Confirmation

Confirmation is celebrated in May and the candidate must be at least 15 years old at the time of Confirmation. The Candidate must also have attended Youth Ministry for the year before they receive the sacrament (typically 9th grade) as well as the year they receive (typically 10th grade).

Sponsor for Confirmation

In the Fall of that year the candidate for Confirmation should begin thinking about who will be their sponsor at Confirmation. The following qualifications are necessary for someone to be a sponsor:

The person must be at least 16 years old and have been fully initiated into the church through the reception of the three sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. In addition the person must be a practicing Catholic.
According to Canon law (#874), the sponsor has to be someone other than the candidate’s parents.
The sponsor should be someone who could be available to talk or write to the candidate on a regular basis during time of preparation. It is recommended that the sponsor accompany the candidate to some of the special events leading up to Confirmation.

If the candidate selects as a sponsor a person who does not live in the immediate area, a proxy or stand-in should also be selected to be an immediate resource to meet with as needed. Remember the proxy should be a practicing Catholic.

Service Ministry

Each candidate is required to complete at least 5 hours of community service.Service ministry does not have to be performed within the Holy Spirit Faith Community. It can be done in school or in our local communities as well. Don’t wait until the last minute to think about this. Service is one of the most important ways in which we live out our faith and it can’t be taught from a book. Besides, it makes us feel good …honest!

Preparation for the Sacrament

Attendance at regular Youth Ministry sessions on Sunday evenings beginning in 9th grade. The Sacrament in celebrated in 10th Grade.

6 hour Confirmation Class outside of regular Sunday night classes
Signing of the Book of Confirmandi
April - service ministry hours must be completed
Confirmation is celebrated in May at the Auriesville Shrine (as determined by the Bishop)

Please contact the Ann Marie Simonson at 518-848-1986 or Email nosnomis3@yahoo.com if you would like more information about Confirmation or to use our online form click here.

If you would like to learn more about the Sacrament of Confirmation please click here.

‘Fully alive’ NCYC youth challenged to celebrate mysteries of faith, science and self

30 Nov, 2023

by OSV News (OSV News) — Grace Stecker of the Diocese of Helena, Mont., pulled out her cell phone and called her dad, right in the middle of a talk during the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC). In fact, teens all around her were talking on their phones, even as the speaker stood on the stage. But they had his permission. “I want you right now, in one minute, to just make a call to somebody in your life whom you love, who’s pretty special, whom you appreciate,” Scripture scholar and astrophysicist Father John Kartje asked of the more than 12,000 NCYC participants. The request came as part of his talk on the oneness of God and the universe — faith and science — that served as the topic of the opening session of NCYC in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Nov. 16. He began the talk echoing words spoken by Archbishop Charles C. Thompson just moments before. “The line that really struck me amongst everything he said is this,” Father Kartje noted: “You’re not a problem to be solved, but you are a mystery to be encountered.”

New book explores how Our Lady of Guadalupe sparked millions of conversions

30 Nov, 2023

by Katie Yoder Joseph Julián and Monique González still remember the moment they decided to write a book shedding new light on Our Lady of Guadalupe: May 10, 2016, the month of Mary and the date of Mexico’s Mother’s Day. “After years of initial research, we were sitting in a coffee shop and looked at each other and made a formal commitment to see the book’s writing through to the end, no matter what that meant,” the husband-and-wife team told Our Sunday Visitor. Today, that book presents a new interpretation of Our Lady of Guadalupe by delving into the past ahead of her feast day on Dec. 12. “ Guadalupe and the Flower World Prophecy: How God Prepared the Americas for Conversion Before the Lady Appeared ,” published on Nov. 21, explores how Our Lady’s encounters with Juan Diego at Tepeyac Hill in Mexico in 1531 marked the culmination of thousands of years of evangelical preparation of the people of Mesoamerica.

Advent trust

29 Nov, 2023

“Trusting in God’s Grace” by Cathy Donovan in Family Faith on the Go The hardest prayer I have ever uttered was, “God, you know best; your will be done.” I immediately felt a sense of fear at having given over my control of the situation and asking God to take over. And then I felt a sense of acceptance knowing that God’s response would be better than anything I could manage. We have been surrounded with challenges lately: a tough economy, natural disasters of biblical proportions, political unrest and violence in many countries. Watching the news can be downright depressing! Maybe you feel a bit like Job right now, facing personal life challenges that rattle your soul and shake your faith. During Advent we are in the a liturgical season of hope. It is hope in our God, who loves us so much he sent his Son to join us in our humanity, in our challenges and triumphs, in our joys and in our sorrow. This is the season of “Emmanuel” — God with us. God does not promise to fish us out of our struggles. Rather, God promises to be with us in them. God stands ready, with arms open wide, to embrace us when we need it most. We need only trust and fall into God’s embrace. This content comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

Intertwined priorities

29 Nov, 2023

Faith Focus for the Week What are my priorities? Do they reflect Jesus’ intertwined commandments of loving God and loving neighbor as self? What would our lives look like if we really took to heart the two intertwined commandments that Jesus succinctly places before us, to love God with all our heart, soul and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves? (See Matthew 22:34-40) Would we reorder our time so that Sunday Mass, daily prayer and regular participation in the Sacrament of Penance are always on our calendar? Would we carve out time for serving others? Might we recognize our talents as gifts from God and discern the ways we might give the gifts back, with increase, at home, in our parish, in the workplace and in the world? Would we consider that the ways we spend time, money and attention are signs of our priorities? It is likely that most of us considering the list above would say “yes” to each question. As we hear and reflect on the Gospels, let us take Jesus’ challenge to heart and act accordingly: love God, love neighbor. This article comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.