We are looking forward to sharing with you this journey of faith as you prepare to receive the sacrament of Confirmation. As you will see, Confirmation Preparation involves learning, sharing, serving, fellowship, spiritual growth and fun! You will be given the opportunity to learn more about your Catholic faith and what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Confirmation is the Sacrament in which one is enriched by the gift of the Holy Spirit and bound more perfectly to the Church. It strengthens us and obliges us to be witnesses to Christ by word and deed and to spread and defend the faith. It is the Sacrament in which one enters into full membership in the Catholic Church.
Confirmation perfects Baptismal grace; it is the sacrament which gives us the Holy Spirit in order to root us more deeply as children of God, incorporate us more firmly into Christ, strengthen our bond with the Church, associate us more closely with her mission, and help us to bear witness to the Christian faith in words accompanied by deeds. Confirmation, like Baptism, imprints a spiritual mark or indelible character on the Christian soul; for this reason one can receive this sacrament only once.
A Christian does not live as a child of God through his or her own efforts alone, but through the grace of God. We see this in a practical way when we look back on our own lives and the lives of others, even the lives of saints. Therefore, it is our duty to seek the grace that God offers us in order to live our lives as Christians in the way that God intends.
2021-2022 Calendar for Confirmation Grade 9 and 10
Grade 9 will meet from 4-5:30 on Class days
Grade 10 will meet from 6- 7:30 on Class days
October 3, Sunday Parent Night Grade Nine 5:00, Grade Ten 6:00
October 17, Sunday Class One Grade Nine 4-5:30pm ; Grade Ten 6-7:30 pm October 24, Sunday Class Two Grade Nine 4-5:30pm ; Grade Ten 6-7:30 pm |
November 7, Sunday Class Three Grade Nine 4-5:30pm ; Grade Ten 6-7:30 pm November 21, Sunday MASS 11:00 |
December 5, Sunday Sponsor and Student meeting Grade Nine 5:00-6:00 pm Bishop Mark Grade Ten 6:00-7:00 pm December 12 Class Four Grade Nine 4-5:30pm ; Grade Ten 6-7:30 pm December 19 MASS 11:00 |
January 9, Sunday Class Five Grade Nine 4-5:30pm ; Grade Ten 6-7:30 pm January 23, Sunday MASS 11:00 January 30, Sunday Class Six Grade Nine 4-5:30pm ; Grade Ten 6-7:30 pm |
February 6, Sunday MASS 11:00 February 27th, Sunday RECONCILIATION grade nine 6 pm, grade ten 7 pm |
March 6, Sunday Retreat grade 10 2-6 March 13, Sunday MASS 11:00 March 20 Sunday Grade Ten Conf. Rehearsals 5 and 6 pm March 27 Sunday Confirmation Masses 1:00, 4:00 |
Candidates are expected to complete 5 hours of service hours during each of their two years of confirmation classes. If a single service is not 5 hours per year, then similar experiences may be coupled to total 5 hours per year. A defined year will run from May to May. Additionally and separately, every candidate will be ask to do at least one service activity within our parish over the course of the two year program. These activities will be posted on the Confirmation website as they become available and sign up should be done through the indicated activity coordinator.
After completing their hours of service, candidates are required to reflect on a take away from their service experience in a paragraph. How will their service experience impact their choices after they are confirmed and what types of service would they feel they would continue when there was not service requirement built into their education? Reflections should be a minimum of 200 words and submitted in the assignment - name written on the top - to Ms. Bowers on Google Classroom using the GC codes below.
Grade 9: dgh6tci
Grade 10: 25lpedm
SERVICE TO THE PARISH: Examples of parish service include for example working with the summer SUMP program, working at the Parish Picnic or helping with the Appreciation Dinner, or helping with the May Procession, hospitality service.
SERVICE TO COMMUNITY: This will include all Public and government facilities such as parks, community recreation centers, animal shelters, libraries, etc. This is work that may or may not have direct contact with those that it benefits, and may include physical labor to build or repair facilities or land.
SERVICE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE: In issues of Social Justice, our faith calls us to measure the world around us, not by what it produces, but by how it touches human life and whether it protects or undermines the dignity of the human person. This category involves direct contact with individuals that the service goes to. The service is intended to protect and improve that Human Dignity of those that are typically economically or physically challenged. For example, participation in Habitat for Humanity, working at Feed My People, helping with the clothing drives, having a mini-food drive in your neighborhood and delivering the donations to the North Reading food pantry, serving Thanksgiving dinner to people who are homeless, helping out at a soup kitchen, organizing a recycling effort or another means to express your commitment to cleaning up the environment, etc…
Contact Mrs. Heffernan for the following service opportunities at [email protected]