Sacrements at St Peter the Apostle Church, Perth

Baptism

The usual church for Baptism is the parish church of the family whose baby is to be baptised.

Most parishes offer baptismal preparation and the opportunity to meet parishioners and other families with children for baptism. This enables those seeking baptism to feel part of the parish community and heightens the significance of the baptism being celebrated in the local parish community.
Where for some good reason, the family is seeking to celebrate the baptism outside their parish church, the permission of their Parish Priest needs to be obtained and given to the celebrant of the baptism.

Godparents share in the responsibility with the parents, of introducing to, instructing in, supporting and forming the Catholic faith in their godchildren. For this reason, parents need to take great care in choosing godparents and take into account in their choice the commitment to and practice of the Catholic faith and preparedness of the godparents to be involved in the faith development of the child for whom they are accepting this responsibility. Because of the importance of the godparent’s role as a model and mentor of the Catholic faith, one godparent must be a Catholic who has been confirmed and has received the Eucharist, at least sixteen years of age, and who lives out a life worthy of the role that he is about to undertake. It is permissible for a baptised Christian who belongs to a non-Catholic ecclesial community to participate together with the Catholic godparent, and then only as a witness of the baptism. It is not possible for an unbaptised person to act as godparent or witness.

To have their child baptised, a parent needs to do the following:

Make an appointment with the parish secretary during office hours to meet the Parish Priest. Bring along to the meeting a copy of the child’s Birth Certificate, and your completed Baptism Form. Forms are available at the back of St. Peter’s Church.
Attend the Baptism Program.
Our Baptism Preparation Coordinators: David Byrne and Tina Baldwin

On the day of baptism, a parent needs to:

Bring along one baptism candle (per child)
Dress child in white.
Baptism booklets will be provided on the day.

Please use the following Baptism form: (Download)
Please also see the Baptism Information: (Download)
Please read our Baptism Information, fill in our downloaded Baptism form, attach your proof of Baptism Payment (a screenshot/photo of bank receipt is acceptable) & your child's birth certificate, and email the completed Baptism Form with the supporting documents to: baptisms@stpetersbedford.au.

Confirmation

Confirmation is one of the Sacraments of Initiation, which lead us into full membership of the Catholic Church. It completes promises made at Baptism, often by parents on our behalf. Current practice in the Archdiocese of Perth is that Confirmation is given to children in Yr 6 or older after suitable preparation. A baptised person who has received First Eucharist may be confirmed. For adults being received into the church, please see RCIA (link tab) for correct details.

Like Baptism, Confirmation can only be given once. In the Rite of Confirmation, candidates renew their Baptismal promises and through the Laying of Hands and Anointing with the Oil of Chrism, the gifts of the Holy Spirit received at Baptism are strengthened and sealed. The first Confirmation was when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles at Pentecost ( Acts 8). As each Bishop is a successor to the Apostles, the church has stressed this connection via the Bishop as celebrant unless delegation is given to the Parish Priest. The Oil of Chrism, which is used, is blessed each year by the Bishop, which retains the link between parish and bishop when a delegated priest confers the Sacrament.

2025 CONFIRMATION INFORMATION BOOKLET (Download)
For more information, please kindly contact the Parish Sacramental Coordinator.
Mrs Marina Tassone.
Office hours:
Tuesday 8.30am to 4.30pm
Thursday 8.30am to 4.30pm
Email: sacramental@stpetersbedford.au
Sacrament Office: Parish Hall -91 Wood Street, Inglewood WA 6052

Reconciliation

This Sacrament is a Sacrament of Healing and can be received often by a baptised person.

Jesus gave the Apostles the power to forgive and there are many stories in the Gospels when Jesus taught of forgiveness, the two well known were:

The Parable of the Lost Sheep ( Lk 15 :1 – 17)
The Prodigal Son ( Lk 15 : 11 – 32)

God is merciful and compassionate and His love is unconditional. This is the God we meet in the Confessional. He gave us the Ten Commandments as a guide to making moral choices as well as giving us the ability to choose freely between right and wrong. Without realising it, when we ask our children to admit a wrong choice and say sorry before mending their relationship by doing a kind deed, we are modelling what happens in the Sacrament of Penance.

THE RITE COMES IN THREE FORMS

First Rite happens completely individually inside the Confessional
Second Rite begins in a communal gathering where we listen to readings and examine our Conscience before we individually confess our sins and receive absolution. We rejoin the community for final prayers and blessings.
Third Rite is very rare and is given only when there is no time for individual confession such as in times of war.

2025 RECONCILIATION INFORMATION BOOKLET (Download)
For more information, please kindly contact the Parish Sacramental Coordinator,
Mrs Marina Tassone.
Office hours:
Tuesday 8.30am to 4.30pm
Thursday 8.30am to 4.30pm
Email: sacramental@stpetersbedford.au
Sacrament Office: Parish Hall -91 Wood Street, Inglewood WA 6052

Eucharist / First Communion

Eucharist or Communion is a Sacrament we can receive often – every time we celebrate Mass or attend a Communion service. It is one of the Sacraments of Initiation by which we become full members of the church.

We gather as a community of faithful to worship, give thanks and praise to God and receive spiritual nourishment. The Liturgy has two main parts: Liturgy of the Word, which prepares us for Liturgy of the Eucharist. It is a celebration with many familiar elements – gathering together as a family, sharing memories and stories, eating and drinking and giving thanks. In our own families and in our parish family there is a strong sense of belonging and community. As we recall the events of the Last Supper (Luke 22: 14 – 20) when Jesus instituted the Eucharist, we relive those events.

We begin the Mass by asking forgiveness in the Penitential Rite before listening to the Liturgy of the Word, which the priest explains in the Homily. We recite the Creed and the community offers prayers. We begin the Liturgy of the Eucharist with the gifts of bread and wine, which we offer. The priest uses the same words as Jesus used when he consecrates the ordinary bread and wine, which become the Body and Blood of Christ. Jesus becomes the gift we receive to give us spiritual strength. We become one with God and the members of our community, hence the word “communion”. We are dismissed from Mass to “love and serve the Lord “

2025 FHC INFORMATION BOOKLET (Download)
For more information, please kindly contact the Parish Sacramental Coordinator,
Mrs Marina Tassone.
Office hours:
Tuesday 8.30am to 4.30pm
Thursday 8.30am to 4.30pm
Email: sacramental@stpetersbedford.au
Sacrament Office: Parish Hall -91 Wood Street, Inglewood WA 6052

Anointing of the Sick

The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick gives grace for the state into which people enter through sickness. This grace is a gift of the Holy Spirit, who renews trust and faith in God and strengthens against temptations to discouragement, despair and anguish. It can be administered to someone at home, in a hospital or institution, or in church.

The special grace of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick has as its effects

the uniting of the sick person to the passion of Christ, for his own good and that of the whole Church;
the strengthening, peace, and courage to endure in a Christian manner the sufferings of illness or old age;
the forgiveness of sins, if the sick person was not able to obtain it through the sacrament of penance;
the restoration of health, if it is conducive to the salvation of his soul;
the preparation for passing over to eternal life.

“Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the Church, and they should pray over him, and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

James 5:14-15himenaeos.

The Sacredness of Marriage

If this is the ideal to be sought, it can be seen that marriage is different from other human relationships. There is something sacred about it. That it is possible for a couple to love each other in this way is a gift from God. In their acceptance of this gift, a couple not only experience a communion with each other, they experience a sustaining love, which is bigger than their own individual efforts. They are drawn into a communion with God who assists and empowers them in their efforts to strengthen and deepen their married life.

For the baptised there is an even more profound dimension to this sacredness. For the baptised, marriage is a sacrament. A sacrament is a sign. This loving communion that exists between a husband and wife is the clearest sign and indication available of the extent to which God loves the human family. That’s why the scriptures use so many marital images to describe God’s relationship between God and God’s people. Just as married love is a commitment to grow in intimacy, to permanence and to fidelity in good times and in bad, so God’s love for us is all these things.

Yet, our understanding of marriage as a sacrament goes even further than this. Not only does a couple mirror or reflect God’s love, they embody the presence of Christ in a unique way. They are tangible signs of what it means to be a Christian. In short, the sacrament of marriage reveals to us the intimate relationship we share with Jesus. We are his beloved.

In St. Paul ‘s letter to the Christian community at Ephesus, he urges husbands and wives (in terms appropriate to his day) to mutually surrender to one another in love. He then continues:

‘Because of this a man shall leave his father and mother to be united with his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a very great mystery, and I refer to Christ and the Church’ (Ephesians 5:31-32)

So, when a couple marries in the Catholic Church, they are not simply saying ‘yes’ to each other. They are saying ‘yes’ to the Christian community:

‘Yes, we commit ourselves to being a sign of Christ’s love to you’.

‘Yes, we will strive to love one another so totally and unconditionally that you will see in us the love Jesus has for you.’

‘Yes, we will love each other forever, because that is the way Christ has promised to love His Church and, by the witness of our lives, we will make His extraordinary promise believable.’

In turn, the community of faith offers its support to the couple as they journey through life. It also undertakes a responsibility, not just to support and nurture marital vocations, but to call its couples to ever-greater heights of faith and love.

CELEBRATION OF MARRIAGE
What is involved in a celebration of marriage in the Catholic Church?
The Rite of Marriage comprises four parts:

The Introduction and Welcome;
Liturgy of the Word;
Liturgy of Marriage;
Concluding Rite.

During the Introduction, the couple declares their intention to marry and the assembly say an opening prayer.

The Liturgy of the Word consists of readings from the Scriptures (between one and three readings) and a homily.

The Liturgy of Marriage includes the exchange and reception of consent, the nuptial blessing, the blessing and exchange of rings, the Prayer of the Faithful, the Lord’s Prayer.

During the Concluding Rite the civil documents are signed and the parents or family pray over the couple. This is followed by the blessing.

What is the difference between a Catholic marriage with a Nuptial Mass and one without it?
With a nuptial Mass you celebrate Mass and receive the Eucharist. If Nuptial Mass is not celebrated, usually Holy Communion is not distributed.

If both the bride and groom are Catholic and most of the congregation are likely to be Catholic the nuptial mass would be customary. If one person is not a Catholic, and a large number of the guests are not Catholics, then the couple may choose not to have a Nuptial Mass.

What couples will need to prepare for the wedding day:

The wedding preparation checklist is the first thing that couples would need to have a look at before all else;
The wedding readings (*.txt format) is a good resource for couples when compiling the wedding booklet in preparation for the rehearsal;

The priest will provide the official government forms and church forms.

Parish Wedding Form (Download)

New Wedding form 2019 (Download)

Sacraments At St. Peter The Apostle Church Bedford