The life of Saint Anthony Parish revolves around the celebration of the sacraments.  The traditional Baltimore Catechism tells us that “a sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to impart grace.”  Each of the sacraments gives a special grace if we receive them with the right dispositions.  Therefore, the people of Saint Anthony Parish are encouraged to frequently receive the Sacrament of Confession in order that they might be well disposed to receive the other sacraments in a state of grace.

Traditionally, the Church speaks about the Sacraments of the Living and the Sacraments of the Dead. Baptism and Penance are called sacraments of the dead because their chief purpose is to give the supernatural life of sanctifying grace to souls spiritually dead through sin. Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony are called sacraments of the living because their chief purpose is to give more grace to souls already spiritually alive through sanctifying grace. He who knowingly receives a sacrament of the living in mortal sin commits a mortal sin of sacrilege, because he treats a sacred thing with grave irreverence. (I Corinthians 11:27)