CONFIRMATION
Confirmation is a special Sacrament of Initiation. It is the sacrament where many people decide for themselves that they want to become full members of the Catholic Church and be faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Confirmation takes place at a time when the boys and girls are completing their education in primary school and preparing for further challenges in their lives at secondary school and their years as teenagers. We are all aware of that challenge and they will need every support and strength possible to assist them. They receive a great spiritual strength from today’s Sacrament. Their Parents, of course, carry the most significant part of the responsibility for their wellbeing, both at spiritual and human levels. This occasion marks a milestone in your family’s spiritual growth.
Please God, the Holy Spirit will continue to work among you and bring you closer to the Lord. Our community owes much gratitude to all the Primary School Teachers and Staff of our Parish Schools who continue to devote themselves, year in year out, to the spiritual journey of these young people. No Sacrament is ever for the sake of the individual alone, but rather for the strengthening of the Body of Christ, the Church. For this reason, Confirmation Day is a community celebration, a parish celebration. May our Parish life grow through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
You Shall Be My Witness
Like the Do this in Memory parish programme for First Communion, You Shall be My Witness… is a parish-based programme of preparation for children preparing for Confirmation, which takes place outside of the school environment but which compliments their school-based preparation. The programme takes place over five sessions and explores aspects of what it is to be a Christian.
Each of the sessions has a different theme: Belonging, Believing, Being, Becoming and Beginning Again. Each of these sessions will help to encourage and challenge the children in their faith and help the children understand what being a Christian can mean. Four of the sessions take place before the Celebration of Confirmation and the fifth and final one takes place after the children receive the sacrament.
This programme has also been shown to be beneficial to the parent/guardians of the children as it helps them to explore these themes for themselves also. The programme cannot be run without the valuable support of the parent/guardians as a number of parents/guardians become leaders of the programme for their children during the sessions. Those who volunteer to be leaders receive training to help them in their role, which takes place in the week prior to the first session. *
Date for Confirmation
The Ceremony of Confirmation will take place in the parish on Saturday 9th February 2019 at 12: 00 pm.