The Sacraments and Sacramental Programmes
In the Catholic Church there are seven Sacraments. They are: Baptism, Penance and Reconciliation, the Holy Eucharist, Confirmation, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders and Anointing of the Sick.
In Wythenshawe, we provide various courses to prepare people for receiving these Sacraments. More details about the Sacraments and our parish courses are found below:
Contact us for more information
Baptism
“Baptism is birth into the new life in Christ. In accordance with the Lord’s will, it is necessary for salvation, as is the Church herself, which we enter by Baptism.” Catechism of the Catholic Church 1277
Baptism is the first of the Sacraments, it is the foundation of the whole Christian life and is the gateway to the other sacraments. Through baptism, we are cleansed of Original Sin; reborn as a child of God and we become members of Christ, incorporated into the community of the Church and share in her mission to ‘Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord!’.
In Wythenshawe we have several programmes of preparation and formation for the baptism of children and adults. This includes the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults), RCIC (Rite of Christian Initiation for Children) for children over the age of seven, and our pre-baptism course for parents wanting their children (under the age of seven) to be baptised.
If you would like be baptised, or you would like your child to be baptised, please contact the parish office at: pastoral@wythenshawerc.com
Penance and Reconciliation
“The movement of return to God, called conversion and repentance, entails sorrow for and abhorrence of sins committed, and the firm purpose of sinning no more in the future. Conversion touches the past and the future and is nourished by hope in God’s mercy.” Catechism of the Catholic Church 1490
The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (commonly known as Confession), can be daunting but it is one of the greatest graces that we can receive again and again. It renews the soul, unburdens it of sin, leaving us free from sins of the past, so that you are equipped with new strength and accepted in love by God.
The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is celebrated each Saturday:
Sacred Heart - 11am to 12:15
St. Anthony’s - 4pm to 4:45pm
During Lent we are also offering extra time for confessions:
Sacred Heart - Wednesdays 10am to 11:45am
St. Anthony’s - Thursdays 6:30pm to 7:15pm
Confessions can also be heard by appointment. Either speak to a priest or contact the parish office to book an appointment.
The Holy Eucharist
“The Eucharist is the heart and summit of the Church’s life, for in it Christ associates his Church and all her members with his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once and for all on the Cross to his Father; by this sacrifice he pours out the graces of salvation on his Body which is the Church.” Catechism of the Catholic Church 1407
The Celebration of the Eucharist, also known as Mass, is the means by which, Christ’s Body and Blood are made truly present under the form of Bread and Wine, and by which we become what we receive.
During the celebration of Mass, Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity are made present. This is known as transubstantiation. In the liturgy of the Mass we express our faith in the Eucharist, and Jesus becomes for us our spiritual food, to help us in our daily lives as a Christian, to help us in our lifelong effort become a saint through the small and ordinary ways that we live our lives.
First Holy Communion
Those children who attend Catholic Schools will normally make their preparation for First Holy Communion in Year three, but for those who are not at Catholic Schools, but live in our parishes, preparation for Holy Communion is done here in the parish. If you wish for your child to receive their First Holy Communion, please contact the parish office at pastoral@wythenshawerc.com
For Adults
For adults, who are not Catholics, or who have not made their First Holy Communion as children, we have a course of formation which is called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). For more information about the RCIA programme please contact the parish office at pastoral@wythenshawerc.com
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
As well as our celebration of the liturgy of the Mass (Mass times can be found in the parish newsletter), we recognise too that as long as the form of bread remains, Christ remains present in it also. Therefore, we do have prolonged periods of time, where the host is placed on the altar for everyone to see. This is known as adoration. We come in silent prayer to adore our Lord, present on the altar under the Eucharistic species (also known as the Blessed Sacrament). In this time in silent adoration, we grow in our faith in Christ’s presence among us and we are able to place ourselves before him physically and ask him to help us in our daily task to become holy. These times of adoration are:
Sacred Heart - Wednesdays from 10am to 12 noon & Saturdays from 11am to 12:15
St. Anthony’s - Thursdays from 6:30pm to 7:30pm
Confirmation
“Confirmation perfects Baptismal grace; it is the sacrament which gives the Holy Spirit in order to root us more deeply in the divine filiation, incorporate us more firmly into Christ, strengthen our bond with the Church, associate us more closely with her mission, and help us bear witness to the Christian faith in words accomplished in deeds.” Catechism of the Catholic Church 1316
Children
Every year young people from Year 8 and above join the parish Confirmation preparation programme which runs usually from January to the end of February As well as broadening their faith we aim to help our young people grow in their faith so that they will be better equipped to share in Christ’s mission to bring love, justice and peace into the world.
Adults
For adults who are not yet baptised or those who are baptised in another church (e.g. Church of England), confirmation is given at the same time as you are baptised or received into full communion with the Catholic Church. This is done through the RCIA course.
If you would like to join the confirmation or RCIA programme, lookout for notices in the parish newsletter or contact the parish office on pastoral@wythenshawerc.com
Marriage
“The marriage covenant, by which a man and a woman form with each other an intimate communion of life and love, has been founded and endowed with its own special laws by the Creator. By its very nature it is ordered to the good of the couple, as well as to the generation and education of children. Christ the Lord raised marriage between the baptised to the dignity of a Sacrament.” Catechism of the Catholic Church 1660
The Sacrament of Matrimony comes about through a promise made by a man and a woman before God and the Church. Through it they are no longer two separate people, but are one in an indissoluble bond. Through marriage special graces are bestowed upon the couple to help them in their role as spouse and parents. These graces proper to the Sacrament of Matrimony are intended to perfect the couple’s love and to strengthen their indissoluble unity. By this grace they help one another to attain holiness in their married life and in welcoming and educating their children.
If you are a member of the parish community and are thinking of celebrating your marriage at any of our churches, please contact us at an early stage in the planning of your wedding (at least 12 months prior). Please contact us at pastoral@wythenshawerc.com
Holy Orders
“The ministerial priesthood… confers a sacred power for the service of the faithful. The ordained ministers exercise their service for the People of God by teaching, divine worship and pastoral governance.” Catechism of the Catholic Church 1529
A man who is ordained receives a gift of the Holy Spirit that confers on him a sacred ministry. Through Holy Orders a priest receives a power and mission to care for his brothers and sisters in faith and administers the sacraments ‘in persona Christi capitis’, (In the person of Christ the Head).
A man who is ordained a deacon, becomes a minister of the Word, of altar and of charity, representing Christ as the one who came, ‘not to be served but to serve’, ‘In persona Christi servis’, (In the person of Christ the Servant).
If you feel that you may have a calling to the priesthood or to the permanent diaconate, please speak to one of our clergy.
Anointing of the Sick
“The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick has as its purpose the conferral of a special grace on the Christian experiencing the difficulties inherent in the condition of grave illness or old age.” Catechism of the Catholic Church 1527
The Sacrament of the Sick can be received by any Catholic whose health is in a critical state or those advanced in years. You can receive this Sacrament several times in your life, it therefore makes sense for anyone, young or old, who is seriously ill to receive anointing without delay and not to think of it as the last rites.
To arrange Anointing at home, please contact the parish office. If you or a loved one are in hospital (any of the Manchester Hospitals), please ask the Ward Nurse or the Doctor to ask for a visit from the Chaplaincy Team.
Funerals
“A farewell to the deceased is his final "commendation to God" by the Church. It is "the last farewell by which the Christian community greets one of its members before his body is brought to its tomb." The Byzantine tradition expresses this by the kiss of farewell to the deceased: By this final greeting "we sing for his departure from this life and separation from us, but also because there is a communion and a reunion. For even dead, we are not at all separated from one another, because we all run the same course and we will find one another again in the same place. We shall never be separated, for we live for Christ, and now we are united with Christ as we go toward him . . . we shall all be together in Christ." Catechism of the Catholic Church 1690
The Funeral Liturgy is not a Sacrament of the Church as the Sacraments are conferred on the living. A funeral is a service in which the community comes together to pray and to commend to God, the soul of one who has died, with hope and promise of eternal life.
Within the Catholic Church, Funerals come in two forms:
Requiem Mass - In other words, a Funeral Mass, where our prayers for the eternal rest of the deceased is united to the Holy Eucharist, the Churches most supreme prayer. This includes Readings from Scripture, the celebration the Mass and the commendation of the deceased into the hands of God. Words of Remembrance (eulogies) may also be given.
Funeral Service - A funeral service follows the same format as the Requiem Mass, but the Eucharist is not celebrated.
These two types of funeral are both celebrated within Church. Please note that due to space restrictions at St. Aidan’s Church, we cannot celebrate funerals there.
A funeral service can also be celebrated directly at a crematorium.
Procedure for booking a funeral
The booking of a funeral lies directly with the funeral director. For the first part of the planning stages for any funeral, we will use the funeral directors as the ‘middleman’ between ourselves and you. Once a funeral date and time for the church and the place of committal has been confirmed by us and the funeral directors, they will send us the details of your loved one, and your contact details. After this, one of our three priests will contact you to arrange a meeting to discuss the funeral itself; e.g. type of funeral, readings, hymns, etc. Once contact has been made, please do feel free to contact that priest with any questions or concerns you may have.