Rather than being a single class, your preparation for Confirmation through Saint Clare Parish begins the moment you step into the High School Disciple Formation program and lasts throughout your entire time in the program. Your regular involvement in House gatherings, class sessions, and worship experiences--as well as your participation at weekend Mass and in the parish in general--are all ways you become prepared for the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Below are five specific areas you'll want to pay attention to as you prepare for Confirmation during the three years or so you're in the High School Disciple Formation program. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact your House Leader, Mrs. Stemper, or Fr. Brian. We want you all to flourish! as Catholic men and women, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, and friends today and forever!
1. "Confirmed Living"
Living the life of a confirmed Catholic doesn’t suddenly begin with Confirmation; it begins before the sacrament is received (the sacrament strengthens what a person is already doing and compels them to go further). Students are asked to take on, over the course of their time in the program, an attitude of “living confirmed life” as a sign that they’re truly desiring to be confirmed.
Go HERE for more information.
2. Choosing a Confirmation Sponsor
When you are confirmed, you will be presented to Bishop by your Sponsor. The Sponsor represents the Catholic community and, by presenting you to Bishop, in effect testifies that you are ready to be confirmed. Because of this, your Sponsor MUST be an already practicing Catholic. The Sponsor is so important, in fact, that the laws of the Church (that is, Canon Law) says this about Confirmation Sponsors:
- "The sponsor is to take care that the confirmed person behaves as a true witness of Christ and faithfully fulfills the obligations inherent in this sacrament" (Canon 892);
- "To perform the function of sponsor, a person must fulfill the conditions mentioned in can. 874 (that is, "To be permitted to take on the function of sponsor a person must: 1. have the aptitude and intention of fulfilling this function; 2. have completed the sixteenth year of age, unless the diocesan bishop has established another age, or the pastor or minister has granted an exception for a just cause; 3. be a Catholic who has been confirmed and has already received the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist and who leads a life of faith in keeping with the function to be taken on; and 4. not be bound by any canonical penalty legitimately imposed or declared"); and
- "It is desirable to choose as sponsor the one who undertook the same function in baptism" (Canon 893.1 and 893.2).
Additionally, the Confirmation Sponsor should him-or-herself be living "confirmed life;" that is, the life of a practicing Catholic (see #1 above about "Confirmed Living").
3. Confirmation Name
At Confirmation you will be called by name as you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and complete your Christian initiation. You are encouraged to choose a new confirmation name; however, you may decide to use your baptismal name. In either case, the name you use at Confirmation should be important to you. Your confirmation name is reflective of your new life in Christ as an adult, engaged member of his Church. It should have special meaning and should express something about who you hope to become as an adult Catholic.
Here are some helpful links to help you consider a confirmation name:
Saints by Name
https://www.catholic.org/saints/stindex.php?lst=A
Saints by Vocation
http://www.rosaryshop.com/saints.php
Saints by Various Categories
http://saints.sqpn.com
Saints by Date
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_calendar_of_saints
Roman Martyrology
https://catholicsaints.info/roman-martyrology-may-23rd
4. Knowledge of the Faith
Confirmed living is, indeed, a "life." It takes form in the flesh-and-blood lives we live. However, there's also some knowledge which goes with it: knowledge about the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit which you'll receive in Confirmation, knowledge about what the Church asks of its confirmed members, knowledge about living a life of love and mercy might "look like," and so on. Bishop asks all confirmation candidates to have a good knowledge of these things.
Go HERE for more information.
5. Confirmation Board Preparation
Confirmation incorporates a person more closely to the community of faith (the Church) as a "missionary disciple:" a person who witnesses to his or her Catholic faith in Jesus Christ. And so, just like Baptism, Confirmation isn't a private affair. The Confirmation Board exists as a reflection of this social aspect to the sacrament. Your Board meeting is a chance for you and other adult members of the Church to share and discuss faith.