The Sacrament of CONFIRMATION: Sealed in the Holy Spirit

The reception of a sacrament is a time of joy. Whether it is a baby being baptized, a man and woman getting married, or children receiving their First Communion, seeing someone entering more deeply into the faith is always a great opportunity to share in the outpouring of God’s graces upon His people. Here in the Diocese of Green Bay, youth receive the Sacrament of Confirmation during their senior year of high school. At the end of January, we joyfully celebrated as 19 of our students received the Sacrament of Confirmation!

This year we were honored to host Confirmation at St. John for not only our students but the students of Shawano, Phlox, Leopolis, and Gresham. These additional parishes brought 14 more confirmandi to celebrate this sacrament. The occasion of witnessing 33 young adults receiving the Holy Spirit is a joy for our parish to behold.

In his homily at the Confirmation Mass, Bishop Ricken shared about how after the Eucharist and Mass, the gifts that we receive in the Sacrament of Confirmation are the most important gifts we will ever receive. God established a mission for every person — to be a son or daughter of God. We have a calling to holiness and the gifts of the spirit, and the graces poured out on us provide all of the tools that we need to fulfill our mission. Subsequently, it is our job to pour out the love of God to those around us, and we are only able to do that when we strive to become holy.

While the Sacrament of Confirmation may appear to be quick and simple upon its reception, the preparation leading up to the sacrament is comprehensive. The students receive the sacrament during their senior year, but they spend the three years prior studying in-depth the Church’s teachings. During their junior year, students attend a day-long retreat hosted by Spiritus Ministries. In addition, the bishop requires 12 hours of instruction that covers important material leading up to the Confirmation ceremony.

“This year, we revamped the format for those 12 hours into a retreat format,” says Kristen Rolling, Faith Formation Coordinator. “Students attended two six-hour days on backto-back Sundays during October. These days focused on our relationship with God and what that means in relation to our call of being a disciple. We shared a lot about understanding the purpose of suffering and how God uses suffering to draw us closer to Him. And finally, we focused on the choices we have in front of us for our lives — to choose to either follow God or not to follow God.”

This deep understanding and experience of God’s love and a true relationship with Him is a vital part of our faith. Throughout the retreat, the students experienced different prayer opportunities and journaling. They also actively participated in the different roles of the 11 a.m. Mass at St. Wenceslaus that weekend. This allowed them to reflect on their God-given gifts and their ability to utilize them to give glory to God.

On the Saturday leading up to Confirmation, the candidates and their sponsors attended a retreat together to prayerfully and purposefully slow down, receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, spend time in Eucharistic Adoration, and were given the opportunity to be prayed over by our healing prayer teams. This helps the students enter into the right frame of mind as they prepare to be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit the following day.

As our faith community celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation, these students received the beautiful gifts poured out on them from the Holy Spirit. Importantly, Confirmation is not an “ending” — rather, it is the beginning of a life entered completely into the Catholic faith, sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We continue to pray for these young adults that they may choose to use these gifts to pursue holiness and seek a deep relationship with the one, true God.

Potluck lunch provided by the students at their retreat in October.