If you are in need of certificates or transcripts from a closed parish or catholic school please use the links provided.
"Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church, and made sharers in her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word."“I baptize you in the name of the Father,
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
For the grace of Baptism to unfold, the parents’ help is important. So too is the role of the godparent, who must be a firm believer, able and ready to help the newly baptized on the road to the Christian life.
(CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1213 & 1255)
“I absolve you of your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
That night Jesus gave the Church the ministry of the forgiveness of sins through the Apostles. By the Sacrament of Holy Orders, bishops and priests continue this ministry to forgive sins “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” In this Sacrament, the priest acts in the person of Christ, the Head of the Church, to reconcile the sinner to both God and the Church. (US Catholic Catechism for Adults, pg 236)
At St. James, students enrolled in their second-grade Religious Education year are prepared for and celebrate their First Reconciliation during their regular Religious Education class times. Registration in our Faithbuilders Religious Education Program is required.
Are you a baptized Catholic? Do you seek to complete your initiation through the sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist, and Confirmation? If so, please use the links above to contact Sr. Clare who can help guide you through the welcoming process of finishing your commitment to the Catholic Church
“Do this in memory of Me.”
The origins of the Eucharist are found in the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his Apostles. “In order to leave them a pledge of this love, in order never to depart from his own and to make them sharers in his Passover, he instituted the Eucharist as the memorial of his death and Resurrection and commanded his apostles to celebrate it until his return; ‘thereby he constituted them priests of the New Testament’” (CCC, no. 1337, citing Council of Trent: DS 1740).
Parishioners are available to visit the homebound and share the Eucharist.
The celebration of the First Eucharist is held in the spring of our student's second-grade religious Education year. Students enrolled in St. James Religious Education are prepared during regular religious education program class times. All Second-Graders desiring these sacraments must participate in our family-based faith formation program Faithbuilders for more information please contact our Religious Education Director using the links above.
“Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you.”
Confirmation, together with Baptism and Eucharist, form the Sacraments of Initiation that are all intimately connected. In the Sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized person is “sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit” and is strengthened for service to the Body of Christ.
Confirmation is held in the spring at St.James after the completion of Year 1 and Year 2 of our Ignite program. All students are prepared through our interactive Ignite program that is held on Sundays during our Religious Education Program Year. Formation to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation is a two-year program that begins in our Year 1 Program. Registration for Ignite is held during the fall, for more information please use the links above to contact the Director of Religious Education.
“Take this ring, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament. (CODE OF CANON LAW, 1055)
To schedule your wedding at St. James or get additional information on wedding guidelines, please contact the Parish Office at 248-347-7778 or email us using the links provided above. Please note that marriage readiness can only be determined after meeting with the parish priest. We strongly advise against setting any wedding dates before this meeting. Couples requesting marriage readiness need to be registered contributing parish members of St. James Catholic Church.
The date of the wedding is determined by the couple's readiness for Christian Marriage. Please allow a minimum of six months for preparation. To ensure the date you want for your wedding, and to avoid unnecessary pressure, you are encouraged to begin the process much earlier. As a rule, most couples begin nine to twelve months in advance of the proposed wedding date.
Like all Sacraments, the preparation for, and the celebration of, the Sacrament of Marriage is grounded in the life and worship of a parish. More than an exchange of vows, even more than a couple's expression of love for each other, the wedding liturgy is a public statement of the faith that will guide and shape the union of the couple. They pray that God will be with them "in good times and bad."
For this reason, the Church is responsible for seeing that the couple is prepared to celebrate the sacrament of Marriage, not just as a day but as a way of life. The community of St. James is happy to assist you in preparing for this Sacrament.
“Christ gives the dignity of the royal priesthood to the people he has made his own by laying on of hands.”
Ordination to the priesthood is always a call and a gift from God. Christ reminded his Apostles that they needed to ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into the harvest. Those who seek priesthood respond generously to God’s call using the words of the prophet, “Here I am, send me” (Is 6:8). This call from God can be recognized and understood from the daily signs that disclose his will to those in charge of discerning the vocation of the candidate. (US Catholic Catechism for Adults, pg 269)
Archdiocese of Detroit Vocations
“Through this holy anointing, may the Lord in his love and mercy help you, with the grace of the Holy Spirit.”
When the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given, the hoped-for effect is that, if it is 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. The Holy Spirit renews our faith in God and helps us withstand the temptations of the Evil One to be discouraged and despairing in the face of suffering and death. Also, a sick person’s sins are forgiven if he or she was not able to go to Confession before the celebration of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. – (US Catholic Catechism for Adults, p254)
There is a long tradition in the Church of anointing with sacred oil when people are sick or dying. The Sacrament of Anointing gives us grace for illness or old age. Those who are seriously ill or anticipate surgery and wish to be anointed can make arrangements by calling the Parish Office.
Anointing of the Sick is celebrated after the 4:00 PM Mass on the first Saturday of each month. Or, to request the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, please contact the Parish Office at 248-347-7778.