The Sacrament of Confirmation - Homily

 

Confirmation, 19 May 2021, Redfield

         You will have to forgive me if I seem a bit excited about conferring the Sacrament of Confirmation on you this evening. I am happy to fill in for Bishop DeGrood, who is in Duluth, Minnesota for the ordination of the new bishop for that diocese. Not just that, but several things come together to explain my joy or excitement, I guess. For one, it is the first time since I have retired and come home to South Dakota that I celebrate the Sacrament, or better, it is the first time ever that I have confirmed as a bishop here at home. Before Covid, I did quite a few confirmations in Switzerland, but this is my first in South Dakota. Then too, our celebration falls within the novena of preparation for Pentecost, which is next Sunday. On Pentecost, 50 days after Easter, we celebrate the coming down of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the company of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Upper Room. Pentecost is sometimes called the birthday of the Church.

        We tie Pentecost and the Sacrament of Confirmation to each other in our thinking and teaching. Both on that day in Jerusalem and for us here this evening in Redfield, the Holy Spirit fills and empowers us for mission …if we let Him. We are graced by the Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity not only to better resist sin and more perfectly love God and our neighbor, but also like the apostles on that first Pentecost to be enabled to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to all the world. Thanks to the Sacrament of Confirmation, God the Holy Spirit flanks us in our witness to the world on behalf of that Good News, that joy is ours for now and for all eternity as well in unbounded measure, when we bind our lives and destiny to that of Christ for the sake of the life of the world.

        Bishop DeGrood sent me the letters you wrote to explain why you were looking forward to being confirmed. Young people your age in Switzerland write similar letters to their bishops for Confirmation. It is good to remember that ours is a universal Church and even if we speak different languages, we have a lot in common, especially when it comes to our Catholic faith. The truth is that way. One of its characteristics is that it is universal: there is no such thing as your truth and my truth, but only the one truth about life which comes to us from God alone in Jesus Christ by way of the teaching office of His Holy Church.

        Confirmation is about strengthening us in our faith, strengthening us to fight against sin in our lives and against all that is wrong in our world. You can only be confirmed once. The Sacrament of Confirmation, like Baptism and Holy Orders, leaves an indelible mark on our souls. It is the custom in many places in the Church to plan Confirmation at some point in a young person’s high school years. It is important however to remember that Confirmation should always be seen as yoked or tied to Baptism. The two sacraments, Baptism and Confirmation, belong together. That helps explain why we do not administer the Anointing of the Sick to infants and children in danger of death, but rather we confirm them to complete their Christian initiation and thereby strengthen them for severe illness and possible death.

There is nothing magical about Confirmation. Although the grace and gifts of the Holy Spirit are always bestowed, it is important that we receive the sacrament well disposed. Making a good confession is part of that preparation, but I hope as well that all the confirmands, their parents and families, their sponsors, and the parish communities both here in Redfield and in Mellette have been praying for a worthy and a fruitful outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon you. Everything we do, we do in freedom. God the Holy Spirit does not take us over by force but responds to our invitation to Him to come into our hearts and lives and transform us by His grace.

        I mentioned at the beginning the Pentecost Novena in the midst of which we find ourselves. These are nine days during which the Church prays that the gift of the Holy Spirit would be renewed in each one of us. Thinking more generally about novenas and prayer in the life of a Catholic, young or old, we can understand that beyond our daily prayer, which besides Sunday Mass is our usual contact with the Lord Who accompanies us through life, we can dedicate special time, such as during a novena, to ask of the Lord some special favor for us and those we love. Besides the Pentecost novena for the grace of the Holy Spirit, “Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth”, I am reminded of the Divine Mercy novena, which starts on Holy Thursday and asks special favors of the Lord for us poor sinners.

        My message then to you and to all gathered here this evening? Rejoice in the grace of Confirmation! Know yourselves through this sacrament to be strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit! Pray every day, morning, noon, and night, for the Lord to stand by you, and to protect you and all those whom you love! Be confident and brave in your personal struggle against Satan, the father of lies! Let Christ’s light shine in your heart and through you brighten the world, simply for the sake of joy and for our well-founded hope in the life of the world to come.

        The little old catechism I learned as a child, and with which I am sure that at least your grandparents are familiar, started off with the question: “Why did God make me?” The answer: “God made me to know, love and serve Him in this life, so as to be happy with Him forever in heaven.” It is as simple as that. Nothing else should complicate your life or make you swerve off course.

“Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth”!

PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI