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Pastor’s Letter: August 31, 2025

Blessings and peace to you all this weekend! Now that I’m an adjunct faculty member of Mundelein Seminary [If you missed it, last week’s bulletin column will fill you in =) ], I thought it would be good to get another series of columns going. Perhaps it is fitting, since we are now back into the full swing of school, as well as kicking off our OCIA classes for the year. If you haven’t seen/heard the announcements, OCIA stands for Order of Christian Initiation for Adults. The Church provides us a format and order for those wishing to join our Faith…and part of that process is a series of instruction which covers our core beliefs and teachings. Of course, since it is an overview of Catholic Faith, the classes are a great opportunity for those who wish to learn more or brush up on the Faith. With that backdrop in mind, I thought it might be a good opportunity to review through one of the best ways God shares life with us—through the Sacraments.

What is a Sacrament? Some may recall our Catechism definition…simply said…a Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.  Grace is God’s free and loving gift to us, a sharing in His life which is helpful and strengthening to us. One of my favorite things about the Sacraments is that God shares His life and help with us in a way that we can easily receive. We are bodies and souls together and we come to know things through the use of our senses. It is fitting that Jesus chose visible signs (using the body) to give us grace (which perfects the soul) so that we are prepared, both body and soul, for life in Heaven. In order to cover all aspects of the graces we need, Jesus gave us seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Holy Matrimony.

Christ..