Sacraments
“Christ instituted the sacraments of the new law.
There are seven: Baptism, Confirmation (or Chrismation), the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. the seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian’s life of faith. There is thus a certain resemblance between the stages of natural life and the stages of the spiritual life.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1210
Sacraments for Infants and Children
Baptism
For Infants & Children 0—6 years
Baptism Preparation for parents must be completed prior to Baptism date. Arrangements for baptism are to be made at least two months before the Baptism date. For more information or to begin the process, please call the Parish Office at 248-477-7470 or submit the online form.
First Reconciliation
For Children
First Reconciliation preparation is part of the First Communion preparation program. Children typically receive the sacrament a week prior to the First Communion Mass. After First Reconciliation, children in our faith formation program have a special opportunity to receive the sacrament of reconciliation regularly every year during Advent and Lent.
First Holy Communion
For Children
Preparation for children is accomplished in the 1st and 2nd grade. It is an Archdiocese policy that children be enrolled in faith formation for two years before the reception of the sacrament. The coordinator provides details about the process during the school year. Please contact the coordinator if your child is home-schooled for faith formation. Your child can still make their first communion if they are beyond 2nd grade and missed the sacrament. In this case, register your child for faith formation as soon as possible and we can work out a plan to prepare your child for the sacrament. First Communion Mass is typically celebrated at St. Gerald on a Sunday in April, during the Easter season.
Confirmation
For School-aged Children
Preparation for 7th and 8th grade children includes both home and classroom study processes. It is an Archdiocese policy that children be enrolled in faith formation for two years before the reception of the sacrament. The Coordinator provides details about the process for Confirmation during the school year. Please contact the coordinator if your child is home-schooled for faith formation. Confirmation is celebrated with our Family of Parishes in May of the 8th grade year. If your child is beyond 8th grade and has not made their confirmation, it is not too late; please contact the coordinator to work out a plan for preparation classes. The Confirmation Mass for 2026 will take place at St. Priscilla on Saturday, May 9 at 10:00 am.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
Confession is available on Saturdays from 3:30 pm- 4:30 pm.
Special church penance services are scheduled, with individual confession and absolution, each Advent and Lent. Check the bulletin for specific dates.
Before going to confession, it is important to examine your conscience. The USCCB offers a variety to assist you:
If it has been a while since your last confession, you may want to review the process.
Sacrament of the Sick
The Anointing of the Sick is available on an individual basis as needed. Please call the Parish Office to schedule a priest.
From the USCCB:
In the Church’s Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, through the ministry of the priest, it is Jesus who touches the sick to heal them from sin – and sometimes even from physical ailment. His cures were signs of the arrival of the Kingdom of God. The core message of his healing tells us of his plan to conquer sin and death by his dying and rising.
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.
When the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given, the hoped-for effect is that, if it be God’s will, the person be physically healed of illness. But even if there is no physical healing, the primary effect of the Sacrament is a spiritual healing by which the sick person receives the Holy Spirit’s gift of peace and courage to deal with the difficulties that accompany serious illness or the frailty of old age.
Guidelines for the Reception of Communion
For Catholics
As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the Eucharist when we receive Holy Communion. We are encouraged to receive Communion devoutly and frequently. In order to be properly disposed to receive Communion, participants should not be conscious of grave sin and normally should have fasted for one hour. A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord without prior sacramental confession except for a grave reason where there is no opportunity for confession. In this case, the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible (canon 916). A frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance is encouraged for all.
For our fellow Christians
We welcome our fellow Christians to this celebration of the Eucharist as our brothers and sisters. We pray that our common baptism and the action of the Holy Spirit in this Eucharist will draw us closer to one another and begin to dispel the sad divisions which separate us. We pray that these will lessen and finally disappear, in keeping with Christ’s prayer for us “that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21).
Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life, and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united are ordinarily not admitted to Holy Communion. Eucharistic sharing in exceptional circumstances by other Christians requires permission according to the directives of the diocesan bishop and the provisions of canon law (canon 844 §4). Members of the Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Polish National Catholic Church are urged to respect the discipline of their own Churches. According to Roman Catholic discipline, the Code of Canon Law does not object to the reception of Communion by Christians of these Churches (canon 844 §3).
For those not receiving Holy Communion
All who are not receiving Holy Communion are encouraged to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus and with one another.
For non-Christians
We also welcome to this celebration those who do not share our faith in Jesus Christ. While we cannot admit them to Holy Communion, we ask them to offer their prayers for the peace and the unity of the human family.
Sacraments for Adults
OCIA
Order of Christian Initiation of Adults
(formerly known as RCIA)
Also known as “Becoming Catholic,” OCIA is for you if you have ever considered becoming Catholic. Whether you are unbaptized, baptized in a Protestant faith, or baptized Catholic but didn’t receive First Communion and Confirmation, this is the process for becoming fully initiated into the Catholic Church, or just to learn more about the faith. This is also for children ages 7 and up who have not been baptized. Please contact us to inquire about our OCIA program; now is the perfect time to respond to the prompting you feel from the Holy Spirit to be fully initiated into the Catholic Church Jesus Christ instituted 2000 years ago. Contact Emily Long, at 248.476.7677 ext 201 or or download and submit the Becoming Catholic info form
Holy Matrimony
From the USCCB: “The Sacrament of Marriage is a covenant, which is more than a contract. Covenant always expresses a relationship between persons. The marriage covenant refers to the relationship between the husband and wife, a permanent union of persons capable of knowing and loving each other and God. The celebration of marriage is also a liturgical act, appropriately held in a public liturgy at church. Catholics are urged to celebrate their marriage within the Eucharistic Liturgy.”
If you are interested in celebrating the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony at St. Gerald’s, please click below for more information:
Holy Orders & Vocations
Are you discerning a call to the priesthood or consecrated religious life? Visit this website by the Archdiocese of Detroit where you can explore priestly vocations:
Funeral Preparation
A funeral is not a sacrament, but is a sacramental, a sacred sign with a spiritual effect. In the words of Fr. Michael Cummins (Word on Fire), the Catholic funeral is at the heart of who we are as Church – a people gathered, saved and redeemed by Christ our risen Lord! The Catholic funeral is a witness to a secular world that there is a greater context to both life and death. A Catholic funeral speaks to the hearts of the people gathered and even converts hearts that might be hurting and searching.
You may wish to begin preparing for your own or a loved one’s funeral in advance, or perhaps you are here because a loved one has passed. Please call the parish office at 248-477-7470 to begin planning a funeral.
Funeral Announcements
Have you learned, after the fact, that someone from our parish has died and the funeral is already over? Would you like to be notified when we have a funeral for one of our parishioners? We have created a notification list of those who want to receive an email with the funeral information, so you can celebrate the Mass of Resurrection for fellow parishioners. Please send your name and email address to the Parish Office at if you would like your name added to the list, or fill out the email subscription form.
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Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and may perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.