Confirmation at St. Catherine of Siena Parish

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Youth Faith Formation

Our Confirmation Program

First things first.   We were created by God for God out of his sheer infinite, divine love. Our primary purpose in life is, in the words of St. Paul, to "win the race", that is, to participate in God's eternal, ineffable, divine joy and love for all eternity. In the Byzantine Catholic tradition, this is known as "divinization". It is not automatic simply because we breathe. God will not force us to choose him because true love is not forced. Rather, he gives us a choice to love him "with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength" (Dt 6:4; Mt 22:37) or reject him. We can choose to follow Our Lord who said, "I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me" (Jn 14:6), or make ourselves our own god making the egotistical mistake of only accepting God if he believes what I believe, thinks the way I think, and allows me to behave as I want to behave. That is not God, but merely a pathetic shadow of our own shallow thinking. On the other hand, life in the True God is life in abundance (John 10:10). 

Confirmation is one of the Church's three Sacraments of Initiation, the other two being Baptism and Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion). Confirmation is the sacrament that completes the graces given to us at Baptism. It gives us the graces we need to grow stronger and more resilient in our faith. It increases the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity first given to us in Baptism. It bonds us more tightly to Christ and his Church. It gives us the courage to more fully immerse ourselves into the Church's three-fold apostolic mission (as priests, prophets, and kings, that is, her sanctifying, teaching, and governing missions). It strengthens us to be more perfect and faithful Christians, especially as courageous witnesses to the world, and marks us in an invisible way as Christians clothed with these graces. 

Why be confirmed?   Just as God created us with physical muscles which must be strengthened to act physically in the world. So, too, must we exercise our spirit. In the same way that God designed all human processes, to be good at something takes work. It means striving to fulfill our potential. It is no different with the things of God. Why would we think it is? Just being confirmed without exercising the graces given in confirmation is like allowing our physical muscles to atrophy from disuse. Neglect them enough and we become invalids. It is no different with our spiritual life. Our Church is filled to the brim with spiritual invalids who have allowed their spirit to atrophy by giving up on God and the Catholic faith of their ancestors. Don't be one. Rather, St. Paul tells us, "Do not be conformed to the spirit of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that you may know the good, pleasing and perfect will of God" (Rom 12:2). Confirmation gives us the potential to be Supermen and Superwomen of great and amazing faith. Amazing things happen when we walk with God. Let the graces of confirmation lead you to an amazing life of joy and abundance with God!

Not a magic formula.    Without making a conscious effort to build our love relationship with God through prayer, asking him to help us understand his ways, actively participating in Sunday Mass (and Holy Days of Obligation), going to confession regularly, and receiving Holy Communion in a state of grace with humble and pure souls and minds, reading his Divine Word, studying the example of the Saints and what our faith teaches us by reading the Catechism or the works and letters of the Popes, we cannot hope to have the strength and will that is necessary to reach Heaven. You read that right. Going into the world as a baptized Catholic without receiving Confirmation and doing that which is necessary to strengthen those graces is no different than going on the field to play an NFL football game with little knowledge of the game and no personal protective equipment. You won't walk off, you'll be taken off on a stretcher, most likely within minutes of the game's start.

Not graduation from Church or from learning about our faith. Rather, Confirmation is the beginning! It is said the average Catholic in the pew has the knowledge of their faith at about a 3rd grader with a "C" average. No wonder so many so easily leave the Church and give up on their relationship with God. When our learning stops, we cease to improve and grow as human beings. It is no different with our Catholic faith. When our praying stops, when we neglect our obligations and duties to God and stop acknowledging him as our Creator we are in serious jeopardy. Then, we have real reason to fear death. Many times in the Gospel, we hear Jesus tell his disciples, "Do not be afraid." There is no need to fear anything if we are walking in the right paths of God. Jesus shows us the way. 
The Church teaches that baptism opens our path to eternal life through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Our Lord who conquered our fate to be eternally separated from the purpose for which He created us by choosing sin and rejecting Him (i.e., Redemption). Confirmation magnifies our chances of winning the "crown of glory" (1 Pt 5:4) (i.e. Salvation). Think of it as baptism on steroids. 

The Details 

Our parish Confirmation preparation will occur in three tracks this year.

Track 1 is for those who have already completed at least one year of preparation under the old (i.e. last year's) program up to students entering their senior year who have the firm desire to be confirmed. Those in track one must complete the full year and will receive Confirmation at the end of this faith formation year (Spring 2023). Track 1 Meets Monday evenings 7 to 7:50 p.m. beginning Sep 12, 2022. 

Track 2 begins the new two-year Confirmation preparation program (as per diocesan requirements) which starts in the 7th grade with confirmation occurring at the end of 8th grade. Those registering 8th grade students for Confirmation who have not completed the first year of preparation in 7th grade will enter their first year of preparation as 8th graders and receive Confirmation at the end of their 9th grade year. You are also welcome to contact George Dragan (scroll below) for more information. Track 2 has three options for sessions, Session 1 meets Sunday 10-10:50 a.m. (Begins after the 9 a.m. Mass). Session 2 is canceled. Session 3 meets Monday 7 p.m. to 7:50 p.m. beginning Sep 11,  The registration link and Youth Formation Calendar are forthcoming. Thank you for your patience! 

Track 3  is for "off-cycle" students. See the below question and answer.

Q. What if my child is entering high school this Fall and has not yet been confirmed? 
A. The parish's goal is for its families' children to receive the sacrament of confirmation by the end of their 8th-grade year. Since confirmation preparation is a two-year process, families should enroll their children in confirmation preparation beginning in their 7th-grade year. To accommodate those families new to the Diocese of Kalamazoo, if your child has not yet started Year 1 of Confirmation Prep, and is entering 9th, 10th, or 11th grade this Fall, they are "off cycle" and will be required to attend both Saint Catherine's High School Youth Group which will meet on Sunday evenings during the Faith Formation year (Sep to May) following the 5 p.m. Mass until 8 p.m. and Monday night High School Confirmation preparation sessions. Monday night HS confirmation preparation sessions will run from 7-7:50 p.m. on alternate weeks  (see YFF calendar below--page in progress). As is the case for all diocesan sacramental preparation programs, the high school program is also a two-year program. 

Q. What if my child is entering their senior year of high school and desires to be confirmed?
A. If your child is entering their senior year of high school (12th grade), desires to receive confirmation, and did not register and attend confirmation preparation in last year's confirmation program, they should enter the RCIA. To enter the RCIA, contact Father Mark Vyverman at FatherMark@stcatherinesiena.org.  RCIA begins Tuesday, Sep 27, 2023.

Registration and Fees for Confirmation. Fees are aligned with the Children's Faith Formation program fees, plus a $25 supplemental fee for Confirmation-specific materials and programming. So, if, for instance, you have paid the family fee when you registered your Pre-K4 thru 5th-grade children under the Children's Faith Formation (CFF) registration site, then your registration payment is fulfilled under the family fee rate, except for the $25 supplemental fee. If you are registering a single child for any confirmation track, use the online registration on the YFF page (page in progress).