Every year on confirmation day, I am amazed to see so many young people and their families packed in the cathedral. It brings memories of my confirmation day: I got up around 4:30 am, got ready and walked three and half hours to our parish. We were hundreds of children from all over the parish. In 1986, there were not many people with cameras to take pictures. Even though I do not have a confirmation picture, I hold in my heart and mind the beauty of that day. In fact, I was eager to receive this sacrament because I worked for it. I could not wait to see what the Spirit would do in my life and with my life.

With baptism and the Eucharist, confirmation is a sacrament of initiation into supernatural life. Confirmation completes the work of baptism because it perfects the grace received in Baptism.  Like Baptism, confirmation is given only once, because it imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, a permanent and eternal  “character.” Strengthened by the Holy Spirit, the confirmed Catholic has the power to profess faith in Christ publicly.  Clergy and parents have duties to remind the newly confirmed that in confirmation we have a greater obligation to faithfulness in defending the Church and evangelizing others to the fold of Christ.
 
Popes Benedict XVI and Francis remind sponsors to always remember that they were selected because of their faithfulness and Christian character that can inspire and connect the teenager to the Church.  Therefore, they share the responsibility with parents to always be there for the confirmed by their advices and examples of faith. Sponsors are the best people to turn to in the moment of spiritual crisis. Many of us have sponsored more than two children through confirmation. But how many of us  remember that our way of life and of practicing the faith will have an eternal effect on our godchildren? How many of us remember to check on them? How often have we spoken to them and reminded me of what their sacrament means for them?
 
In Confirmation, through the laying on of hands and the anointing with chrism, signs of confirmation, the Lord causes a spiritual strengthening in us. When the Bishop lays hands on the candidates, the Lord commissions them as disciples and charges them to continue His ministry.

In the anointing with sacred oil, the Lord limbers the spirits to prepare their hearts for Christian life. We believe that the Spirit of God enters our hearts to consolidate our union with the Holy Trinity as Jesus promised to His apostles saying, “on that day you will know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you” (John 14:26-27:20). Also, the Holy Spirit enables us to love others as Jesus did.
 
The prophet Isaiah spoke of the gifts of the Spirit that would rest on Christ (Isaiah 11:2). These are the same gifts we receive in Confirmation. In his book  Living the Sacraments, Grace into Action, Bert Ghezzi puts them into two groups:  a group of four spiritual gifts that enlighten our minds and of three that strengthen our hearts. The Four gifts that enlighten the minds are wisdom, understanding, counsel and knowledge.  With the gift of wisdom, one lets himself be guided by the Holy Spirit in God’s ways and He helps him to pattern His life on them. You become open to the Holy Spirit who will always guide you to the service of others with little acts of kindness for those you live with and spend time with. The gift of understanding helps us deepen our insights into the Christian mysteries and doctrines.  Like Saint
Theresa we strive to do all things with love. Because we live in the world with so many temptations around us, everyone needs the gift of counsel, to let the Spirit inspire us to discern and avoid spiritual obstacles. In confirmation, we are also given the spiritual gift of knowledge which opens our lives to God and reveals to us His will in us.
 
The three gifts of the Spirit that strengthen the heart are fortitude, fear of the Lord and piety. Jesus prayed for those who believe in Him to always remember that they live in the world but they are not of the world (John 17:16). The gifts of confirmation strengthen our hearts to true treasure (Matthew 6:21) while living on earth. Like many saints who in difficult circumstances chose to embrace death rather than offend God, we who live in a culture of death today, need the spiritual gift of fortitude in order to proclaim the gospel of life. How much we need to use that gift today and stand up and defend the dignity of life from conception through natural death! In the same way, the gift of “fear of the Lord or reverence” gives us courage to convince ourselves to let ourselves be amazed by God’s greatness and His
majesty. If so, we will have the courage to live each day as our last day.

As we strive to be true disciples of Jesus, we imitate the life of Mary, St. Joseph and learn from saints. They inspire us to remember that we too have
received the gift of piety to motivate us to respond to God’s call, enflaming our hearts with His love and motivating us to pray and serve others.
 
Let us pray for all young people who will be confirmed at the cathedral on Wednesday, October 16 to truly dispose their hearts for the reception of the grace of the sacraments that will make them soldiers of Christ. We should remind them that Confirmation is not graduation but a beginning of a new life of prayer, discipleship and service. In those three ways, we give thanks to God for all the blessings and strengthen our ongoing relationship with God. This Sunday’s Gospel
reminds us to give thanks to God in everything. In thanksgiving for our baptism, confirmation and other sacraments, let us come back to Jesus and praise
Him in His Church, and serve Him in his people.
 
In concluding this note, I would like to express our thanksgiving to you. Fr. McCullough and I are so blessed to serve our region with the staff, clergy and so many volunteers who are open to the prompts of the Spirit and use their gifts for the salvation of all. We thank everyone who is attending different programs we have in our region for our spiritual growth. Also, we thank all who have helped with the
preparations and the celebration of the St. James parish picnic, St. Matthias’ Oktoberfest and Our Lady of the Rosary’s feast. Let us glorify the
Lord by our lives for He is good all the time.