Dear Friends,
Sunday afternoon at 2:00, Archbishop Lucas will call down the Holy Spirit on our eighth graders and high school students in the Sacrament of Confirmation. This is a special event for them and for us.
Do you remember your own Confirmation? I was only in third grade at the time, so I do not remember the day very well at all. I do remember being afraid of the “slap” given to symbolize that you were becoming a soldier for Christ. I remember Archbishop Bergan only gave us a little love tap on the cheek and that he had a big ring on his hand. Of course, the Mass was in Latin in those days, so I do not remember much about the prayers. The church of St. Bonaventure in Columbus, where my family attended until I was in fourth grade, had a big eye painted in the ceiling. When I went to Mass as a young student, I kept staring at the eyeball wondering if God was looking at me through that eye.
If, like me, you do not remember much of your Confirmation, then you may be wondering if it had any impact on you at all. Fortunately, the Church teaches that we do not have to be totally alert for the Sacraments to have an effect. Baptized as infants, we do become children of God. Sleep walking on Sunday during Mass, we still receive the full presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Looking more toward the party that would follow the wedding ceremony than the prayer part in church, we are still given the grace to give ourselves away to our spouse in love; a grace that will be there for better or for worse. And, as adolescents speculating what are friends are thinking about us, we still receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit which help us live as disciples of Jesus in easy and tough times.
On this Third Sunday of Advent, let us stir up the gifts of the Spirit we received in Confirmation. We all could use a little wisdom, some fortitude, perhaps a bit of understanding and knowledge and even a touch of piety nourished with wonder and awe. Our young people are getting these gifts for the first time today. Let us inspire them by putting our gifts of the Holy Sprit into practice. Afterall, the gifts were never meant for our personal use but to benefit the community.
Advent celebrates the truth that our journey to God, our discipleship with Jesus, is possible only because God first journeyed to us. Otherwise, it would be impossible. Before we ever choose to follow him, Jesus came down to us. He preceded us; he came down to meet us. For our sake, he lowered himself more than we can ever imagine.
The celebration of Confirmation reminds us that the journey is not based on our own strength. No one follows Jesus on his or her own. We need God’s Spirit to make any move at all. Heartfelt discipleship, with the deeds and practices that express it, is possible only if it begins with God’s work. What enables us to follow Christ is not our own ability or merit, but his offer of grace. Like any talent or skill we possess, it grows with use. Use your spiritual gifts and see them blossom into so much more.
Peace,
Fr. Damian