We are a Catholic Church<\/strong>\u2026 based on Scripture and Tradition, we accept the Councils of the Undivided Christian Church of the first 1000 years. What is the Polish National Catholic Church? We are a Catholic Church\u2026 based on Scripture and Tradition, we accept the Councils of the Undivided Christian Church of the first 1000 years. We are an apostolic Church\u2026 which preserves Apostolic Succession, meaning our present day bishops and priests are part of an unbroken line from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-59","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/holymotherofsorrows.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/59","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/holymotherofsorrows.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/holymotherofsorrows.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holymotherofsorrows.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holymotherofsorrows.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/holymotherofsorrows.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/59\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62,"href":"https:\/\/holymotherofsorrows.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/59\/revisions\/62"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/holymotherofsorrows.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
We are an apostolic Church<\/strong>\u2026 which preserves Apostolic Succession, meaning our present day bishops and priests are part of an unbroken line from the Apostles of Jesus Christ.
We are a sacramental Church<\/strong>\u2026 which acknowledges seven sacraments as a means to encounter Jesus Christ: 1) Baptism & Confirmation 2) The Word of God 3) Penance or Confession 4) Eucharist or Holy Communion 5) Anointing of the Sick 6) Holy Orders 7) Holy Matrimony
We are a teaching Church<\/strong>\u2026 holding classes for children and youth in preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation and the School of Christian Living (Sunday School). We offer diocesan seminars and retreats, church summer camps and biennial National Youth Convocations.
We are a democratic Church<\/strong>\u2026 whose church property is owned and controlled by its members. Each parish sends its pastor and elected delegates to diocesan and national synods to vote on spiritual matters in addition to church policies and procedures. The bishops of the church and the Prime Bishop, who is the head of the Church, are elected at national synods. Individual parishes are governed by Parish Committees elected by the parish members at an Annual Parish Meeting.
We are a constitutional Church<\/strong>\u2026 All the rights and responsibilities of church members: bishops, priests and laity, as well as the operation of parishes, dioceses and the whole Church are spelled out in “The Constitution and Laws of the Polish National Catholic Church.”
We are a responsive Church<\/strong>\u2026 meeting our member’s religious needs through the celebration of Holy Mass, other religious and devotional services and the administration of the Sacraments. Many parish, diocesan and national church organizations meet the social and fellowship needs of the faithful.
We are an ecumenical Church<\/strong>\u2026 cooperating with other churches and organizations to make our community a better place.
We are a worshiping Church<\/strong>\u2026 where regular Mass attendance is strongly encouraged on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. Holy Mass and other services call us to give praise and honor to God.
We are a counseling Church<\/strong>\u2026 whose pastors are available to help people experiencing spiritual, family or personal problems. The parish also extends moral and spiritual support, especially through societies.
We are a welcoming Church<\/strong>\u2026 whose doors are open to all. No one is denied the freedom to worship with us. Those who share our beliefs are welcome to take part in the sacraments of the Church.
How did our Church begin<\/strong>? – The Polish National Catholic Church was organized in 1897 at St. Stanislaus, Scranton, PA by Polish immigrants whose spiritual needs were not being met by the Roman Catholic Church. Today there are over 120 parishes. Although our Church has maintained its Polish name, heritage and some traditions, the language of worship is primarily English and all are welcome to join us. Holy Mother of Sorrows Church was organized in 1916.
How do we worship?<\/strong>\u00a0– We worship by attendance at Holy Mass which is the Sacrifice of the New Testament offered by a priest or bishop, during which bread and wine are consecrated to become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. In order to be absolved of our sins, we offer Confession in two ways. General Confession is offered at the beginning of Mass; at the appropriate time we confess our sins privately to God then the priest administers absolution. Private Confession is offered to anyone requesting it and to the young from the time of their First Confession until they are 16 years old. We also worship by taking part in traditional service of Vespers, Stations of the Cross, Lamentations, Devotions and Litanies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"