Sacraments of Healing
Reconciliation and Penance
Lk. 15 & Jn. 20:22Anointing of the Sick James 5:14
Reconciliation and Penance
The Sacrament of Penance is an experience of the gift of God’s boundless mercy. Not only does it free us from our sins but it also challenges us to have the same kind of compassion and forgiveness for those who sin against us. We are liberated to be forgivers. We obtain new insight into the words of the Prayer of St. Francis: “It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.”
Penance is an experience of the gift of God’s boundless mercy.
Reconciliation is available on the second and fourth Saturday of the month from 4:00pm to 4:45pm and every Friday at 11:00 am. Reconciliation is also available by appointment.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION DURING RECONCILLIATION |
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Anointing of the Sick
Anointing of the sick is celebrated on the second Sunday of the month following Vigil Mass, or by appointment. If you or a loved one are in the hospital in Jackson, please call the Parish Office and we will make arrangements for our priest to visit.
If you are in Griffin/Spalding please call the Office of Sacred Heart at 770-227-2378, in Henry call the Office of St. James at 770-957-5441.
The Rite of Anointing tells us there is no need to wait until a person is at the point of death to receive the Sacrament. A careful judgment about the serious nature of the illness is sufficient. The Sacrament may be repeated if the sick person recovers after the anointing but becomes ill once again, or if, during the same illness, the person’s condition becomes more serious. A person should be anointed before surgery when a dangerous illness is the reason for the intervention (cf. Rite of Anointing, Introduction, nos. 8-10).
Moreover, “old people may be anointed if they are in weak condition even though no dangerous illness is present. Sick children may be anointed if they have sufficient use of reason to be comforted by this sacrament. . . . [The faithful] should be encouraged to ask for the anointing, and, as soon as the time for the anointing comes, to receive it with faith and devotion, not misusing the sacrament by putting it off” (Rite of Anointing, nos. 11, 12, 13).
Only bishops and priests may be ministers of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. A penitential rite followed by the Liturgy of the Word opens the celebration. Scripture awakens the faith of the sick and family members and friends to pray to Christ for the strength of his Holy Spirit. The priest lays his hands on the head of the sick person. He then proceeds to anoint, with the blessed Oil of the Sick, the forehead and hands of the sick person (in the Roman Rite). He accompanies these acts with the words, “Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up” (CCC, no. 1513).
If you would like Communion brought to someone who cannot attend Mass, please contact the Parish Office at 770-775-4162.
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