St. Peter Parish HS Program for Confirmation Preparation
Purpose of this program: The primary goal of this program is to prepare you for the Sacrament of Confirmation. This is not a class, there will be no grades given. There will be criteria that we will use to judge whether you are ready or not to take this step of being confirmed. It is our wish that you understand what those expectations are. We do not wish to surprise you with any last minute requirements. It is our hope and experience that these criteria help you in the process of finding out more about yourself, your faith, and the mission into which you are being confirmed. We take this very seriously, as what we are preparing for is a Sacrament of the Catholic Church. We ask that you approach this with the same kind of seriousness and self-reflection.
A: Sessions: There will be sixteen sessions spread over eight months. These sessions are divided into large and small Group sessions. There will be seven large group sessions held at St. Peters with all of the parish’s candidates. There will be seven small group sessions. The sessions will reaffirm what you already know about Catholicism, challenge you with new angles and ideas, and prepare you to live as a Catholic in the world. You are expected to be at all of the sessions, however you are allowed 2 excused absences. A third absence will result in your being requested to wait till a later time for confirmation. The sessions will run for an hour and forty-five minutes. You will get out of the sessions what you put into them. As most of the time will be spent in small group, your participation is important not just to yourself, but to the others in your group. Your attitude during these sessions will be used as one of the criteria in determining your readiness to be confirmed.
B: Sponsors: By this point you should have already selected your sponsor. Your sponsor will need to be someone who exemplifies the Catholic Faith for you. This person needs to be a confirmed Catholic and be at least 16 years old. Your parents are ineligible to be your sponsor. Your Godparents would be an ideal choice for this. Your sponsor will journey with you this year helping you understand the significance of this sacrament. There will required times for you to meet with your sponsor, and times that the sponsor will be asked to join us for a meeting or prayer service. Therefore it would help if your sponsor lived around here. It’s not impossible to have a sponsor who lives far away but it will not allow that person to journey with you as well as someone who lived closer. Your sponsor is welcome and encouraged to attend any session that they wish to, however they will be asked to join you for Advent Evening Prayer at St. Peters, Confirmation Vocation Day at St. Joseph Cathedral (1-6pm), and the Rite of Confirmation (time and date TBA). The sponsors will be contacted about their responsibilities.
C: Social Justice Projects: This year we will be doing social justice projects from within our small groups. Each group will be assigned to a particular service organization. The project will be done as a group and each candidate will then fill out a questionnaire that will ask them about the project, their involvement, and the impact it had on them. The readiness of each candidate will be determined by their input and involvement in their group’s project. This requirement can also be fulfilled by attending the March for Life in Washington DC. This trip usually costs around $100. More information will follow soon
E: Parish Service Projects: Each candidate will be required to take part in one service opportunity for the parish. The candidates will be required to either help prepare the church and gym for Easter or tear down from those liturgies. The dates for this are located on your schedule. The times are TBA.
G: Mass Attendance: It is our expectation that those willing to be confirmed in the Church will be willing to actively participate in Mass on a weekly basis. Since the Eucharist is what defines us as a people of faith, it must play a central and regular role in the life of the members of the Church. We will not take attendance. We are relying on your maturity and love of God and neighbor to be motivating forces in regular Sunday worship. Lack of Mass attendance will pose grave concerns in our determination of your readiness for confirmation. We also suggest strongly that each candidate receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation before being confirmed (opportunity will be given at the retreat) and encourage the candidates to make it a regular part of their lives of faith.
H: Liturgical Events: Each candidate will be required to be at the following three liturgical events:
· Advent Evening Prayer, 6:00pm, St. Peter Church
· Vocation Reflection Day, 1-6pm, St. Joseph Cathedral
· Evening of Reflection, St Andrews Church, Holts Summit
I: Baptismal Certificates: Each candidate will be expected to have a copy of their Baptismal Certificate in to Shannon Cerneka. If you were baptized at St. Peter’s, we should have your records on file and you need not supply us with a copy of your certificate.
We want you to feel relaxed, learn, and deepen your relationships with yourselves, your community of faith, and with God. While we do require a great deal from you, we want you to know that we are at your service in trying to help you grow in your Christian faith. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to call Shannon Cerneka at 636-7002 or e-mail him at scerneka@stpeterjc.org
-Shannon Cerneka, Coordinator, St. Peter Parish Confirmation Program
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