Confirmation 2002

Confirmation Preparation 2006-2007

Click Here for the Confirmation Preparation Calendar

Message to Confirmation Preparation Candidates

This is a year of discernment. You are called to make a decision for Christ through the Catholic Church. Faith is a gift from God that must be accepted or rejected by all Catholics. At Baptism, our parents and godparents accepted that faith for us. At some point each one of us must make a personal decision to accept or reject the faith we received from this community.

When this decision is made, it is no longer our parents' faith -- it is our own.

Confirmation Preparation Overview

The Parish invites all teens in grades 10-12 to reflect on their readiness to prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation. For those teens who become candidates, the experience will be challenging and incredibly rewarding. Whereas there is no attendance taken at LIFE! nights, candidates for Confirmation are expected to commit themselves to the preparation through the entire year, making two interviews, a Retreat and individual projects. If you're interested in getting more information on Confirmation Preparation at St. Joseph's please contact the High School Youth Minister, Kate Berry.

Aspects of Confirmation Preparation

Interviews
Each candidate will have two individual interviews. The initial interview (August or September) will give you the opportunity to name why you wish to be included in this preparation. A second interview will be towards the end of the preparation (April or May). Appointments can be made with the High School Youth Minister, Kate Berry, by candidate only.

Community Building
This preparation will offer several various opportunities to build community throughout the year, the obvious opportunity being LIFE TEEN Mass. Candidates should plan on attending the weekly 6:00 p.m. Mass as it gives candidates a strong sense of what it means to be a teenager active and alive in the Church. Other opportunities include:

Weekly Small Group Sessions occur Sunday evenings (7:15-8:45 p.m.). Within small groups, teens will have the opportunity to gather with others their own age, to discuss what is happening in daily lives, to share faith, to pray, and to investigate aspects of our Catholic Christian faith.
Retreat experiences have proven to be a successful way of building community while deepening faith. There is one mandatory Confirmation Retreat. There is no replacement for this retreat weekend. Candidates are invited to attend the other two retreats offered for all teenagers. All retreats are at Camp Friendship. This year's retreat schedule is:
-- Fall Retreat (November 2-4, 2007) at Urban Immersion
-- Winter Retreat at Camp Friendship in Annandale, MN - February 9-10, 2008
-- Confirmation Retreat -- May 2-4, 2008 at Camp Friendship


	2008 Confirmation Retreat

Service
Each candidate should choose and complete one Service Experience per semester. Candidates are not required to fulfill a certain number of hours, yet choose an experience that reflects the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ: Love one another as I have loved you. Upon completion of each experience, the candidate should write a one page response to the following question: How does this service experience reflect the life and ministry of Jesus?

What is a Confirmation Sponsor?

Many people wonder what being a sponsor is all about. They are not sure they should be one. If that is you, it may help you to think of sponsoring a candidate in the simplest of terms. Being a “sponsor” means being a “companion.” Being a good sponsor means listening to and sharing your life and faith with your candidate. They trust you. They have chosen you. Now it is your turn to choose them. Being a sponsor doesn’t mean having all the answers, or being the perfect Christian. The sponsor/candidate relationship is not a teacher/student relationship. Rather, it is two people discovering together the presence of God in the world, the faith community and in each other. To be the mature, Roman Catholic companion your candidate needs, it is important for you to pray, listen, witness and model your faith.

A Sponsor Models Christian Living

If Christianity could be taught like any other subject, we would not need sponsors. The ongoing experience of living in Christ can only be handed on from person to person. Think of Christianity like the emotions felt at an exciting event (a ball game or party). It is alive and active, exists in moments and can only be shared between people.

To be a sponsor, or model, you are passing on values to the candidate. If a person changes their point of view or action, it is because they respect and admire someone who demonstrates a different point of view or action from their own. Witnessing our faith is everyone’s responsibility, but your candidate may look to you before others. They already do. They have chosen you as their sponsor.

As a witness to the Christian life, you also function as a bridge. It is your task to help your candidate know this Parish and its people better and help them accept responsibility to their baptismal call. The way you participate in the faith community will be your greatest gift to your candidate.

A Sponsor Prays

When we reflect on our lives in connection with Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, we pray. This kind of prayer allows the Holy Spirit to continue the conversion process begun in us at baptism. Prayer makes us sensitive to the presence of God in our ordinary day to day living. Failing to pray distances us from God and makes the possibility of living the Christian way of life remote.

Your candidate will be looking to you as they strive to discover their own path of continual conversion. Sharing your prayer life will be an immense help. Now may be the time for you to discover for yourself the form of prayer best suited to you. Praying with scripture or practicing centering prayer may be the way you find best to come to know God.

A Sponsor Listens

One of the primary tasks of a sponsor is to help the candidate uncover their own story. That can only happen when we allow the candidate to speak and when we listen with reverence to what they have to say. They need to know we value them as a person and that we regard them as an authentic voice of Christ in our faith community. Good listening allows the kind of sharing to happen that helps people grow in self-understanding and confidence.

Sometimes it is hard for us to put our story aside and listen to another’s. That may be the biggest challenge of being a sponsor, but it will also bring the greatest reward. We all have much to teach and much to learn. Listening is one of the best tools we have.

A Sponsor is Supported

The Parish Community of Saint Joseph’s supports the sponsor/candidate relationship throughout the preparation process. It is vital that you feel connected to the Parish Community through worship and prayer. Know that the Coordinator of Confirmation, parents of candidates and catechists in the process will be walking with you as you share your faith with the candidate.

Confirmation Projects

First Semester
Choose a family member you would like to interview. Ask these questions:
1. When did you first experience a personal relationship with God?
2. What was the relationship like at that time?
3. Do you experience God more as parent, sibling, spirit, or what?
4. How has your relationship with God changed through the years?
5. What is prayer like for you? Does it really seem like speaking to and listening to God?
6. Any other questions along this line that you want to ask.
When finished, write a one-page write-up of his/her answers. Include an answer and reflection to this question: What is there about this person's faith that I hope to someday be part of my experience, too?
Second Semester Make arrangements to visit and worship with one faith community. Here are some examples:
--Temple Israel
Minneapolis (612) 377-8680
--Church of the Open Door
Crystal (763) 537-4495
--Crystal Evangelical Free
New Hope (763) 533-2449
--St. George Greek Othodox
St. Paul (612) 222-6220
--St. James AME
St. Paul (651) 721-4566
You may wish to visit with your family or with you small group.
Following your visit, write a one-page essay about your experience. What were your reactions or responses to this community? How was worshipping with them similar to worshipping at our parish?

Confirmation Preparation Connections

The LIFE TEEN Connection
The Parish of St. Joseph is entering its 10^th year of LIFE TEEN Ministry (see Overview), and what a year it will be for us. You are loved and appreciated for who you are. It is exciting to have teenagers preparing for this awesome Sacrament through LIFE TEEN Ministry.

Please note, when there are no Confirmation Preparation Small Groups, confirmation candidates are encouraged to attend the High School LIFE! Night.

FAMILY & PARISH INVOLVEMENT

First and foremost, the Parish Community must extend a WELCOME to the young people preparing to celebrate Confirmation. In addition, the Parish will be asked to commit to become partners in PRAYER with our young people. Finally, the Parish Community is called to WITNESS to the faith it professes. Young people desperately need to SEE faith lived out in the fully initiated community. Families are the domestic church and need the bonding that only shared prayer and shared faith can bring to them. Your family’s presence at Mass will make this happen.

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This page last updated on 05/06/2008