Baptism

To have your child Baptized

Families must be registered in the parish before arranging a Baptism. A registration form can be obtained by calling the parish office, 952.473.1247.
Parents need to meet with our Pastor before scheduling a Baptism.

Call the parish office 952.473.1247 or contact Fr. Shane by calling or emailing: .

Complete the Infant Baptism Form

Schedule the Baptism- usually celebrated at one of the Sunday Masses.

For Catholics, the Sacrament of Baptism is the first step in a lifelong journey of commitment and discipleship. Whether we are baptized as infants or adults, Baptism is the Church’s way of celebrating and enacting the embrace of God.

Baptism is the sacrament that frees us humans from original sin and from personal guilt, that makes us a member of Christ and His Church. It is thus the door to a new and supernatural life.
This sacrament has been undisputed in the Church since the beginning of Christian tradition. It has never been rejected by any heresy intending to remain on a Christian basis. Doubts could arise only about the ways and means of administering it and on its effects and way of operation. These things are therefore in essence what Church documents about baptism deal with.

“The baptism of young children is not profitless. As circumcision made men members of the People of Israel, so baptism gives them entry to the kingdom of heaven…” Pope Innocent III A.D, 1201

Eucharist

Children preparing for the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist for the first time must attend faith formation classes at the parish on a regular basis one year prior to the year in which the sacrament will be received. Parents are required to attend two preparation retreats/workshops with their child. Please contact the religious education office for enrollment information 952.473.1247 or email:

Sacramental Preparation at St. George is a collaboration of the parents as primary teachers of their child, catechists, and the community of faith as experienced through Sunday Liturgies.

Catholics believe the Eucharist, or Communion, is both a sacrifice and a meal. We believe in the real presence of Jesus, who died for our sins. As we receive Christ’s Body and Blood, we also are nourished spiritually and brought closer to God.

The doctrine of the Holy Eucharist consists of that of the Eucharist sacrifice, the sacrificial meal, and the sacrificial food, or to express it otherwise, it consists of the doctrine of the Mass, of Communion, and of the Real Presence. There is no presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament that is not meant first and foremost as food for the faithful people, and there is no sacramental union with Christ in Holy Communion that is not to be thought of as a sacrificial meal: “For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until he come” (1 Cor. 11:26). The Eucharistic meal can only be prepared in the sacrifice of the Mass.

Thus, the mystery of the Eucharist summarizes the whole mystery of our redemption. There are two fundamental relationships in which Christ stands to us. First, he is our priestly mediator with God and offers him atonement for our sins. But Christ is not a stranger to us, who merely represents us as a propitiator before God. He comes to us in the second relationship by being the mediator of the grace which God gives us on account of his sacrifice. That is the mystery of our union with Christ who is the source of all grace for us. “And of his fullness we have all received, grace for grace” (John 1:16).

This second community is realized only in the sacrifice of the cross, by his giving his life for his Church which he had to ransom from himself. Only in death did Christ seal the deep covenant with the Church whereby she is purified and sanctified and which according to the teaching of St. Paul is the image of the most intimate union of human being in marriage: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the Church and delivered himself up for it; that he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life” (Eph. 5:25). From the opened side of our crucified Savior the Church was first born, as Eve was taken from Adam’s side. That is the most ancient way of expressing this truth.

This twofold relationship, then, in which Christ stands to us humans as our mediator before God and the bringer of all graces from God, lives on in the mystery of the Eucharist. The Holy Mass is the renewing of the sacrifice which Christ offered for us, of the sacrifice of atonement for our sins; but the sacrifice is also at the same time the preparation of the Eucharistic meal, the sacrament of our union with Christ in grace.

We should not be surprised if the doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament occurs more than most doctrines in the documents of the Church. There are few mysteries of the faith where the mystery is so evident and therefore so exposed to the attacks of heresy and unbelief. However, the militant position of the Church should not prevent us from seeing the Real Presence in the context of the whole Eucharistic mystery.

Confirmation

The two-year Confirmation program for grades 8 – 9 is on Wednesday evenings September through May from 6:30 – 8:00 pm.

Because Confirmation is a sacrament involving the church community, candidates are required to attend faith formation classes one year prior to entering the two-year preparation program.

Reconciliation

Children preparing for the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist for the first time must attend faith formation classes at the parish on a regular basis one year prior to the year in which the sacrament will be received. Parents are required to attend two preparation retreats/workshops with their child.

Please contact the religious education office for enrollment information 952.473.1247 or email: .
Sacramental Preparation at St. George is a collaboration of the parents as primary teachers of their child, catechists, and the community of faith as experienced through Sunday Liturgies.

The Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation (also known as the Sacrament of Penance, or Penance and Reconciliation) has three elements: conversion, confession, and celebration. In it we find God’s unconditional forgiveness, and as a result, we are called to forgive others.

As to Penance, if the Church is to fulfill in its entirety her task of saving mankind, she needs the power to forgive sins. It is a power essentially different from her mission to preach the Gospel and baptize. In baptism, indeed all sins and the punishment due to them are remitted. Baptism is the first justification. But the first justification is also the first entry into the realm of the supernatural which works entirely by God’s grace, and which asks of the person baptized no more than that he turn away from sin and turn in faith to Christ.

Penance is something different. A baptized person who sins again, sins against God to whom, since his/her baptism in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, he/she belongs. He/she also betrays the Church of which he/she is now a member. Thus, the new atonement assumes the character of a legal trial, with accusation, sentence, and satisfaction.

The practice of penance has varied considerably down the centuries. In very early days, satisfaction, usually in the form of public penance, was very much to the fore. Re-acceptance into the Church community normally took place only after completion of the penance imposed. More and more, however, penance has been withdrawn from the public domain, and today only the private administration of the sacrament is still in use.

The development of the system of confession shows that misunderstanding easily arises above the nature of penance. In the face of all attacks – by Wycliffe, the Reformers, liberal dogmatic historians, and modernists – the Church has always maintained the judicial character of the sacrament of penance and drawn the necessary conclusion.

Anointing of the Sick

To arrange an anointing, contact the Parish Office at the beginning of any serious illness at 952.473.1247. For emergencies, call Fr. Shane anytime 651.402.9005.

The Catholic sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, formerly known as Last Rites or Extreme Unction, is a ritual of healing appropriate not only for physical but also for mental and spiritual sickness.

As Anointing by conferring the Holy Spirit completes the sacrament of baptism, so extreme unction is the complement and completion of penance. Penance restores the justification lost by sin, extreme unction takes away the infirmity left by sin; it “removes that state which might be an obstacle to the clothing with glory of the resurrection”; and, as every sacrament makes us men in some respect like Christ, “so we become by extreme unction like the risen Christ because it will be given to the dying as a sign of the glory to come in which everything mortal will be stripped from the elect” (Albertus Magnus). According to the teaching of great theologians, the holy anointing makes the man who stands at the threshold of eternity and loyally cooperates with the grace of the sacrament ready to enter directly upon the Beatific Vision.

That this sacrament was provided for the sick to strengthen them and prepare them for a happy passage to the hereafter was for centuries an undisputed part of tradition. The ancient prayers accompanying the anointing of the sick are evidence of this. The Church only had to concern herself officially with the doctrinal side of it when particular questions cropped up or errors appeared. For this reason, the earliest documents deal more with the question of the minister and the external rites. It was not until the Reformation denied the sacramentality of extreme unction and its institution by Christ that a more exact exposition was demanded of the Council of Trent.

Marriage

Marriage preparation is required to assist engaged couples become more aware of their relationship strengths and work areas as they prepare for the Sacrament of Marriage.

Arrangements must be made at least 10 to 12 months in advance for the Sacrament of Matrimony. Contact Fr. Shane at 952.473.1247 ext. 111 or email .

For Catholics, the Sacrament of Marriage, or Holy Matrimony, is a public sign that one gives oneself totally to this other person. It is also a public statement about God: the loving union of husband and wife speaks of family values and also God’s values.

Matrimony is the marriage contract between Christians raised by Christ to the dignity of a sacrament. The theological and dogmatic treatment of this sacrament does not look very much to its main features of unity and indissolubility which are basic characteristics of all marriage in natural ethics; they are rather premises, though of course they attain greater significance and depth and stability in marriage as a sacrament. The fact, then, that these features take up a considerable amount of space in Church documents must not be allowed to hide the theological content of this sacrament which comes to us from revelation and belongs to the supernatural order.

As a sacrament, matrimony is entirely oriented on human’s supernatural goal. Matrimony and order are the two sacraments which not only serve the individual in reaching this goal but are there for the benefit of the community. Matrimony is there for the mutual help of the spouses and the increase of the people of God. Devotion to his twofold end is the way of salvation for married couples, a way sanctified by the sacrament. “Yet she shall be saved through childbearing; if she continues in faith, and love, and sanctification, with sobriety” (1 Tim:2:15).

The mutual sacrifice and devotion of husband and wife is a true picture of Christ’s sanctifying sacrifice and devotion to His Church. “Matrimony has its significance in the first place from Christ who took the Church as his bride at the price of his own blood. And also because when he offered his life as the price of her ransom, he stretched out his arms in an embrace of supreme love. And thirdly: as Eve was formed from the side of Adam while he slept, so the Church was formed from the side of the dying and dead Christ, as the two chief sacraments poured from his side – the blood of redemption and the water of absolution” (Albertus Magnus).

It is only from this point of view that one can understand the Church’s unceasing struggle against any attempt to see marriage as something unholy or something merely profane, of no concern to religion. The campaign began with those countless rigorist or dualist sects in early times and in the Middle Ages; it defended the religious nature of marriage against the Reformers for whom it was just a civil affair; it represented the demands of the Church in matter of matrimonial legislation in various countries and defended the indissolubility of the marriage contract and the sacrament in the encyclicals of Leo XIII and Pius XI.

Since marriage is also of the greatest civic significance, jurisdiction in matrimonial matters was one of the commonest causes of differences between Church and state. Since this is solely a question of dogmatic viewpoints, the relevant documents are omitted. For the same reason Church documents dealing mainly with matrimonial morality are omitted.

Holy Orders

Priests, Deacons & Nuns are needed in the Catholic Church. Learn more about vocations and the need for them by contacting our Pastor, Father Shane, or consult the Archdiocese’s Office of Vocations.

For more information, contact the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Office of Vocations:

Father David Blume
2260 Summit Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105
651.962.6890
Archdiocese Office of Vocations Web Site

In the Sacrament of Holy Orders, or Ordination, the priest being ordained vows to lead other Catholics by bringing them the sacraments (especially the Eucharist), by proclaiming the Gospel, and by providing other means to holiness.

As to Holy Orders, the supreme task which Christ had to fulfill was his priestly work of atonement which he completed as mediator between God and man. By the union in himself of humanity and divinity, Christ is by nature the mediator. As a man from among men, Christ is our mediator with the Father; yet he is also capable of offering a worthy sacrifice to God because, by virtue of the union of his human nature with the Second Person of the Godhead, his human actions have infinite value. In this fullest sense, the priesthood belongs to Christ alone.

But if Christ wished to live on and continue his work in the Church, the first thing he had to do was to provide for the continuance of his sacerdotal and mediatory function. Above all, if Christ wished to renew the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the ages and all over the world as the sacrifice of the New Law in the Holy Mass, he had to allow other men to share in his priesthood. For if there is to be a true sacrifice, there must be a priesthood ordained and authorized by God from whose hands God will accept the sacrifice.

The priesthood is ordained in the first place for the offering of sacrifice and therefore, for the sanctification of the Church’s formal worship. The arrangements for these celebrations also demand a corresponding ministry and thus graded ministers to the altar. This grading of the ministry goes in part back to direct institution by Christ, but in part was introduced by the Church.

The degrees of order – the four minor and three major orders with the highest of all, that of Bishop – signify an order of rank in the mediation of grace. It must be distinguished from the other order of rank which concerns jurisdiction, magisterium, and pastorate. The latter are not essentially linked with the powers of mediation of grace, but in the concrete order established by God; there are close relationships between the two kinds of power. For example, the fact that the power of forgiving sins exists in the Church does not in itself say anything about who has this power. But in the divine order, only a priest can have it.