Newly Confirmed: A Reflection

Newly Confirmed - A Reflection by Claire Marie Faith Kirby.

“Confirm (verb): to acknowledge with definite assurance.”

That’s the definition you get on www.dictionary.com. But for Catholics, the sacrament of Confirmation is so much more. During Confirmation, we firmly pledge our faith as adults.

We say YES to so much:
yes to God the Father,
God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit;
yes to carrying out the will of God in everything we do;
yes to love over hate, to hope over doubt, to life over death.

From the moment we are Confirmed, we acknowledge that we truly want to live as Jesus did, most definitely and assuredly.

I was Confirmed Wednesday, May 11th, just about two weeks ago. Once a month since September, Sister Virginia had been teaching me and the other Confirmation candidates exactly what the sacrament was about. We talked about saying “yes” to God and becoming adults in the Church, but I don’t think this fully impacted me until my Confirmation night. For all those months, I hadn’t really been looking forward to Confirmation; it was just something everyone in the Church went through—nothing too exciting. I admit, in the minutes before I left to go to the church around 6:20 that night, I was way more concerned with finding my shoes and fixing my hair than I was with becoming an adult in the Church.

However, once the Mass actually started, I started to realize…I was about to be a full-fledged, legitimate adult member of the Catholic Church. This was, in fact, something to be excited about! I could no longer think that I was too young to be active in the parish; no longer could I sit back and watch. Once Bishop Kmiec blessed and anointed me with oil, I was fully initiated. I am now Claire Marie Faith Kirby, and I’ve come to realize that the time to act for God is right here, right now. Not someday, not when I’m older. You can never be too young—or too old—to bring God’s goodness and kindness to others. More than anything, Confirmation has helped me realize this, and I’m ready to go out and spread God’s will.

On the Holy Spirit

Veni Sancte Spiritus - Come Holy Spirit!   Pentecost is the Church's great celebration of the Holy Spirit.  Pentecost is from a Greek word meaning "50th."  It has been 50 days since Easter.  Originally, Pentecost was a Jewish celebration 50 days after Passover. Devout Jews still celebrate "Shavout," the Hebrew word for this holyday. Pentecost is often referred to as the "birthday" of the Church.  The disciples began to preach the Good News once the Spirit came upon them. The opening chapters of the Acts of the Apostles recount the Pentecost experience.

St. Basil the Great (A.D. 330 - 379) wrote an astounding work on the Holy Spirit.  In fact, his words are used in the Office of Readings for Tuesday of the 7th Week of Easter.  That's this week, between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday; the week when the Church prepares for Pentecost. The Office of Readings is part of the Liturgy of the Hours which is always available on our website under "liturgy."



In On the Holy Spirit Chapter 9:22-23, (see: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3203.htm) St. Basil writes:

From the Spirit comes foreknowledge of the future,
understanding of the mysteries of the faith,
insight into the hidden meaning of Scripture,
and other special gifts.


Through the Spirit we become citizens of heaven,
we are admitted to the company of the angels,
we enter into eternal happiness,
and abide in God.


Through the Spirit we acquire a likeness to God;
indeed, we attain what is beyond our most sublime aspirations --
we become God.

As I prepare to preach on Pentecost (a first for me!), I've been thinking of St. Basil's words a lot.  I may well use some of his words in the homily.  I am attracted to the Eastern theological notion of theosis. Deacons may be particularly attuned to this notion because of the words we say quietly when we put water into the wine at the altar: "by the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled Himself to share in our humanity." I am rereading St. Ambrose's similarly titled text on the Holy Spirit tonight.

I am also reviewing Pope John Paul II's Encyclical on the Holy Spirit called "The Lord and Giver of Life." Here is a link if you want to delve into it with me. http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_18051986_dominum-et-vivificantem.html

Feel free to share your Spirit-filled ideas with me by emailing deaconhynes@gmail.com anytime.

a random catechetical moment !!! --  sometimes the word "Ghost" is used instead of "Spirit."  Perhaps this is most evident in the famous hymn "Come Holy Ghost." The word "ghost" is from the German word "Geist." Generally speaking, the word "Spirit" is preferrred today to avoid the negative connotations attached to "ghost."  The word "spirit" is of Latin origin.  In Greek, the word is "pneuma."

The "Read More" link below will take you to the original Latin words of the famous hymn Veni Sancte Spiritus (Come Holy Spirit/Ghost).  The Latin words are particularly beautiful. There is an English translation in the missalette, and we will be handing out another translation to be used as our Sequence this weekend.  The Sequence is a hymn that precedes the Gospel on super-important solemnities like Pentecost.

Holy Spirit - Getting Ready!

Liturgically speaking, the Holy Spirit is coming soon. 

Like the first followers of Jesus in the beginning of the Acts (or history of) the Apostles, we, the Church, are getting ready for the Spirit's arrival.

This is the origin of the word "novena."  The word means "nine."  Catholics often dedicate nine days in a row to particular prayers, imploring the intercession of one of the saints, or for a special intention.  The tradition of novenas comes from the nine days the Apostles spent together in prayer between Jesus' Ascension and Pentecost. The Church is re-presenting this original novena during her liturgical year right now.

We'll post more about Pentecost and the Holy Spirit soon. There will be some ideas from the Bible, the Fathers of the Church, and a commentary on the famous traditional hymn we sing on Pentecost - Veni, Sancte Spiritus (Come, Holy Spirit.)

Meanwhile, join us in preparing for this huge holyday in the Church by praying, reading the Bible, and tuning in to the role of the Holy Spirit in your life.