgent sick calls will be
attended at any time. However, it is advisable to request a pastoral visit
before the person becomes critically ill.
Hospitals will usually not give out patient information, so family
members must make the pastoral staff aware of a parishioner’s hospitalization
or illness.
The Sacraments of
Service- Marriage
and Holy Orders celebrate the Christian vocation of
service and consecrate us to minister within our own family and within the
wider Church community. Jesus called spouses to unconditional love and lasting
fidelity. He also appointed the twelve Apostles to minister in a special way.
The universal call to holiness, however, is for everyone, so all are called to
a life of Christian service, whatever their personal vocational gifts.
Matrimony
joins a man and a woman in marriage for a lifetime of dedication
to each other’s well- being and the well- being of their children and the
community. Jesus raised marriage to the dignity of a sacrament by performing
His first public miracle at the Wedding Feast at
Ordination integrates men into the Holy
Orders of bishops, priests and deacons, empowering them for a
lifetime of leadership and service in the Church. As Jesus called His apostles,
the Holy Spirit continues to call some to ministry as a priest or deacon. The
Vocation Office of the Archdiocese of
“Seated at the right hand of the Father” and pouring out
the Holy Spirit on his Body which is the Church, Christ now acts through
the sacraments he instituted to communicate his grace. The sacraments are
perceptible signs (words and actions) accessible to our human nature. By
the action of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit they make present
efficaciously the grace that they signify. Catechism
of the Catholic Church- 1084
