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It’s Day 178!!
We are coming in hot on halfway through this whole year
NICE WORK!!
It can be difficult to get through The Catechism
It’s not like the Bible in that there’s a story we are following
BUT…
There are SO MANY INCREDIBLE GIFTS that the Church has given to us in the Sacrament of Confirmation
WHO CAN RECEIVE THIS SACRAMENT?
THE MINISTER OF CONFIRMATION
Paragraph 1306 says, "Every baptized person not yet confirmed can and should receive the sacrament of Confirmation.”
What is it to have the age of discretion?
What is it to delay?
In the West we delay the Sacrament of Confirmation
In the East it is combined with Baptism and First Holy Communion
The ordinary minister of Confirmation is the bishop
So let’s pray!!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we call upon your name, and we give you praise and glory. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, we ask you to please receive our thanks, receive our praise. Thank you so much for this day. Thank you for bringing us to this day, Lord God, we have done nothing to deserve life. We have done nothing to deserve this day. And yet, here you are, once again, pouring out your goodness, pouring out your gifts upon each and every one of us. As we draw breath Lord God, every breath, let every breath be a prayer of praise. Let every breath be a prayer of thanksgiving to you. Let every heartbeat in our chests Lord God, let it be for your glory and a constant reminder how many times a minute of how good you are. Let every heartbeat just declare and proclaim your goodness. May you be praised and glorified. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen”
So there we have it!!
WHO CAN RECEIVE THIS SACRAMENT?
EVERY BAPTIZED PERSON WHO IS NOT YET CONFIRMED
Not only CAN but they SHOULD receive the Sacrament of Confirmation
Paragraph 1306 says, “...for without Confirmation and Eucharist, Baptism is certainly valid and efficacious, but Christian initiation remains incomplete.”
The Latin custom has been to separate these three sacraments
Baptism happens right away, a lot of times, with infants
Holy Communion is in the age of reason
Confirmation is in the age of discretion
The age of reason is when an individual can tell the difference between ordinary bread and the Eucharist
Paragraph 1308 says, “Although Confirmation is sometimes called the ‘sacrament of Christian maturity,’ we must not confuse adult faith with the adult age of natural growth, nor forget the baptismal grace is a grace of free, unmerited election and does not need ‘ratification’ to become effective.”
THAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT!!
Confirmation renders our bond with the Church more perfect
So it can be called the Sacrament of Christian Maturity because we are FULLY INITIATED
We can’t just say that if a person is 15 vs a person who is 21 vs a person who is 8 that really makes a difference
Why?
Because baptismal grace is a grace of free unmerited election and does not need ratification to become effective
AND YET…
There is a preparation that is necessary
Paragraph 1309 says, “Preparation for Confirmation should aim at leading the Christian toward a more intimate union with Christ and a more lively familiarity with the Holy Spirit…”
A lot of us have been confirmed
How did we prepare?
Do you remember your experience of this Sacrament of Confirmation?
Not because we can change things
If our experience was not increasingly lively familiarity with the Holy Spirit, with the Holy Spirit’s actions and gifts, promptings, and biddings…
That was what was SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN
WE CAN STILL DO THAT NOW!!
The reason we emphasize this UNITY of Confirmation, Baptism, Holy Eucharist, and this PREPARATION for Confirmation is that if you did not get that then, you are getting it NOW
WHICH IS REALLY REALLY GOOD NEWS!!
Paragraph 1309 continues, “...his actions, his gifts, and his biddings-in order to be more capable of assuming the apostolic responsibilities of Christian life.”
We are being SENT OUT
QUASI EX OFFICIO
OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CHURCH
Paragraph 1310 says, “To receive Confirmation one must be in a state of grace.”
Fr. Mike has put on Confirmation retreats for 18 years
They have Reconciliation before Confirmation and try to prepare the students as best they can
If one is aware of mortal sin then they are not receiving the full graces of the Sacrament of the Confirmation
Maybe someone has been confirmed but did not go to Confession since second grad
OK
They want to receive those graces of Confirmation
GO TO CONFESSION!!
Because that would unleash the graces of that sacrament
Paragraph 1310 continues, “One should receive the sacrament of Penance in order to be cleansed for the gift of the Holy Spirit. More intense prayer should prepare one to receive the strength and graces of the Holy Spirit with docility and readiness to act.”
This is a sacrament of COMMISSION
GO OUT INTO THE WORLD AND BRING THE GOOD NEWS!!
BRING THE HOLY SPIRIT!!
The Holy Spirit that you received at BAPTISM
The Holy Spirit that you received at CONFIRMATION
So that the world can know who Jesus Christ is
To that end, we should have a fitting spiritual sponsor
That could be your godparent, which would be great
BUT…
It ought to be someone who can help you actually grow
We should not be advocates of the idea of choosing a godparent just because of you are related
Or choosing a sponsor because we chose everyone else at some point and we need to choose this person now
THAT IS NOT THE CASE!!
That is the case if Confirmation or Baptism don’t do anything
Then sure, choose whomever
It’s an honorary title
BUT…
If Confirmation and Baptism are EFFICACIOUS AND INCREDIBLE calls on a person’s life that transform their life and set them on the track of discipleship, and apostleship, being sent out into the world, then their sponsor should be someone who ACTUALLY HELPS THEM DO THAT
The person you choose for a godparent or sponsor should be someone who can ACTUALLY HELP YOU MOVE FORWARD
THE MINISTER OF CONFIRMATION
Paragraph 1312 says, “The original minister of Confirmation is the bishop.”
The one who is the successor of the apostles, apostolic unity, and they have received the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders
When they administer the Sacrament of Confirmation it demonstrates clearly that one of the effects of Confirmation is to unite those who receive it more closely to the Church, to her apostolic origins, and to her mission of bearing witness to Christ
The bishop can also delegate
He can grant the faculty of administering Confirmation to his priests
Paragraph 1314 says, “If a Christian is in danger of death, any priest can give him Confirmation. Indeed the Church desires that none of her children, even the youngest, should depart this world without having been perfected by the Holy Spirit with the gift of Christ’s fullness.”
That is one of the cases when you go back to the gift of the sacraments across the board
In danger of death, the Church basically says all the grace, whatever you want
There are limits of course
Almost every sacrament that can help someone, heal someone, that can help them take the next step into Eternity is accessible to ALL in danger of death
Why?
Because the Church desires that NO ONE is ever deprived of the graces of God’s sacraments in the hour of need
THAT IS A POWERFUL THING!!
WHAT A CRAZY DAY!!
If you have already received Confirmation and you did not get prepared, POST-PREPARE YOURSELF!!
If you are seeking the Sacrament of Confirmation just know that the goal of that preparation is to awaken yourself to those gifts of the Holy Spirit, the biddings and promptings of the Holy Spirit to open yourself to that what it is to be even more perfectly united to the Church in her apostolic unity
We recognize this unity in the body of the Church in the visible Church
We recognize this unity in the fact that WE PRAY FOR EACH OTHER
We recognize this unity in the fact that WE NEED EACH OTHER
Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!
Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!
I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!
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