FAQ's
In the Bible the concept of fatherhood is not restricted to just our earthly fathers and God. It is used to refer to people other than biological or legal fathers, and is used as a sign of respect to those with whom we have a special relationship.
We believe there are MANY postures that people can use when they pray. At Mass, our different postures show various stances of reverence, conscience that we are in the presence of God. We perform these postures during Mass to awaken us to and then honor the divine that we find in one another and in creation, that we might reverence the presence of God beyond the church walls.
We now call it "reconciliation" because "confession" is only a part of the sacrament, and not the most important part. Reconciliation is what Jesus does . "It is the gift of God's forgiveness and the removal of the barriers we place between ourselves, our community and our God."
The sponsor, commonly referred to as one’s godmother or godfather, accepts the responsibility of helping the person grow in the Catholic faith. One who acts as a sponsor for an infant or child agrees to help the parents teach the child about the faith and how to live as a practicing Catholic. A sponsor for an adult agrees to encourage and support the person, pray with and for the person, and offer whatever help, information, or support is needed while the person is preparing to enter the church and then is living out the rest of his or her life as a practicing Catholic.
Therefore, a sponsor must be fully initiated (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist), and lives in a way that demonstrates that one’s faith is strong enough to be able to fulfill the responsibilities involved with being a sponsor. A sponsor who is married must be married in the church.
At the time of the Vatican II Council, people wishing to be Catholic had a six-week course of study with a priest and were baptized. The Church realized we needed to do a better job. Today catechumens have a one-year process for acceptance into the Church. The result is new members of the Body of Christ who are better educated in the facts of the faith, but more importantly, have lived an experience of parish community, ministry and responsibility. The catechumens have learned that being Catholic is not a spectator sport. It requires our time, talent, and treasure. Those of us who are cradle Catholics may need to remind ourselves of that on occasion, and to remember to be a model to the catechumens.
To request a Papal Blessing from the Vatican follow the following link.
FAQ's about St. Elizabeth Church
St. Elizabeth parish uses a bi-monthly service to postal mail contribution envelopes to parishioners homes. Lists are sent to the company two months prior to production. So if you receive envelopes with information that has not been updated it might be due to the timing of the list.
If you receive your envelopes late it is usually because of delivery issues, often substitute postal workers only deliver first class mail on the route, leaving bulk mail for the regular carrier to deliver.
And on rare occasions it could be a supply issue as in obtaining paper to create the outer mailing envelope.
Names are left on the list published in the bulletin for three months.
We understand that families are very busy especially when dealing with a health issue in the family. Often those on the prayer list are fortunate enough to recover and move forward, however the church is not always notified of this good news.
In order to allow for all those who need prayers to be included we rotate the list on a three month basis. IF you require additional prayer please call the parish office and let us know that you would like to continue being listed for the next three month period.
When the Mass Intention book opens each year we limit the number of weekend Masses to one intention due to the fact that there are 156 weekend Masses in total for the year. The required weekly 'People of the Parish' Masses. (52 count) must be included in this count. Bringing the total of Masses to 104. The pastor has the discretion to allow a personal Mass intention to be said in conjunction with the 'People of the Parish' Mass as a joint intention.
Therefore the weekend Mass intentions are limited to allow for the availability of Masses for all parishioners throughout the year.
Additionally requested Masses that can not be scheduled will be given to Retired Priests so Masses will be said for your loved one, however we can not guarantee they will be said at St. Elizabeth Church.
St. Elizabeth has a unique feature for our Tabernacle that connects both the main church and the St. Joseph Chapel. The Tabernacle is built in the wall and may be accessed from both sides.
When the church was built the altar was designed in the shape of a 'fish'.
The Apostles were called 'fishers of men'. Early Christians would inscribe the beginning of a fish image that another Christian would complete. The Greek word for 'fish' is "Ichthus" which means Jesus Christ, son of God, Savior.
The main church is designed as an "arch" to represent the Barque (boat) of St. Peter, the fisher of men.