By
THE MOST REVEREND WILLIAM E. LORI, S.T.D., BISHOP OF BRIDGEPORT
Fairfield
County Catholic, May 10, 2008
"You
do this often?" I was asked the other night. "About 70 times a year,"
I replied to the astonishment of my interlocutor. The subject of the
conversation was the Sacrament of Confirmation. Actually, in any given
year, there may well be in excess of a hundred Confirmations across
the diocese. I am grateful to Archbishop Daniel Cronin, Archbishop Emeritus
of Hartford, who generously assists me in confirming throughout Fairfield
County. I also remain grateful to Bishop William McCormick and to the
late Bishop Daniel Hart, as well as to a number of priests who have
administered Confirmation in the Diocese of Bridgeport through the years.
And
what a joy and privilege it is to share such a great sacrament with
so many young people! At the purely social level, Confirmation provides
an opportunity to visit with brother priests, deacons, and lay leaders.
It also enables me to be with a large number of parishioners and visitors.
As I enter churches filled with so many people - parents, grandparents,
godparents, and friends - I am in the company of many who are seeking
what is best for the young people I am about to confirm. It is also
an opportunity for me to share the Gospel not only with the confirmandi
(Latin for "about to be confirmed") but also with those already confirmed,
perhaps many years ago.
Following
Mass and Confirmation, I visit with the newly-confirmed as well as their
parents and godparents. On those occasions, young people ask me to bless
religious objects and tell me (at my prompting) whether they are rooting
for the Mets, the Yankees, the Red Sox, or some other team. Many tell
me about their schools or about special talents in music, drama, and
sports. Often I am asked to pray for a loved one who is sick and dying
or for some other special intention. Once in a while, parishioners will
remind me of some exchange of correspondence, compliment their priests,
or ask me a question - all while the cameras are clicking away. It's
organized chaos and it's fun!
Confirmation
also gives me the chance to thank the directors of religious education,
school principals, catechists, youth ministers, and others who work
so diligently to form our young people in the faith and in the truths
and values that flow from faith. Theirs is not an easy task. We are
blessed with wonderful, talented, and idealistic young people. At the
same time, they tend to lead extremely busy lives, often with little
time allotted for religious education and for Sunday Mass. Like it or
not, at increasingly earlier ages, they also face a lot of pressure
to engage in destructive behaviors such as premarital sex, drinking,
and illicit drugs. These behaviors are contrary both to the Gospel and
to good common sense. Our catechists and youth ministers are on the
front lines in trying to help young people learn and embrace the faith
so as to overcome these challenges both to their friendship with God
and to their human dignity, as well as to keep them on the path of integrity
and discipleship.
Often,
prior to Confirmation, I have a Q&A session with the confirmandi
to ensure that they have a good grasp of the sacraments, especially
Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. Thankfully, many parishes have
highly-developed Confirmation programs that include systematic instruction
in the faith, prayer and retreat opportunities, service projects, and
personal interviews of the Confirmation candidates. When I visit a parish
for Confirmation, I am delighted to express not only my personal thanks
but also the gratitude we all should feel toward those who give of themselves
so generously to our young people.
The
"social side" of Confirmation leads us into the very heart of this Sacrament
of the Holy Spirit. After all, the Holy Spirit plays a pivotal role
in God's plan of salvation and thus in the life of the whole Church.
In the Old Testament, the prophets proclaimed that the Spirit of the
Lord would come upon the expected Messiah (Anointed One) and upon the
people He would redeem. Even a rapid survey of the New Testament shows
us that Jesus' whole life and mission was carried out in union with
and under the power of the Holy Spirit.
On
Sunday, May 11, we celebrate Pentecost, the day when the Apostles
received the Holy Spirit, shed their fear, and began proclaiming the
Name of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, for the world's salvation.
From Pentecost forward, the Holy Spirit has continued to build, animate,
and sanctify the Church. As we saw in the Easter liturgical readings
from the Acts of the Apostles, on more than occasion the Apostles gave
the gift of the Holy Spirit to the newly baptized by the laying on of
hands (see Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
nos. 145 and 265). Through the centuries, despite the many and varied
crises of a 2,000-year history, the Church has continued the mission
of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. And, just as the Holy
Spirit was given to the Apostles at Pentecost, so, too, the fullness
of the Holy Spirit is given to God's People through their successors,
the bishops, in the Sacrament of Confirmation.
In
a very real sense, this is what gives me the greatest joy in confirming
so many young people through the course of the year. As a successor
to the Apostles, I am both humbled and privileged to impart to them
the fullness of the Holy Spirit by the prayer of the Church, the laying
on of hands, and, most especially, anointing them with chrism (olive
oil mixed with balsam, which I consecrate during Holy Week). Through
the sacramental signs of Confirmation, our young people share in a special
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, like that of Pentecost. This effusion
of the Holy Spirit impresses on the soul an indelible character or "seal"
(thus, the essential words of Confirmation, "Be sealed with the gift
of the Holy Spirit"). This sign or seal remains, at least until death,
even if a confirmed person should fall into mortal sin. It permanently
signifies a special relationship to Christ who, in the power of the
Holy Spirit, seeks to transform our inmost being and our personalities,
our character, so that we may live as active and fruitful members of
His Body, the Church.
Through
Confirmation, the grace of Baptism is perfected. Via Baptism and the
frequent reception of the Eucharist, those being confirmed are already
initiated into the Church. Thus, Confirmation seals and completes one's
initiation.
But
here we should be clear. The Sacrament of Confirmation is not merely
an occasion for young people to "ratify" their Baptism, to claim it
as their own. Confirmation is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit leading
them, throughout their lives, to become "more like Christ." It thus
binds them more firmly to Christ and to the Church as it awakens in
their hearts the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are enumerated
in the prayer the bishop prays over those being confirmed: "wisdom,
understanding, right judgment, courage, knowledge, reverence, wonder,
and awe." They are the Spirit's tools for discipleship, practical gifts
that can prompt the confirmed to continue studying their faith, to live
every stage of their lives as true followers of Christ and witnesses
to His love, and to respect and depend on the grace of the Church's
sacramental life, especially Sunday Eucharist and Penance.
These
gifts, if accepted and lived, lead to what we call the "fruits of the
Holy Spirit" - the effects of welcoming the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Based on Saint Paul's enumeration in Galatians 5:22-23, these gifts
include: "charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity,
gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity." As young
minds and hearts are opened to the working of the Holy Spirit, not only
are they to sense the grace of belonging to the Church but also their
special calling or vocation to live and serve as members of the Church.
Even though our young people tend mostly to be confirmed in the eighth
grade or first year of high school, it is not too early for them to
consider how Christ, through the Holy Spirit, is calling them to spend
their lives, whether that be the priesthood, consecrated life, marriage
and family, or a single person in the world. Everyone has a vocation
which can only be discovered with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Confirmation
is a joy and a grace but also a challenge . . . a challenge of which
we all need to be reminded during the celebration of Pentecost. As noted
above, the grace of one's Confirmation can be stirred up even after
years of alienation from God and the Church, by accepting the grace
of repentance and by opening our hearts afresh to the living Word of
God as it comes to us through the Church.
As
I confirm our young people, I pray that their faith will not fail; that
they will not face the immense challenges of growing toward maturity
alone, cut off from the sacraments and the support of a community of
faith; that parents and godparents will model for them what it means
to be a true practicing Catholic. And I pray that they will have both
the insight and the freedom, both gifts of the Holy Spirit, to know
God's will for their lives and to find happiness in doing it.
In
this time of Pentecost, when the Sacrament of Confirmation is being
celebrated so abundantly around the diocese, I offer three challenges
which are also invitations:
First, I invite
the newly-confirmed to join youth groups in their parishes and otherwise
to seek ways of remaining involved in your parishes. Inasmuch as you
allow the Holy Spirit to work in your hearts, you will find your way
to the Sacraments: Mass every Sunday and the regular reception of
the Sacrament of Penance.
Second, I invite
and encourage parents to lead by example by daily prayer, continued
reflection on the Church's faith, and, above all, fidelity to Sunday
Mass and the Sacrament of Penance.
Third, even if
you were confirmed years ago but have lapsed in the practice of the
faith, allow the Spirit to stir up His gifts in your hearts so that
you may find your way to the company of believers, the Church, and
grow in holiness as a follower of Christ.
Come,
Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful!
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