“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.”
-John 6:54

BAPTISM

It is very exciting to help our children begin to discover what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and in the process, we come to know and understand God’s love and caring in deeper ways ourselves. Baptize your child means that you are willing to take on the responsibility to raise your child in the Catholic faith. You are committed to nurturing that faith by your practice and good example. It is the beginning of your child’s journey of faith, which will last a lifetime. A video presentation about Baptism has been prepared by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. View this video to get a better understanding of both the theology and rite of Baptism.

Registering for Baptism

Please call or drop by the Parish Office (708-544-7250) Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to register your baby for Baptism

Baptism Preparation Meeting

Parents are required to attend a Baptism Preparation Meeting before your child’s Baptism. Please call or drop by the Parish Office (708-544-7250) Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to register.

RECONCILIATION

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (commonly called Confession, Reconciliation or Penance) in which the faithful obtain divine mercy for the sins committed against God and neighbor and are reconciled with the community of the Church. By this sacrament Christians are freed from sins committed after Baptism. As sin is an offense against God, a rupture of communion with God and damages communion with the Church. For this reason, conversion and wholeness entails both God’s forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church, which are expressed in the liturgy of the sacrament of Reconciliation.

View this video about Reconciliation (Penance), which has been prepared by the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops. It gives a clear description of the theology and the way we celebrate this sacrament.

EUCHARIST

The Sacrament of Communion is a Holy Sacrament by which the believer eats the Holy Body and Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, presented by the Bread and Wine

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me”. (1 Corinthians 11:23-24)

View this video on Eucharist , which has been prepared by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Children receive the sacrament of the Eucharist (often preceded by the sacrament of Reconciliation) for the first time in 3rd grade, in the context of preparation through Religious Education Program.

CONFIRMATION

The sacrament of Confirmation establishes young adults as full-fledged members of the faith. Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the Spirit of holy fear in God’s presence. Guard what you have received.

God our Father has marked you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your heart.

View this Confirmation Video, which has been produced by U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. It explains the history, theology and rite of confirmation clearly and concisely

Teen Confirmation:

Along with Baptism and Eucharist, Confirmation represents a sealing of Baptism and the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Confirmation program is designed to help our young people to explore, deepen and strengthen the seeds of faith they were given at baptism. The candidates, themselves, are choosing the Catholic faith as a way of life.

MATRIMONY

The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament

The sign of the sacrament of Matrimony is the couple—the beauty of how they love one another speaks, not only to bride and the groom (husband and wife), but to the whole world of God’s great love. This sacrament begins on the wedding day with their consent and vows but doesn’t end there. Married couples continue to live out their sacrament by saying, “I do” to each other each day of their married life together

View this video about Marriage (Matrimony), which has been prepared by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. It gives a clear explanation of the theology and ritual of the sacrament.

Completing a Marriage Preparation Course is necessary to get married in the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church. Please visit the Marriage Preparation Course information page to get more details.

ANOINTING OF THE SICK

The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is a special opportunity for the Lord’s healing power to touch those who are experiencing an illness or the aging process. The sacrament unites the one who is sick with the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ so the sick may know the healing presence and love of the Lord, be strengthened in faith, and experience the support of the Church. View this video about Anointing of the Sick, which has been prepared by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to get a better understanding of this sacrament.

HOLY ORDERS

Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time. The Sacrament’s three degrees (Episcopate, Presbyterate, and Diaconate) are conferred as follows:

Bishops (Episcopate) receive the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, which integrates them into the Episcopal college and makes them visible heads of the particular Church entrusted to them. As successors of the apostles and members of the college, the bishops share in the apostolic responsibility and mission of the whole Church under the authority of the Pope.

Priests (Presbyterate) are united with the bishop in sacerdotal dignity and called to be the bishop’s prudent co-workers in the exercise of their pastoral functions. They gather around their bishop who bears responsibility with them for a particular church. They receive from the bishop the charge of a parish community or determinate ecclesial office.

Deacons (Diaconate) are ordained into the ministry of service to the Church. Deacons do not receive the ministerial priesthood, but ordination confers on them the functions of the Ministry of the Word, Divine Worship, and Service of Charity under the pastoral authority of their bishop

View this video about the Sacrament of Holy Orders, prepared by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, to get a clearer understanding of the sacrament.