I’m grateful that candidates at Our Lady of Peace typically receive the Sacrament of Confirmation very near the feast of Pentecost. The Confirmation Mass is already such a special one, but its connection to Pentecost is the cherry on top.
At Confirmation, the presiding bishop (this year, Archbishop Hebda) asks all candidates for confirmation to profess their faith and renew their baptismal promises. He then extends his hands over them and prays that they may receive an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, especially the seven gifts listed in the book of Isaiah. The candidate’s forehead is anointed with oil while the bishop or priest says, “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit,” and then extends a sign of peace.
All those who witness and participate in this liturgy are reminded of our deep connection to the Church throughout the world, in which the same Mass of Confirmation is being celebrated in many cultures and tongues. We are also immersed in the rich history of the Church, in which these same words and signs have been witnessed and experienced by millions throughout the ages.
The many gifts of the confirmandi are stirred up and inflamed. These gifts are ordered toward their own sanctification as well as the upbuilding and growth of the Church. The Catechism tells us that Confirmation “gives us [just like the apostles at Pentecost] a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross” (CCC 1303).
Our circumstances may be different than those of the first Christians, but our faith and the power of the Holy Spirit are the same! My hope for the 8th graders at OLP each year is that they experience their confirmation as the promise of all that the Lord still wishes to do in and through them throughout their lives.
Whenever we hear of chaos and tragedy around us, the response of our hearts is to beg, “Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth” (Psalm 104). In the Sacrament of Confirmation and in the celebration of the Feast of Pentecost, we are reminded that the Lord does indeed send out the Holy Spirit to bring great renewal!
Jocelyn Johnson
Director of Youth Ministry
