Why
Jesus Christ
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14.6
We believe in one God, in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ, is the Word Made Flesh who dwells among us. Why do we believe? Because God has revealed Himself through the Holy Scriptures and enters into a Covenant with His People. Why do we come to Prince of Peace? Because we profess that Jesus Christ is Our LORD and Savior. We each have a personal relationship with Him.
The Catholic Church
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16.18
Jesus Christ has gone to His Father to prepare a place for us when He comes again. Until then, He has left us His One True Church, to whom He gives the Scriptures and Sacred Tradition, to hand on God’s Revelation, whole and entire, until the end of time. This Church is a visible society, built upon the Apostles and their Successors, in communion with Peter, the Vicar of Christ. The Church of Christ, in communion with the Holy See of Rome, watched over by the Pope, subsists in the Catholic Church. We are called to be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. And this Universal Church takes on concrete form in our particular church in the Diocese of Charleston and in our parish of Prince of Peace, Taylors.
The Seven Life-Giving Sacraments
If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, Give me to drink, you would have asked him, and he would give you living water. John 4.10
A sacrament is a visible rite instituted by Christ for the salvation of souls which produces the grace that it signifies. There are seven sacraments, and our lives as Catholic Christians are built around receiving and living the sacraments in faith.
Baptism
Unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. John 3.5
Baptism is the entryway to the sacraments. It is a sacrament of initiation into the Church, whereby we are grafted into the Body of Christ, and also a sacrament of regeneration from sin. By it we become children of God and heirs to heaven. Our LORD said, Let the little children come unto Me (Matthew 19.14). In obedience to His command, we baptize adults who have made their Profession of Faith in Christ Jesus as well as children whose families bring them to their Savior.
Are you interested in having your child baptized at Prince of Peace? See our Baptism Booklet.
Are you an adult interested in being baptized at Prince of Peace? Contact one of our priests to get the conversation started!
Confirmation
The Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, he shall teach you all things. John 14.26
Confirmation is the sacrament by which we are strengthened in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It has also been viewed as a sacrament of Christian responsibility, and an invitation to become a soldier of Christ and deepen the Faith received at Baptism.
Are you interested in receiving Confirmation at Prince of Peace? Contact our Director of Youth!
Eucharist
Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. John 6.53
The Eucharist is the central act of worship of the Church. In it the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross to His Father is re-presented in an unbloody manner and we receive the fruits of that Sacrifice, the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, under the forms of bread and wine. The Mass, in which the Eucharist is celebrated, is where Heaven and Earth meet. We prolong our prayer before the Most Blessed Sacrament in Eucharistic Adoration.
Are you interested in having your child make First Communion? Contact our Director of Christian Formation to learn more.
Are you an adult interested in learning more about the Holy Eucharist? Contact one of our parish priests to learn more.
Penance
He breathed on them and said to them, ” “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20.22-3
When we have sinned, we ask for the pardon and peace of God in the Sacrament of Penance. We express sorrow for sins, confess them, and receive absolution from the priest who stands in the place of Christ. Confession is the sacrament in which the Mercy of God is imparted to the world.
Are you interested in learning how to make a good confession? Check out our How to Make a Good Confession booklet to help you on your way!
Matrimony
And the two shall become one flesh. Mark 10.8
In one sense, said Blessed John Paul II, marriage is the first sacrament. Jesus raised the covenant between one man and one woman until death to the level of a sacrament. No longer a contract that can be made and unmade, it is a sign of God’s irrevocable love to the world. Marriage exists for the procreation of children in sexual intimacy open to life and for the union of the spouses in friendship. We are committed at Prince of Peace to encouraging healthy and holy Christian families. The home is where we first learn about God, and parents are the primary educators of those children God blesses us with.
Are you interested in getting married at Prince of Peace? Learn more about the Catholic view of marriage and what it takes to get married in our Marriage Booklet.
Are you struggling with marriage or separation? Please contact one of our priests to talk if you wish.
Holy Orders
Do This in Memory of Me. Luke 22.19
In the Catholic Church, there exist three orders of ordained ministry. Bishops are overseers, successors to the apostles who possess the fullness of the New Testament Priesthood. Priests are elders who are ordained to preach the Gospel and celebrate the Sacraments. They teach, govern and sanctify the Church in union with the Bishops. Deacons are servants who assist the Bishop and Priests in their ministry. Christ calls, through His Church, men to these Orders to shepherd the flock of Christ.
Are you interested in a vocation to Priesthood or Consecrated Life? Drop a line to the parish priests and let’s talk!
Are you interested in becoming a permanent Deacon? Write one of our Deacons and ask him your questions!
Anointing of the Sick
Is anyone sick among you? Let him call for the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing them with oil in the Name of the LORD. James 5.14.
Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament of physical and spiritual healing. It is often a part of what are called Last Rites, which are special prayers for the dying. Anointing of the Sick is recommended for those who are gravely physically ill, of advanced age, or preparing for major surgery.
Are you interested in learning more about Anointing of the Sick? Check out our Information page on the Sacrament of the Sick.
Are you interested in receiving the Anointing of the Sick? If it is an emergency, please call 866.456.2956. If not, please arrange for an appointment at 864.268.4352.
Are you interested in planning a funeral at Prince of Peace? Please read our guide on funeral planning and call us at 864.268.4352.
Vocations to Priesthood and Consecrated Life
Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Matthew 4.22
Christ Jesus sometimes calls men and women to follow Him more closely as a Priest or as a consecrated Religious brother or sister. Prince of Peace encourages families to help their children discern signs of a vocation to priesthood or religious life. The evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience vowed by Religious or the promises of obedience and celibacy made the diocesan priest: that is a beautiful way to give all for Jesus and for souls.
Are you interested to learn more about vocations? Contact the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Charleston or visit the Diocesan Vocations Website.
Ladies, visit the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious. Gentlemen, check out Vocations.com Interested in an Extraordinary Form community? Check out the Traditional Vocations Blog.
RCIA
Those who are interested in learning more about our Catholic Faith are invited to attend an Inquiry Class from September through April. Watch the bulletin for more details. Some of those who take the class will become catechumens preparing for Baptism and others will be called to continuing conversion through Profession of Faith and Reception into the Church.
Are you interested in learning more about the Faith? Contact our Director of RCIA for more information.
Pastoral Care
Catholicism is not just about the sacraments. Prince of Peace is a spiritual home, and our clergy and staff seek to provide pastoral care for all of those who are in need. Pastoral care takes many forms. Sometimes it is spiritual direction or counseling. Often it is just a listening ear or celebrating the sacraments with someone.
Are you in need of pastoral care? Contact one of our priests at the parish office at 864.268.4352.
Outreach
As Catholic Christians, we are committed to peace and justice. While we work out our salvation, we also seek to build the Kingdom of God here on earth by lives of holiness and contributing to a more just and virtuous society. We are 100% committed to the sanctity of life. And as such, as individuals we are engaged in various ministries and volunteer opportunities all over Taylors. As a parish, we also have a corporate commitment to help the poor and less fortunate through out St Vincent de Paul Society.
Are you interested in ways you can help Prince of Peace’s St Vincent de Paul Society? Please contact them at 864.331.3937.
Are you interested in making a donation to the parish for the poor? Please do so here.
Funerals
As Catholics, we not only take care of the souls of the living but continue to pray for them after death. If you are planning your funeral arrangements ahead of time, or if you need to plan for a family member, please use our Funeral Planning Booklet.
If you need to make funeral arrangements contact Deacon Gary Walczak at 864.268.4352.
If you need to schedule a Mass intention for a loved one contact Lauren Tate at 864.331.3901