Sacraments of Vocation

Holy Orders

The Sacrament of Holy Orders is the call to the ordained ministry. The diocesan priesthood is a call to serve parishes and institutions within the eight counties of WNY. As priests we are ordained to preach the Good News, celebrate sacraments and offer pastoral care to people in countless ways.

Let us together continue to pray as a church for religious vocations, express in the religious life and the priesthood.

Ordination as a priest configures the priest to Christ the Head of the Church and the one essential High Priest, and conferring on him the power, as the bishops' assistant, to celebrate the sacraments and other liturgical acts, especially the Eucharist. Ordination as a deacon configures the deacon to Christ the Servant of All, placing him at the service of the bishop, especially in the Church's exercising of Christian charity towards the poor and preaching of the word of God.

The discernment of a vocation to religious life as a religious sister or brother, priesthood, or diaconate is a call we must be responsible about. When people continue to have openness as they search, it is our responsibility to introduce them to exploring the possibility of a religious vocation.

Men interested in Priesthhood can contact Fr. Walt Szczesny, Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Buffalo at 716-847-5535.  Buffalo. www.buffalovocations.org
Men interested in the Permanant Diaconate can contact Deacon Ted May at 625-4308 or mailto:tmay@cks.edu



Marriage

Marriage, like Holy Orders, is a sacrament that has the mission and the power to make Jesus present to each other, to their children, to anyone whom they touch as a couple and as a family. This sacrament, seen as a sign of the love uniting Christ and the Church, establishes between the spouses a permanent and exclusive bond, sealed by God. Accordingly, a marriage between baptized persons, validly entered into and consummated, cannot be dissolved. The sacrament imparts the grace needed for attaining holiness in married life and for responsible acceptance and upbringing of children.

Please contact the Parish priests six months prior to the date of the marriage for preparation requirements.

The next 'Before Cana' workshop will be on April 17, 2010.  This is a full day and runs from 8:00am till after the 4:30 community Mass.  The fee is $75.  Please call the parish office at 683-6445 to register.