Confirmation offers an invitation to new life in the Church

Jesus said in Mathew 9:37-38
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

This year, the Diocese of Kalamazoo will add more than 1,000 workers into the harvest field through the sacrament of Confirmation. For many young confirmandi, this is the first adult decision they will make, the culmination of their grade-school catechism, a multitude of service hours, and countless Masses.

It may feel like a graduation, but it is an invitation.

“A graduation is not an end even in high school and college, rather it is a beginning to a new life,” said George Dragan, Diocese of Kalamazoo’s associate director for Catechesis and Youth Ministry. “It is no different with our Catholic faith. We continue to let Christ enrich us and strengthen us to be Christ for others.”

The Confirmation ceremony is full of symbols emphasizing this call. There is the lighting of the baptismal candle, representing our baptismal promises, and the anointing with chrism, representing our union with Christ. “This idea of anointing is we become Christ,” Dragan said. “We join in his apostolic mission. It is a lived life, not something we put on the shelf when we leave Confirmation.”

This calling can be daunting for the newly confirmed, but Dragan reminds all confirmandi that the sacraments and the Mass are there to deepen our faith and reveal our vocation. Being involved in church groups, becoming lectors and lay ministers, and participating in church outreach programs are some ways the newly confirmed can continue their spiritual education.

The most important piece may be the first thing we ever learned as God’s children — to pray.

“Maintain a prayer life,” Dragan said. “I don’t just mean the formal prayers; I mean talking to God as you would a friend or a parent, sharing intimate details of your life not because God doesn’t already know it but because he wants us to. If we want to be truly successful in life, we can’t throw God out of the picture.”

Many of our young confirmandi are already thinking about how to deepen their faith life after “graduation”.

“I will continue to go on retreat, serve on mission trips, and be involved in my local church community through assisting with Catechism, serving at Mass, and serving the kids through our summer program,” Madalyn Perry said.

“I am going to try to pray every day when I wake up and when I go to sleep,” Brooke Dzwik said. “I am also going to bug my parents more to go to Mass every Sunday. Aer Confirmation, it is my journey, so I’m going to try to make the most of it and learn the most I can.”

“After Confirmation, I plan on growing my faith by continuing to attend Sunday mass, praying more, and reading more of the Bible and the Catechism,” Jacob Thome said.

“I will apply the Fruits of Gifts of the Holy Spirit to my lifestyle and stand up for my faith,” Chris Adam said. “I will listen to God’s calling and what he would like me to do in the Church.”

“I intend to keep growing in my faith after Confirmation by loving others, praying for those who need it, and doing my best to spread God’s word,” Bronwyn Pasche said.

“God is literally my all,” Arianna Pontoni said. “I have been working on the virtues of Patience and Humility and God is working on that with me as well. I plan on doing God’s will — His will and not mine."