First Communion and Confirmation Masses

This weekend we are celebrating the last of the First Communion Masses and the Sacrament of Confirmation for some of our students. Over the last few weeks, we have celebrated First Communion for our 84 second graders and we finish them this Sunday. Both of these great sacraments are important milestones in the lives of our children and young adults. First Communion is wonderful because our little ones receive the Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior for the first time. Confirmation is beautiful because these young adults confirm their faith in Jesus Christ and His Church. Sometimes Confirmation is referred to becoming an adult in the Church, and in some ways that is true, but in other ways it is not. It is being an adult because they will be taking the responsibility of their faith upon themselves but it is not because Confirmation is simply the confirming of their Baptismal promises.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states “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.” This weekend we pray that these young people will accept the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are being called upon them. It is interesting the timing of the Sacrament, because it was not the way that we celebrated them in the early Church. We would receive the Sacrament of Baptism first, like always, but then we would celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation shortly before we would receive First Holy Communion. There are many theories to why we changed the order, but that is the way we are celebrating them now, and it does give the students a bit more maturity to be able to take on the responsibility to accept the faith in a more adult way.

One of the great things that we can do is to pray for these students as they prepare their hearts and minds to receive this gift of the Holy Spirit. We pray that God will continue to guide them and that we ourselves will continue to allow ourselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit, so we can spread and defend the faith by our words and deeds. The prayer that will be said to them kind of sums up what they are to receive. “All-powerful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by water and the Holy Spirit you freed your sons and daughters from sin and gave them new life. Send your Holy Spirit upon them to be their helper and guide.”

“Give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence. Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in your presence.”