Confirmation

CONFIRMATION PREPARATION (Year I and Year II) Mondays 6:00-7:00 PM in the Parish Center on the dates listed below. Retreats and service hours experiences are essential components of the teen Confirmation Prep Program. There will be a mandatory retreat experience. Details will be determined from year to year.

Join our journey toward a better understanding of your faith. In Year 1, we will offer interesting ways to explore and expand your knowledge of your faith, answer questions and challenge you to make the right decisions. Class participation is a key element in the success of your faith journey.

—Rita J. Sheridan, Director of Religious Education, Year 2 Catechist

More about CONFIRMATION at Sacred Heart

What is it?

Established for all parishes by our Bishop, this is a two-year religious education program designed to enrich the high school teens’ understanding of the Catholic faith and nourish their spiritual growth through discussion, prayers, activities, and service. Special Confirmation sessions for parents, sponsors, and teens are also scheduled throughout the two years.

Attendance & Absence

The calendar is published and distributed in advance so these dates can be a priority in your planning. Attendance is expected. Three absences are excusable with make-up work. Excessive absences require may require the decision to delay the reception of the sacrament. Students are responsible for communicating with the catechist about an absence.

Catholic faith-life

Our life’s journey goes best when we consciously choose God by the way we live, by our deeds, and our words. The Sacraments of Initiation – Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation – grace us as we grow.

Interview

To guarantee that each teen to be confirmed has a working knowledge of the Catholic faith, there will be a one-to-one interview with the teen, catechist, and director of religious education (D.R.E.) based on the study guide.

Name choice

Thought should be given to the selection of a Confirmation name. The baptismal name may be used if it is a recognized saint’s name. If not, research the saints to make an appropriate informed decision. Girls must select a female saint; boys must select a male saint as their saint name.

Parish Rite

There is a blessing and statement of support by the parish community once a year at a Sunday Mass. Students, parents, and sponsors are expected to attend.

Religious Education Classes

These formal instruction sessions are scheduled for Mondays, 6-7 PM in the Parish Center following the published calendar.

Retreat

Each year a retreat time is offered. The type of retreat varies from year to year. This time apart focuses on living our faith and is mandatory for a student who is receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation

Service hours

Jesus told us that whatever we do for others, we do for Him. Students are asked to take these words to heart and perform service to their family members, their school community, and their church community.

Sponsor

In Baptism we each had godparents to stand by us on our entrance into the faith. For Confirmation, each student is asked to select a sponsor who is a practicing Catholic. This should be an adult (18 or older) with whom the student is comfortable sharing about the Confirmation preparation and the Catholic faith. A parent cannot sponsor their own child. Great care should be given to selecting someone who is an inspiration and a model of living a Catholic lifestyle.

Study Guide

This outline comes from the Bishop and is the basis of our Religious Education classes on Mondays and the Interview session.

Sunday worship

We are nourished by God’s Word and by Jesus’ presence in Eucharist when we attend Mass. This is an integral part of our faith life and our preparation for Confirmation.

Confirmation Facts and History

The sacrament of confirmation is found in Bible passages such as Acts 8:14–17, 9:17, 19:6, and Hebrews 6:2, which speak of a laying on of hands for the purpose of bestowing the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 6:2 is especially important because it is not a narrative account of how confirmation was given and, thus, cannot be dismissed by those who reject the sacrament as something unique to the apostolic age. In fact, the passage refers to confirmation as one of Christianity’s basic teachings, which is to be expected since confirmation, like baptism, is a sacrament of initiation into the Christian life.

We read: “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment” (Heb. 6:1–2).

Notice how in this passage we are walked through the successive stages of the Christian journey—repentance, faith, baptism, confirmation, resurrection, and judgment. This passage encapsulates the Christian’s journey toward heaven and gives what theologians call the order of salvation or the ordo salutis. It well qualifies as “the elementary teachings” of the Christian faith.

The laying on of hands mentioned in the passage must be confirmation: The other kinds of the imposition of hands (for ordination and for healing) are not done to each and every Christian and could scarcely qualify as basic teachings that form part of the order of salvation.

As the following passages show, the Church Fathers and early Christian writers also recognized confirmation as a sacrament distinct from baptism, even though it was usually given simultaneously with baptism. Their words speak powerfully about this anointing and imposition of hands for the reception of the Holy Spirit and the role it has in Christian initiation.