Sacraments

What Catholic Teens Need to Know About Confirmation

By Catechist's Aide on September 6, 2018 0

A good way to begin any Confirmation preparation is with a basic understanding of what the sacrament is all about. Only then can our young Catholics understand why Confirmation is so essential. The first step in the process is easy enough – ask the students, “What does it mean to be confirmed?” Don’t be alarmed if the only response you get is a shrug of the shoulders or a blank stare. You may have a few students who will respond with “becoming an adult in the Church” or “confirming what our parents chose for us at our Baptism.” Whatever the response, it’s our job as Catechists to help set the record straight about exactly what Confirmation is, and perhaps more importantly, what it is not.

Let’s start by dispelling one of the more common myths about Confirmation:

It’s not a choice

This is a little misleading. Clearly, one can choose to receive Confirmation, or not. However, the sacrament is not an opportunity where the Confirmandi “choose” for themselves to be Catholic, or “confirm” the choice made for them by their parents and godparents at Baptism. Regardless of whether we had any voice in the matter, Baptism marks us with an indelible (permanent) mark as Catholic Christians. We become full members of Christ’s body, the Church through Baptism.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC):

“Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, the person baptized is configured to Christ. Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark (character) of his belonging to Christ. No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation. Given once for all, Baptism cannot be repeated.” (CCC 1272)

The Catechism also reminds us that “baptismal grace is a grace of free, unmerited election and does not need ‘ratification’ to become effective.” (CCC 1308)
So, understanding that we are already fully Catholic through Baptism makes the question, “what does it mean to be confirmed,” all the more critical. To answer this, we must look at what Confirmation is, and what it does for us.

Confirmation imparts grace

Like all the sacraments, Confirmation is a gift given by God. And, like all of God’s gifts, it is designed to help us grow in holiness, and bring us into closer relation with Him through the imparting of grace.

It completes the Christian Initiation begun at Baptism

Wait a minute! We just said that Baptism makes us full members of the Church. What is left to complete?

“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.’” (CCC 1285)

Consider that, for the most part, Catholics are baptized as infants. “The faith required for Baptism is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is called to develop.” (CCC 1253) Our faith at baptism requires nourishment to grow and mature. We receive this nourishment through the Eucharist and catechesis. All members of the Church share in the responsibility of faith formation and religious education: parents, godparents, the clergy and the parish community. This maturing of the faith prepares us for Confirmation, where we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit to go out into the world as faithful witnesses and disciples of Christ. As members of Christ’s Body (the Church), we share an “apostolic calling” to spread God’s kingdom throughout the world. Jesus told his disciples, “Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:16) We are also called to be a light unto the world, and the sacrament of Confirmation equips us for that mission.

It is the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit

In John’s Gospel, we read that Christ prepared his followers for his eventual departure from this earth. He told them that it would be better for them if he left because then he would send the Advocate to be with them. At the time, the apostles were full of grief at the thought of Jesus going and probably didn’t understand who this mysterious Advocate was. But, just as Jesus promised, at Pentecost, the apostles received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They were able to recognize that this was the person Jesus sent to lead them to the truth, to guide them, and to strengthen them. And, because they were receptive, the Holy Spirit was able to work within them to transform them from frightened men, in hiding from the authorities to proclaimers of the resurrection! The Holy Spirit which the apostles received is the same Holy Spirit whose gifts are sealed within us at Confirmation. He seeks to work within us in the same way. If we are receptive and open to his gifts, we too can be transformed, confident that we can accomplish every good thing.

When we reduce Confirmation to a giant to-do list that we race to complete, we risk losing the importance of what is happening along the way. Confirmation is so much more than just another box to check on the way to adulthood. Talk to your students and children about what this sacrament really means. Don’t let them miss out on experiencing one of God’s greatest gifts.

Learning Stations Follow-Up

By Catechist's Aide on January 25, 2017 0

Last week I was very excited about my upcoming class with learning stations on the Sacraments of Initiation. I’d like to use this blog post to give a brief “post-mortem” on the class and discuss how the activity was received by my middle school students. The prep for this class was no small undertaking, but fortunately the lesson plan is clearly detailed and laid out at Joe Paprocki’s Catchist’s Journey.

I thought the stations were age appropriate for middle school students, but would have worked for younger students as well. I have a large class with 32 students (a mix of 7^th and 8^th graders). The students were very receptive to a more interactive approach to learning. We started by breaking the class into 4 groups and starting them at different stations. This seemed to work well at first, but because we only had three adults/catechists, one group was always without an adult leader, and this proved problematic as we progressed through the stations. This was the result of poor planning on my part. I should have asked for a few parent volunteers, and that would have helped to ensure that all groups progress through the stations in a timely and orderly fashion.

I made a few changes to some of the stations, but for the most part stuck to the script. As I mentioned before, the kids really embraced the various forms of interactive learning. We meet for 1 hour and 15 minutes, but taking into account opening/closing prayers, attendance, announcements and other class business, we really only have an hour for instruction. We could have benefitted from having a little more time. Some of the activities took a little longer than others, which caused bottlenecks at times. Now that I’ve established where those log jams occur, I can route the students differently in future classes.

Bottom line, the class was a great experience, and I will definitely do it again. If you are considering using this lesson plan, I would encourage you to do so. Don’t worry if things don’t go perfectly. Based on my personal experience, I can offer two pieces of advice. First, consider your class size and make sure you have an adequate number of adults to lead students through the stations. Second, consider the actual amount of class time you have available to you. It may be worthwhile to split the stations into 2 classes.

Sacraments of Initiation

By Catechist's Aide on January 16, 2017 0

No class today, but I am busy preparing for next week’s lesson which will feature a free lesson plan created by Joe Paprocki and featured at Catechist’s Journey. It’s an interactive session featuring Learning Stations for the Sacraments of Initiation. The stations focus on the visible and invisible realities of the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. There are four stations for each of the sacraments, each representing one of the signs which are visible in the rite of the sacraments. Through various activities the students learn about what is really happening that we cannot see – the invisible reality of the sacrament.

I have followed Joe Paprocki for many years and read several of his books. He has been an invaluable asset to me as a catechist. The lesson plan is a re-working of one that originally appeared on his blog site several years ago. I used that original lesson plan in 2014. It was a success, but to be completely honest, I didn’t fully commit to the process. This year, I am “all in.” I’m looking forward to reporting back next week on how everything went.

Epiphany Sunday & the Sacraments

By Catechist's Aide on January 9, 2017 0

We’re back in class on Monday, after the Christmas break, and we will begin our study of the Sacraments. While preparing the lesson, I wanted to do a quick recap of the very special feasts and holy days that we just experienced during the Christmas season.

I wanted to focus on Epiphany Sunday because I felt the students were least familiar with this day when the Son of God is made manifest to the world.

The Traditional date of the Feast of the Epiphany is January 6th which marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas. The feast was moved to always fall on the Sunday that falls between Jan. 2 and Jan 8. Despite the confusion with the timing, the significance of the feast is compelling to all Christians. The revelation of the Christ child to the three wise men symbolizes his revelation to the Gentile world. It tells us that God’s call goes out to all nations.

We don’t know if, when the wise men set out, they knew what they could expect to find at the end of their journey, but we do know that something compelled them to follow the star. They were called, and they heeded the call, reminding us of the desire within each of us to seek God.

Upon arriving at the stable, they bow down in worship before the child and offer him precious gifts. This seems completely illogical for these highly educated and worldly men – to fall down at the crib of a powerless infant, yet this is what they do.

Perhaps the most important takeaway, however, is the final line in Matthew’s gospel where the visit is recorded. He says, “And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.” (Matthew 2:12) As the story goes, Herod, was king of Judea, and he secretly asked the magi to return to him after finding the child Jesus. Understanding that Herod meant to harm the child, they instead chose not to share that information with him and returned home another way. Looking a little deeper at this scripture verse, it reveals that these men were changed by their encounter with the Son of God.

What a perfect lead-in to our study of the sacraments! At their core, the sacraments are places where we encounter Christ, just like the magi in Matthew’s gospel. And, like the magi, we too are changed by that encounter and leave following a different path.