Since June 2021, 45 of our young people, aged 14-17 have been on this journey to maturity. It has not been the easiest of journeys for them. They have had to be prepared to discuss hard theological topics; they have had to discern tough questions; they have had to contend with a worldwide pandemic and they have had to give up Saturday afternoons.
“When the Lord calls us, He does not want compromise or hesitation but a radical response.”
Once we are confirmed, ‘the Holy Spirit joins us more firmly to Christ, He strengthens our bond with the Church, He associates us more closely with her mission, and He helps us bear witness to the Christian faith.’ (CCC 1316)
by Brother Ste Lloyd SDB
Growth is vital to human life; the body and mind must grow to stay alive. As Catholics, we believe that the soul also needs to grow to maturity in the life of grace. As Catholics, we believe the Sacrament of Confirmation is the equivalent to human maturity. It builds on what we began at Baptism and what we sustain in the Eucharist. It completes the process of initiation into the Christian community, and it matures the soul for the joys and challenges of the Christian life ahead. Since June 2021, 45 of our young people, aged 14-17 have been on this journey to maturity. It has not been the easiest of journeys for them. They have had to be prepared to discuss hard theological topics; they have had to discern tough questions; they have had to contend with a worldwide pandemic and they have had to give up Saturday afternoons. The latter, I'm sure you’ll agree, was by far the most difficult. Over these 6 months, our young people have prepared themselves, with the support of their catechists, to complete this stage of their faith journey. Once we are confirmed, ‘the Holy Spirit joins us more firmly to Christ, He strengthens our bond with the Church, He associates us more closely with her mission, and He helps us bear witness to the Christian faith.’ (CCC 1316) This year we used the programme planned by the Diocese of Leeds, with some subtle amendments. Each week, the young people gathered in the church for an introduction and a moment of prayer together as an entire group. Every session had a theme, one week the gift of the Eucharist, the next the gift of the Spirit and so on. After the introduction and prayer moment, we split the large group into 4 smaller groups, in these groups, the young people, along with their catechists, plunged into the theme of the week. They looked at scripture passages that related to the theme and they contemplated the theme in relation to their lives and the lives of their families and friends today. This is a vital part of the Confirmation programme, to put ‘faith into action’ is the call of all Christians, each one of us is a disciple of Christ, therefore each one of us does His works ‘not by faith alone but by action’ (James 2:24). Every session also had a focus on a saintly person, a holy inspiration. Reflecting on the stories of these chosen saints, Martin de Porres, Catherine of Sienna, Carlo Acutis etc. allowed our young people to experience the lives of ordinary people, who did extraordinary things in their lifetime. These saints inspire us today, hence why at Confirmation, each candidate will take on a new name, the name of a saintly person, to whom they will ask for their intercession through their lives and hopefully will reflect on the life of their saint regularly. The group also had a retreat day in Salesian House delivered by our Salesian Brothers and Deacon Michael, this day allowed our young people to get to know each other better and also to experience prayer differently. Over the course of the 6 months, the candidates also experienced forms of praying they may not have experienced before or frequently; Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Praise and Worship. They also have had several occasions to receive the Sacrament of Penance and of course the Eucharist. As we come to the end of our confirmation programme, and our confirmands prepare to receive the Sacrament from Bishop Paul on Sunday 12th December, we walk alongside them as they are imprinted, as they were at Baptism, with a spiritual mark on their souls and as they prepare to be more intimately with Christ and feel the full sense of belonging to the universal Church and our parish community. In January we will invite all the newly confirmed back for a celebration and to invite each of them to take an active role in our parish community, whether that be in music ministry, hospitality, ministry at the altar or as catechists in training. God has called each young person to receive this Sacrament, God loves them and cares for them, God wants them to be part of our Christian community, God wants them as leaders in our world. As Pope Francis says “When the Lord calls us, He does not want compromise or hesitation but a radical response.”
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