Dear Parishioners:
“Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Bishop Evans anoints Anna Gianna Jelinek at Confirmation Mass, Sunday October 20, 2024.
Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Mass, we celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation for fifty-six of our young adults. Our neighbor, Bishop Evans, will celebrate the Mass and confirm these young men and women in the Catholic Faith. We offer them our best wishes and promise of prayer.
Many young people and sometimes even their parents consider the Sacrament of Confirmation a graduation ceremony. The reality is, Confirmation is not the end; it is only the beginning of a life committed to Christ and His Church.
The OLM Confirmation Preparation Program begins in the 8th Grade. Our candidates attend class, take up service projects, and make a retreat. The Sacrament of Confirmation is then conferred in the Fall of 9th Grade as the candidates begin High School. I believe our young adults today need the grace of the Sacrament and the gifts of the Holy Spirit as they begin their High School years.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: "Every baptized person not yet confirmed can and should receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Since Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist form a unity. Without Confirmation and Eucharist, Baptism is certainly valid and efficacious, but Christian initiation remains incomplete."
Now that our young adults are fully initiated into the Catholic Faith, we hope they continue to pray, grow in their Faith, and attend Mass and Confession frequently. We also hope they might consider taking up a ministry in our parish, such as a Lector, Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, Faith Formation volunteer, or even singing in the Adult Choir. Pray for our newly Confirmed that they may put the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to work in their lives and for our parish.
Bishop Evans poses with the newly confirmed Colin Longinus Pulsifer and his Grandmother, who was his sponsor, along with Fr. Healey, Pastor of OLM, Fr. Mahoney, Pastor of St. Piux X, and Fr. Morris, Chaplain at Bishop Hendriken High School.
St Ambrose said: "Remember, then, that you received a spiritual seal, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of knowledge and reverence, the Spirit of holy fear. Keep safe what you receive. God the Father sealed you, Christ the Lord strengthened you and sent the Spirit into your hearts as the pledge of what is to come."
Our Faith Formation Program began this month. It includes a Sacramental Prep Program for Communion and Confirmation. We also offer Family Faith Formation for families with children not in the Sacramental Program and Parent Faith Formation. If you have not registered your child for Faith Formation, please do so on the parish webpage now.
We also began the Order of Christian Initiation of Adult Program this month. This program is for non-Catholic adults interested in joining the Church, and adult baptized Catholics needing the other Sacraments. Contact us if you or someone you know is interested in the Catholic Faith or needs a Sacrament of Initiation.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit May 1634 by Jacques Blanchard (1600–1638)
The process by which adults formally join the Catholic Church has traditionally been called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). In November 2021, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a new translation of the process and its corresponding curriculum, now known as the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA). The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy called Sacrosanctum Concilium, implemented during Vatican II, led to the first Latin edition of the Ordo Initiationis Christianae Adultorum (OICA) in 1972. The first English translation was followed in 1974. In 1986, the U.S. bishops translated the 1974 texts and rites. This eventually led to the 1988 text that Catholic parishes have used for RCIA.
The new OCIA is a more authentic translation of the original text. This more accurate translation also helps foster the idea that the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults is not one rite or process. This is a lifelong journey of accompanying those entering the Catholic Church. It's a reminder that we are all on a lifelong journey of living the Catholic Faith, following Christ and His Church with a continual conversion of heart.
I am making my Annual Retreat this week at Arnold Hall Retreat Center in Pembroke, Massachusetts, beginning on Monday night. I ask for your prayers while on retreat, as I promise my prayers for you. I return on Friday evening. We thank Bishop Evans for covering Masses this week.
Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats! Maye Day!!