Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation

*NEW** There is a new page dedicated to our Confirmation Liturgy, complete with dress code guidelines, reception details and mass arrival times. Just click the link and enjoy!  

Level of Commitment

Your child is being Confirmed! This is a great time of formation, of struggling with their faith and their own place in our Church. We are here in Youth Ministry to help make this time as powerful, as informative and as life-changing as possible, but we cannot do this alone.

Not very many people know this, but Confirmation is the final Sacrament of Initiation in the Catholic Church (Baptism, Eucharist being the other two). This is the sacrament that completes the process of becoming a full member in our church. Back in the early Church, Confirmation was celebrated with First Communion and Baptism for infants! Since the candidates are older today, this involves some new responsibilities on the candidate for Confirmation and on the family that is seeking Confirmation with them.

Here at St. John Neumann we take this process very seriously. Formation is only 10 classes long so it is absolutely critical that we are on time and on target. 

Here are the strictly enforced policies for attendance and for paperwork.

Attendance and Tardiness

Confirmation class doors are open from 12:30-12:50pm. Class starts at 12:45pm. If teens have not signed in by 12:55, they will be counted absent. Since there are only 10 classes, missing more than 1 class is the equivalent of missing a fifth of the course. If your teen misses more than one class, they may not be confirmed this year.

Paperwork

Paperwork for receiving the Sacrament is very important that it is turned in on time. Late paperwork may result in your child not being confirmed this year! Reminders of due dates will go out to the teens in the classes, but it is their responsibility to make sure they are turning it in on time.

Extreme Situations

If you have an extreme situation, you must to contact me, Michael Gormley, so that we can work these issues out in an appropriate way. Exceptions will be rare. For instance, if your teen was baptized in a foreign country, acquiring the baptismal certificate may take longer than 20 days. Situations due occur, but please note that a tournament, recital, tests, school projects and homework do not count as extreme situations.

Mass Attendance

Part of the formation process for Confirmation is really about renewing your baptismal promises. Baptism initiates us into the new life that Jesus Christ died and rose to give us. The Resurrected Life is the Christian life and the way we are initiated into that life, filled with that life and put into direct contact with Jesus Christ is through the sacramental life of the Church.

Candidates and their families are expected to live this sacramental life especially during this time of formation. We have placed Confirmation after the 11:30AM Mass to help make it easy for you to do this. The sacrament of Reconciliation will be available for the candidates on the retreat, and is available for our parish on Tuesday mornings and Saturday afternoons here in the worship space.