Confirmation Information

Welcome!

We are looking forward to sharing with you this journey of faith as you prepare to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. As you will see, Confirmation preparation involves learning, sharing, serving, fellowship, spiritual growth and fun! You will be given the opportunity to learn more about your Catholic faith and what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Confirmation is the Sacrament in which one is enriched by the gifts of the Holy Spirit and bound more perfectly to the Church. It strengthens us and obliges us to be witnesses to Christ by word and deed and to spread and defend the faith. It is the Sacrament in which one enters into full membership in the Catholic Church.

Confirmation perfects Baptismal grace; it is the sacrament which gives us the Holy Spirit in order to root us more deeply as children of God, incorporate us more firmly into Christ, strengthen our bond with the Church, associate us more closely with her mission, and help us to bear witness to the Christian faith in words accompanied by deeds.

Confirmation, like Baptism, imprints a spiritual mark or indelible character on the Christian soul; for this reason one can receive this sacrament only once.

A Christian does not live as a child of God through his or her own efforts alone, but through the grace of God. We see this in a practical way when we look back on our own lives and the lives of others, even the lives of saints. Therefore, it is our duty to seek the grace that God offers us in order to live our lives as Christians in the way that God intends.

CONFIRMATION IS:

• The Gift of the Holy Spirit.
• The sacrament of the Church’s mission which brings the saving presence of Jesus Christ to the world.
• A Sacrament of Mission to the World, which enables the Body of Christ to be active in the world. It is a moment of initiation into the Church, for the purpose of mission to the world. The Holy Spirit makes us more like Christ – particularly through His gifts and fruits – so that we can make Christ present in the world by our prayers, words, and actions.
• The Rite of Confirmation states that this sacrament is a completion of Baptism. The culmination of Christian Initiation is the Eucharist, toward which Confirmation and all of the sacraments are directed.

• A claim of adulthood in the Church.
• A “graduation” sacrament, or a rite of passage for adolescents in the Church.
• A replacement for Youth Ministry.
• A replacement for religious education.

The candidate must be open to receiving the grace of the sacrament. The candidate is asked to prayerfully consider this undertaking, and prepare properly for the reception of Confirmation.

❖Must be a registered member of St. Andrew
❖ Must have received the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist
❖ Individual seeking Confirmation must present proof of Baptism in the Catholic Church.
                   (Canon Law 842 – A person who has not received Baptism cannot validly be admitted to the other sacraments.)
❖ Candidate must be currently enrolled in at least 10th grade, and be at least 15 years old.
❖ Preparation for Confirmation must be a separate and distinct program from youth ministry or religious education.
❖ All candidates must be concurrently enrolled in a religious education program during the year in which they prepare for Confirmation. This can be either enrollment in a Catholic School, or participation in YOSAR (Youth of St. Andrew Roanoke).
❖ All candidates for Confirmation must participate in the Confirmation preparation program. This includes all Catholic school students as well as home-school students.
❖ Per Diocesan guidelines, all candidates must participate in a retreat experience as part of their sacramental preparation.
❖ Candidates and parents attend an orientation session to help candidates discern their readiness and disposition for sacramental preparation.
❖ The Parish conducts separate interviews of both the candidate and his/her parents, which determines whether the candidate should begin the preparation process. It also assesses the candidate’s participation in the sacramental life of the Church, especially regular attendance at Sunday Mass/reception of Holy Communion, and basic formation in the Gospel as evidenced through knowledge of the Catholic faith and desire for ongoing conversion.
❖ Once confirmed, students attend and participate in a Mystagogy Retreat. Here they will reflect on their journey to Confirmation and look to the future to continue growth in their faith. This is where they will receive their Confirmation Certificate.

**According to the Christian Formation Handbook for St. Andrew: To receive credit for the class, a student must attend at least 80% of the scheduled classes—excluding excused absences. (Example 23 out of 29 scheduled sessions.) If the student attends RCS, they are only required to attend the Confirmation specific events and classes.

ROLE OF PARENT
Recognizing that “parents are the first and most important educators of their own children” (Pope John Paul II in Letter to Families), parents play a central role in that they reinforce the teachings of the Catholic Church at home. The decision to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation rests with the candidate, but should be made in consultation with the parents.

If you are planning on registering your teen this year for the 2020-2021 Confirmation Program at St. Andrew, please go to our Registration Page and fill out all of the information! Make sure to scroll the ENTIRE page as there are multiple steps to follow!

SCRIPTURE:

John 20:19-22 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. (Jesus) said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:1-13 When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Acts 8:14-17 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (For as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH - REFERENCES (CCC 1285-1321):

1285 Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the “sacraments of Christian initiation,” whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For “by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.”

1306 Every baptized person not yet confirmed can and should receive the sacrament of Confirmation. Since Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist form a unity, it follows that “the faithful are obliged to receive this sacrament at the appropriate time,”for without Confirmation and Eucharist, Baptism is certainly valid and efficacious, but Christian initiation remains incomplete.

1309 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—his actions, his gifts, and his biddings—in order to be more capable of assuming the apostolic responsibilities of Christian life. To this end catechesis for Confirmation should strive to awaken a sense of belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ, the universal Church as well as the parish community. The latter bears special responsibility for the preparation of confirmands.

1319 A candidate for Confirmation who has attained the age of reason must profess the faith, be in the state of grace, have the intention of receiving the sacrament, and be prepared to assume the role of disciple and witness to Christ, both within the ecclesial community and in temporal affairs.

Early Church years – the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist) were celebrated together, with the Bishop as celebrant.

5th-6th century – Bishops were no longer able to be present at all baptisms, which led to a separation of Baptism and Confirmation. As time went on, the delay was longer. Confirmation was celebrated around age 7, and First Holy Communion was celebrated around age 12-14.

1910 – Pope Pius X believed that children receiving Eucharist at age 12-14 was contrary to the vision of Jesus, and decreed that children should receive around age 7. Confirmation then came to be received after Eucharist.

2002 – The US Conference of Catholic Bishops rule that the age of Confirmation should be between the age of discretion (age 7) and age 16. Each Diocese was to determine the age of reception. The Diocese of Richmond confirms young people in the 10th grade.

 https://lifeteen.com/blog/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-confirmation/

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