Confirmation
Come Hoy Spirit. fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. We were so blessed to have Bishop Martin Amos come to celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation with 25 candidates. We had such an unusual year of preparation, with our sessions being zoomed in, and even our retreat was shared on Zoom. Their service projects were different because of the pandemic. Instead of going out into the world to do service, we invited the candidates to find a place right in their home or neighborhood and lend a helping hand. I have heard from some of our parishioners that it was one of these young people who cleaned up their yard or shoveled their snow. I hope you were one of those recipients. I must admit that it was hard to recognize these young people on the night of the celebration as all I was used to seeing was a little square on Zoom.
They arrived ready and willing to become fully initiated Catholic Christians. They wore red masks embroidered with the Holy Spirit. They were dressed in their finest. More important than their outward appearance was that their hearts were open to being filled with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Bishop Amos spoke eloquently before mass began as he explained the history of the sacrament. He reminded families of the importance of remembering that this sacrament is so closely related to Baptism that you can’t speak of one without the other. He told the candidates that we were here to confirm those promises made at the font and witnessed by their Godparents. Tonight these young people could speak for themselves.
I was reminded of a moment in my life when my son Jimmy stopped over to say good-bye before his skiing vacation in Colorado. I noticed that he took out his phone and was texting someone. When I asked who he was texting, he told me he was just confirming his flight which he had made months ago. Suddenly that word took on a new meaning. CONFIRMING his flight. Oh, perhaps that is what Confirmation is all about. We are confirming the day we booked the flight. On our Baptism day we booked the flight and chose our destination, Heaven. The Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit help to keep us safe and give us the fuel we need until we reach our final destination. Wow, sometimes the simplest of terms help this old lady connect the journey!
It is always my daily prayer, that these young people realize that Confirmation is not the end of a journey, but the beginning of an even newer and more wonderful way to live life. I pray their hearts remain open to the unconditional love of God, who desires nothing more that to fill their lives with all they need.
-Mary Lou Beers
