• Jesus entrusted the ministry of reconciliation to the Church.  The Sacrament of Penance is God's gift to us so that any sin committed after Baptism can be forgiven.  In confession we have the opportunity to repent and recover the grace of friendship with God. It is a holy moment in which we place ourselves in his presence and honestly acknowledge our sins, especially mortal sins.  With absolution, we are reconciled to God and the Church. The Sacrament helps us stay close to the truth that we cannot live without God. "In him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).
  
  Reconciliation is offered: Mondays 6PM - 7PM and Saturdays 3PM - 4:30PM in the ICC Chapel, or by appointment (call the Parish office 940-565-1770)
  
  Anointing of the Sick
  
  Requests for the Anointing of the Sick for patients in hospitals are to be directed through the chaplain's office at the particular institution. The chaplain's office will then contact the parish.
  
  Requests for the Anointing of the Sick for residents of long-term care centers (i.e. rest homes) or for individuals in need of the sacrament who are not in a hospital may be made through the parish office by calling 940-565-1770.
  
  In the Church's Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, through the ministry of the priest, it is Jesus who touches the sick to heal them from sin – and sometimes even from physical ailment. His cures were signs of the arrival of the Kingdom of God. The core message of his healing tells us of his plan to conquer sin and death by his dying and rising.
  
  The Rite of Anointing tells us there is no need to wait until a person is at the point of death to receive the Sacrament. A careful judgment about the serious nature of the illness is sufficient.
  
  When the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given, the hoped-for effect is that, if it be God's will, the person be physically healed of illness. But even if there is no physical healing, the primary effect of the Sacrament is a spiritual healing by which the sick person receives the Holy Spirit's gift of peace and courage to deal with the difficulties that accompany serious illness or the frailty of old age.
  
  ~from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults