Sacred Heart Church provides many opportunities for service. Please check the list below for specific areas. If you still have a question please call our Parish office at (386) 428-6426.
Remember Your Church when making your Last Will & testament. The Pastor would be happy to discuss this with you.
Sacred Heart Intercessory Prayer Line: We will pray with you for your intentions, call (386) 428-6426 for more info.
Sick Calls: Please call the Parish Office at (386) 428-6426. After Hours or Emergency Calls (386) 428-9899.
Communion for the Homebound: Please call (386) 428-6426 to arrange for Friday visitation & Communion.
Baptism
We welcome you and your child to this beautiful sacrament. Baptism is a sign of the sacred, confers grace, is a celebration of Christ’s life, and is the beginning of a deep relationship, a vital union with the Risen Lord.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church requires that parents and godparents attend ONE Baptism preparation class prior to the baptism of their child/children.
Baptism Preparation Class Schedule
Baptism Preparation Class for Parents and Godparents: FIRST Saturday of each month.
All preparation classes are conducted in the Church.
Schedule of Baptism: 3rd Sunday of each month after the 10:30 am Mass
Please contact Ella Copeland at (386) 428-6426.
Maria Bilodeau conducts Baptism Preparation classes.
First Penance
Our sacramental preparation program for First Penance and First Communion begins in the fall. The first semester is geared toward preparing our participants to receive the sacrament of First Reconciliation and the second semester is geared toward preparing them to receive to the sacrament of First Communion. Parents have the unique responsibility for the education of their children; they are the first educators or catechists. They teach by their witness of the faith, through their values and attitudes, by their Christian example of love for Christ and his church. When children are baptized, parents accept the responsibility to raise their children in the practice of their faith…(National Directory for Catechesis 234-235)
The program is intended to be short and focused on the immediate catechesis for the sacraments they are preparing to receive. To ensure that those going through the sacramental prep program are ready for this short instruction, the Diocese of Orlando, requires a minimum of two years of documented participation in Religious Education (remote preparation) to precede the reception of First Reconciliation and First Communion.
What this means is that if you would like your child to receive the sacrament of First Communion in Second Grade, the child needs to be enrolled in Religious Education starting in Kindergarten. We understand that this policy has not been so strongly endorsed as it could have been and so for those who do not meet this requirement this year but would still like their child to receive the sacrament you will need to set up a meeting with the sacramental Prep Coordinator, Please call Parish office 386-428-6426, to discuss your child’s readiness to enter the sacramental prep program.
First Holy Communion
A vital part of our Catholic Christian family community and experience is the sharing in the Sacraments. According to the Catholic Church’s teachings, a Catholic parent or guardian, plays a vital role in providing religious education for their children. The church recognizes that religious education and sacramental preparation begins with the parent or guardian family at home and is integral in providing moral foundation and spiritual formation. The Church desires us to teach our children about our relationship with God the Father, Jesus the Son, the Holy Spirit, our Mother Mary, along with our angels, saints, and Catholic traditions. As Catholic parents or guardians, we have the God given gifts and responsible to educate and form our children in Christ, in the Catholic faith, worship and morality which should begin in the earliest years.
In providing religious education and formation, Catholic parents or guardians help to foster the gift of God’s desire in preparing them to receive the church’s sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation. According to our Faith, infants should be baptized during the first few weeks of life. When a child reaches second grade, or 7 years of age, it is time to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. This preparation should take place at a Catholic school or religious education program, and sometimes out of necessity through home schooling. When our children attend a non-Catholic school, parents are encouraged to enroll their children in parish religious education classes for this preparation.
Our sacramental preparation program for First Reconciliation and First Communion begins with a brief personal inquiry session to provide answers for your questions and provide an outline of our children’s ministry for Formation and Sacramental preparation.. The 2 year ministry program, leading up to receiving both Sacraments, normally begins in 1st grade and concludes with receiving the Sacraments at the conclusion of 2nd grade. However, parents or guardians whose children are not able to be enrolled on this age timeline are encouraged to inquire about a modified plan for their formation and sacramental preparation.
This process is offered through classroom and online discussion and teaching, and also through participation in prayer, special celebrations and worship opportunities, and service to others. In this way, our children are led to a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, other children, and the total Christian faith community. The materials and resources used during program are provided in print and online. Given today’s busy world, it is our desire to enable the entire family the opportunity to participate in the formation and preparation of our children whenever and wherever is best suitable to fit their family living environment.
We would love to speak with you! Please call our parish office today at (386) 428-6426 and schedule a discussion about your children’s faith formation and sacramental preparation.
Confirmation
Confirmation is usually received as a teenager, several years after making First Communion, and is considered as the second of the three Sacraments of Initiation. Confirmation is regarded as the perfection of Baptism.
As the introduction to the Rite of Confirmation states:
by the sacrament of Confirmation, are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit.
Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.
Call the Parish office (386) 428-6426 for more information.
Anointing of the Sick
Who should be anointed?
The sacrament of Anointing is intended for those in danger of death or are seriously ill. It is also for those who are awaiting or recovering from critical surgery; the elderly who are notably weakened and dealing with the debilitating effects of aging, even if no serious illness exists; those failing with major chronic ailment like cancer, heart disease, stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, or multiple sclerosis; those serious mental illness; or sick children who have achieved sufficient maturity to understand the nature of the sacrament and desire to receive it.
If there is a question about the severity of the illness, the benefit of the doubt should be given to the person requesting the sacrament. Nos. 8-12, Pastoral Care of the Sick
Please call the parish office if you need a priest for the sacrament of Anointing – (386) 428-6426.
Reconciliation
At Sacred Heart Church the Sacrament of Reconciliation is available every Saturday afternoon from 3:00 to 3:45pm.
At St. Gerard, Reconciliation is available Sunday Morning 9:30am
If your need to go to the confession is urgent, or the scheduled confession times are difficult to make, please call the parish office and a priest will be available – (386) 428-6426.
Marriage
A wedding is a special and joyful time for a bride & groom, for their families and friends and for the entire parish community. Great care is taken to see that the Wedding Ceremony is reverent, graceful, beautiful and open to the movement of God’s spirit among us.
You must call the Church Office at (386) 428-6426 and make an appointment with a priest 6 months prior to your anticipated wedding date. A firm wedding date should not be made prior to speaking with a priest. Pre-Cana program is required for all couples in preparation for the sacrament.