The liturgical life of the Church is the Catholic Christian community’s way of celebrating what we believe. Through the signs of the sacraments and our participation in the liturgical celebrations, we renew our faith and gain an even greater share in the life of grace, God’s life in us. Through the sacraments, we are challenged to follow the way of Christ that leads to the realization of God’s kingdom.

Sacraments are divided into 3 groups: sacraments of initiation, sacraments of healing, and sacraments at the service of communion. Through them we are welcomed into the Church and called to conversion and service. The life of the Church revolves around the sacraments. In them we encounter the Lord Jesus and are enabled to live the life of faith more deeply.

The sacraments of initiation include Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. Baptism is the basis for the whole of Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit and first step to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed and reborn as children of God and are incorporated into the Church to share in her mission.

Confirmation gives us the Holy Spirit to root us more deeply in all that is divine and incorporate us more firmly into Christ. It strengthens our bond with the Church and her mission and to bear witness to the Christian faith in words and deeds.

The Eucharist is the heart and culmination of the Church’s life. By his sacrifice, Christ pours out the graces of salvation on his Body, which is the Church, his sacrifice of praise to the Father. Receiving this sacrament strengthens our union with the Lord.

The sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance restores the hurt experienced by the community when there is sin. It has a healing effect on the person, but it also has a revitalizing effect on the life of the church, which suffers from the sin of one of her members. The sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick confers a special grace upon the Christian. It unites the person to the passion of Christ and the whole church. It strengthens and brings peace and courage to the suffering. It helps to restore health if it is conducive to the soul, and as a part of God’s plan, it also prepares one for the passage from death to eternal life.

Holy Orders and Matrimony are public celebrations of the calling to family life and to the ordained ministry in the Church. These vocations are sanctified in the sacramental rites in which we are called to build the Body of Christ through example and service. The sacrament of Holy Orders joins the recipient to Christ by a special grace of the Holy Spirit, so that he may serve as Christ’s instrument for the Church. Bishops, priests, and deacons are called to act as Christ’s representatives.

In the sacrament of Matrimony, a man and woman establish a covenant between themselves and God for life. This covenant is made for the good of the spouses and for their future family.

Our celebration of the Mass is the primary source of renewal of our life in Christ. In the Mass we are once again welcomed into the community of the faithful, called to communion with others and service to others, and nourished by the Bread of Life. We are sent forth to exemplify the good news of the Gospel in our everyday lives.

First is the Gathering -- the Liturgy of the Word with Scripture readings, Homily, Profession of Faith, and General Intercessions. Second is the Liturgy of the Eucharist, with the presentation of the bread and wine, the consecration, and Communion.

In the Liturgy of the Word we hear God’s word in the readings from the Old and New Testaments and in the homily given by the priest or deacon. We profess our beliefs in the Catholic faith and pray for all God’s people. The liturgical celebration always refers to God’s saving interventions in history. In the Liturgy of the Word and the ritual traditions of the Church, the celebration "makes a remembrance" of the marvelous works of God.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist unfolds according to a fundamental structure that has been preserved throughout the centuries down to our own day. It displays two great parts that form a fundamental unity. The Eucharist is the heart and the summit of the Church’s life, for in it Christ associates his Church and all of her members. The Eucharist is his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once for all on the cross to his Father. By this sacrifice he pours out the grace of salvation on this Body, the Church.