Confirmation
Confirmation
For young people in school Years 9-12. This programme is for teenagers looking to explore their faith in preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation.
There is a mandatory pre-Enrolment meeting for Parents & Candidates on Tuesday 8 October at 7pm.
All Tuesday sessions will take place in St Osmund’s Parish Rooms.
Dear Parents,
According to our parish records, you have a child who is now of an age that they could join our programme of preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation in 2025.
Fr Joseph is organising and running the programme again this year and I have attached a letter from him to your son/daughter inviting them to enrol if they would like to. We would be very grateful if you would pass this letter on to them.
We are holding an initial information evening at the Parish Centre, on Tuesday 8th October, at 7pm.
Please do come along—both parents and young people. Hopefully this will be an opportunity to outline the programme, and answer any questions you may have, before deciding whether or not you wish to apply for the programme.
The programme details – times and locations – can be found on the Parish website. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Parish Office or Fr Joseph directly.
The Sacrament of Confirmation calls us to live a life of holiness and obedience to God’s will. That call is primarily through a renewal of our baptismal promises that were, in most cases, made for us by our parents when we were baptised. The Sacrament is usually conferred by a bishop who lays his hands on those being confirmed and anoints them on the forehead with holy oil. By these signs the grace of their Baptism is completed. They are filled with the Holy Spirit and the many gifts He has to offer, as the apostles were at Pentecost, and they are united more firmly with Christ and His Church.
The celebration of Confirmation for our young people is another highlight of our church year which normally takes places in May or June. If you would like to understand more about Confirmation, click here and take some time to read and watch the videos.
The Church identifies three roles for Confirmation sponsors: First, as a role-model in the faith. Because of this, the Church asks that a sponsor be at least sixteen years of age, be fully initiated in the Church (has celebrated the sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation), and be a practicing member of the Church. Second, a sponsor is a companion on the candidate's faith journey. Ideally, this should/could be one of the candidate's baptismal godparents. This is encouraged by the Church to show the close connection between the two sacraments. Finally, the Confirmation sponsor witnesses for the candidate before the Church. By their presence at the Confirmation celebration, the sponsor publicly proclaims the candidate's readiness.
Sacraments are not "things" that happen on someone else's timetable. There is no penalty for waiting to be Confirmed. What is important is that each candidate feels ready and willing to undertake the responsibilities of the Christian life.
Confirmation can be conferred when a baptised individual is determined to have the use of reason, has been suitably prepared and is properly disposed and able to renew their baptismal promises. In practice, the most common age to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation is around 14. We invite anyone who is in School Year 9 or above to join our programme of preparation.
If you are an adult who has not been Confirmed and would like to be prepared to receive this sacrament, please contact Fr Michael or Fr Saji on 333581.