sacrament

At the center of what it means to be Catholic is a life lived in and through the sacraments: baptism, Eucharist, anointing, confirmation, reconciliation, matrimony and holy orders–simply put, faith in action.

In the form of the Eucharist, Jesus Christ has descended into the world of matter, and we partake of the very King of Heaven, under the form of the most ordinary bread.

The Catholic Church encourages Catholic adults who are active in the practice of their faith but who, for whatever reason, have never received the sacrament of confirmation to do so.

The observance is “an opportunity to focus on building a culture of life and love that begins with supporting and promoting marriage and the family,” said a Feb. 3 news release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“A blessing [such as Honoring Marriage Day] is a pastoral work and an expression of a faith community’s joys and hopes. That is important in any culture,” said Mayuli Bales, diocesan director of multicultural ministries.

With COVID restrictions lifting, pastors looking to welcome faithful back should rethink their confession schedules.

Over the course of 2,000 years, the church has canonized myriad bishops, priests and deacons, but what is common to all of them is their path to holiness was marked by a unique sacrament: holy orders.

Because most people today do not understand that sacramental marriage really is a bond that binds them to each other for life, many marriages today can be considered invalid, the pope said.