Dear Parishioners:
This past Wednesday, more than 150 8th graders received the fullness of the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of Confirmation. Bishop Luis Miguel Romero Fernandez administered the Sacrament to our 8th graders.
Confirmation completes the Sacraments of Initiation (along with Baptism and Eucharist). In the Sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized person is sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The newly confirmed person is strengthened for service to God’s family, the Church.
As a confirmed person, you are now eligible to be a godparent and a sponsor for Confirmation as well. And, perhaps most importantly, a confirmed person has received the fullness of the Holy Spirit, that same Holy Spirit that the candidate first received at his or her Baptism. The newly confirmed person receives a “sacramental character,” an indelible or irremovable mark on the soul which makes the person more like Christ permanently!
One of the effects of Confirmation is that a confirmed person is now an “adult witness.” As a “witness,” you need to know things about “the case,” namely Christ and His Church. In addition, you need to testify on behalf of Christ. Being a confirmed Catholic means that you are not to remain silent about Christ and His Church; rather, you are to tell others about Christ.
Confirmation deepens our baptismal life that calls us to be missionary witnesses of Jesus Christ in our families, neighborhoods, society. We receive the message of faith in a deeper and more intensive manner with great emphasis given to the person of Jesus Christ, who asked the Father to give the Holy Spirit to the Church for building up the community in loving service. Please pray that our newly confirmed 8th graders will live up to the challenge of their Confirmation!
I would like to thank Peggy Soviero, the Religious Education staff and all the catechists for their tireless work in forming these candidates, especially over the past two years.
Remember: Together, we can do something beautiful for God.
In Christ,
Fr. Brian