Baptism, First Reconciliation, First Holy Communion, and Confirmation are the first sacraments of the Catholic Church. They are therefore the sacraments of initiation into the church, the life of Christ and bring us into communion with God.

Baptism is the first and the door to all other sacraments. If you are an adult interested in being baptized, see RCIA. If you are a parent wishing to have your child baptized, see Baptism. If you are parent of an older child wishing to have them baptized, see Baptism. 

First reconciliation and First Holy Communion follow baptism and are initiated, usually, at the age of seven or eight-years-old. If you have a child of this age and would like them to receive these sacraments, please see Reconciliation and First Eucharist. If you are a parent with an older child wishing to receive this sacrament, please contact the parish office at 507-625-3131. (RCIC link coming soon) . If you are an adult wishing to receive this sacrament for the first time, see RCIA.

View of the Sacraments

As Catholics, we consider the process of initiation serious business. Preparing a person to celebrate initiation into Catholic life through the sacraments of initiation, (Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation) is a privilege, which, for the initiated, is a life of faith in a faith-filled parish community.

RCIA

The Second Vatican Council helped Catholics all over the world to reflect on the way we prepare others to live the Catholic faith. Pope Paul VI decreed, in 1972, that preparation for life in the Catholic Church should be divided into a series of steps involving instruction and practice, which liturgical rites would sanctify. We call this the catechumenate (RCIA) in which people over the age of seven take at least two years to prepare for the sacraments of initiation into the Catholic Church. Through the catechumenate, unbaptized people over the age of seven are initiated during the Easter Vigil each year, celebrating baptism, then confirmation, and, finally, first communion in the Mass. The church asks us to reflect upon the catechumenate as the most excellent model for preparing a person for initiation into the Catholic life. (Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), Appendix III: National Statues for the Catechumenate, no. 18, 402.)

The rites for the catechumenate (RCIA) paint for us a picture of the basic process of initiation. The rites sanctify various periods of instruction. The periods of instruction give a person first hand experience of Catholic living. The witness of other Catholics who pray, study, and act in the name of Christ presents the nuance of Catholic-Christian faith to those who watch and learn.

Infant Baptism

At the same time, we baptize infants born into the Catholic family. The baptism of infants is the Church's loving embrace of the infant who is formed in Catholic habits throughout his or her life by the Catholic family. When a child begins initiation into the Catholic life as an infant, the process of preparation occurs throughout the life of the child. The baptized child gradually absorbs faith and faith practices from the family and celebrates the other sacraments of initiation later in life.

Children, baptized as infants, have been watching, practicing, discerning, and living the Catholic faith for approximately seven years. They have a developed sense of imagination, which helps them to engage in liturgy with its stories, ceremonies, and ritual. They learn the story of Jesus and his friends from parents and catechists.

Children use their imagination and their knowledge of Jesus to discern how to model their lives on the life of Jesus. They learn the stories of other Christians and saint-heroes who dedicated their lives to Christ. As we all know, a child is concerned about the evaluation and feedback of other significant people in his or her life. Children absorb images of God and the way God relates to his people through their experience of parents, siblings, and extended family.

This is a tender time in the faith life of the baptized Catholic. His or her relationship with adults in the community will form or de-form his or her relationship with God. The influence of these people will shape the young person's desire to be a witness in faith on a daily basis.

The parish community continues the initiation of their children in the celebrations of the Eucharist where they experience the presence of Christ and his community gathered around the Table of the Lord.

Let us be thoughtful of every moment we witness to these tender ones of faith. Since every parish is initiating young people baptized as infants all year long, the parish is an initiating parish.