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Please read the following information regarding Confirmation. For the video preparation resources, please click here: Confirmation Programme “9 Lessons”. Once you have finished you can register for Confirmation 2021 by >>clicking here<<

What is the Sacrament?

As you will see, Confirmation preparation involves learning, sharing, serving, fellowship, spiritual growth and fun! Your child will be given the opportunity to learn more about their Catholic faith and what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is the Sacrament in which one is enriched by the gift of the Holy Spirit and bound more perfectly to the Church. strengthens us and obliges us to be witnesses to Christ by word and deed and to spread and defend the faith. It is the Sacrament in which one enters into full membership in the Catholic Church perfects Baptismal grace; it is the sacrament which strengthens us with the Holy Spirit in order to root us more deeply as children of God, incorporate us more firmly into Christ, strengthen our bond with the Church, associate us more closely with her mission, and help us to bear witness to the Christian faith in words accompanied by deeds.

A Christian does not live as a child of God through his or her own efforts alone, but through the grace of God.
As you are aware, we are living in a difficult and challenging time. Our preparation this year will not be like other years. We will encourage you to support your child by engaging in our parish online preparations. This page gives you some guidelines on ways you can support your child in preparing for this Sacrament.

How you can support your child

• Worship with your families regularly
• Be actively involved in the Confirmation preparation of your child
• Engage in discussions about the material being studied includ-ing sharing
• Encourage your child to reflect and thoughtfully consider the decision to
• Pray for your child’s spiritual growth every day
• Support and encourage completion of assignments, activities and
• Emphasize the importance of the sacrament of Confirmation by taking an active part in the celebration of Confirmation
• Create a family prayer space.
• Pray with your child at home.

“As the primary educators of their children: parents are to be intimately involved in the catechesis for Confirmation. This will help them renew and strengthen their own faith, besides enabling them to set a better example for their children”

NDC:119

Confirmation Program Calendar

• Enrolment Mass – Sunday 4th October @10:30AM
• 2nd Preparation Mass – Sunday 8th November @10:30AM
• 3rd Preparation Mass – Sunday 6th December @10:30AM
• 4th Preparation Mass – Sunday 31st January @10:30AM
• 5th Preparation Mass –Sunday 21st February @10:30AM
• All Masses will be online via our parish YouTube channel
• Ceremony of Light – will be incorporated into the confirmation ceremony if the current restrictions are still in place next year.
• Sacrament of Confirmation – will take place first week of March but if the current restrictions due to Covid –19 are still in place we will communicate dates and times for each school.

Setting up a Prayer Space in your home

A prayer or sacred space is a small area in which you can place symbols that help your child to sense and express that God is present in their lives. Children often use their sacred space at home as an area for the “holy objects” that they ac-cumulate from home, school, relations and parish.
It doesn’t have to be complicated. A window sill or corner of a table will do. Place a coloured cloth here with a Can-dle and any other sacred symbols that appeal to your child. Talk with them about the meaning of the objects & sym-bols they are placing in their sacred space. They can be changed with the different seasons eg. at Christmas and Easter.

N.B. Always supervise children around lighting candles.

Suggestions for praying with your child

• Use the prayers your child is learning at school
• Say a grace before meals when you sit down to eat as a family.
• Encourage them to pray for friends & relatives.
• Pray with your child before they go to sleep at night. This is a lovely time to talk over their day and to thank God for the good things in our lives and to ask God to bless all the people we love.

How Confirmation Candidate and Family can prepare together

• Participate in religion classes in school
• Register your child on our parish website for the Sacrament of Confirmation
• Choose a qualified sponsor and meet regularly with him/her (preferably via zoom if physical meeting not possible)
• Choose a saint’s name as your Confirmation name and write a biography about that saint.
• Participate in the online preparation Mass in our parish
• Be regularly involved in social justice activities
• Participate in the Parish Confirmation program
• Participate in the Confirmation rehearsals through the school

The Sponsor

• Must be a practicing Roman Catholic over 16yrs who attends Mass regularly
• supports the person to be confirmed in their commitment to a Christian life
• must know the candidate and be willing to serve as a strong and longlasting Christian influence on the candidate
• must be fully initiated themselves, having received Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist
• should be sufficiently mature in their own faith commitment
• may be either male or female for any candidate
• must be reasonably informed on current church teachings
• may accompany the candidate to special liturgies and preparation programs
• may not be the parents of the candidate
• assists in determining the candidate’s readiness for the sacrament
• presents the candidate to the priest or Bishop during the Confirmation

Choosing a Confirmation Name

In both the Old and New Testament, when God had a new mission for someone, He often gave them a new name. Even without a new name, your name has always told others who you are. God call each of us to fulfill a special mission. It may be helping the poor, being a peacemaker or one of many other callings. Confirmation may be the continuation of a mission you began at Baptism, or the beginning of a new mission. Confirmation can be seen as the beginning of a new mission for you and a fresh beginning in your faith journey. For that reason you are encouraged to choose a new name for Confirmation. Your Confirmation name should be that of a saint you admire or the saint name of someone you know and look up to as a Christian role-model.

Taking part in the Ceremony of Light

Service of Light is a pre- confirmation ceremony which has been added to the preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. This ceremony involves parents or guardians passing on lighted Baptismal candle to their child as an acknowledgement that the child is now ready to be a responsible
Christian. This shows the link between our Baptism and Confirmation. At the Child’s Baptism, parents lighted Baptismal candle from Paschal Candle on behalf of the child being baptized. Parent do this as a sign they want to pass on the light of Christ to their Child. In the same way, during the ceremony of light, parents once again light the Baptismal candle from Paschal candle and hand over the lighted candle to their child. At the same time promising to support and help their child live out their Christian calling. The child at the same time promise to keep the light of faith
burning in their life. In this ceremony as well, Confirmation candidates make promises not to abuse alcohol or drugs.

Once you have completed reading the above information continue to register for Confirmation 2021 by >>clicking here<<

You can find more on our Confirmation Programme “9 Lessons” page here.