All are invited to attend the Confirmation of 78 of our young people at 1 p.m. this Saturday, February 8. The Most Reverend Mark Bartosic, Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago for Vicariate II, will celebrate the Mass and confer the sacrament. These young people, called candidates during their time of preparation, come from Queen of Angels School and 30+ different public, private and charter schools. Eighteen candidates are in high school. Candidates come from a variety of backgrounds and have many different interests and after-school activities. Their Confirmation Prep classes helped them deepen their relationship with Jesus, get to know the Holy Spirit a little better, and become familiar with the rituals of the Confirmation Mass. They wrote letters to Monsignor Jim requesting that he present them for Confirmation, and they reflected on the lives of the saints by whose names the bishop will call them.
Our young people were asked to perform and document at least 10 hours of Christian service, and 39% of candidates enjoyed it so much that they completed more than was required. They packed staple foods to ship to Iraq for Feed My Starving Children and fed the hungry in our city with their own hands at Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Theresa of Avila Soup Kitchens and our local St. Vincent de Paul Thanksgiving Food Drive. They taught skills to younger children and were attentive to the needs of seniors and persons with disabilities. They lent their youthful energy to vital tasks for fundraising, advocacy, holiday decorating, and day-to-day operations at Queen of Angels Parish and several different schools, churches and charities. Through study of healthy relationships, Catholic Social Teaching, the Beatitudes, and the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, the candidates made connections between their actions and their faith.
The Confirmation candidates also spent time deepening their sacramental and prayer life. They attended Mass regularly with their families and as a group in October for the Rite of Enrollment. They experienced praise and worship music, inspiring talks, Eucharistic Adoration and Mass with thousands of other young people during Holy Fire at UIC last Fall. They recently went to confession to purify their hearts for the coming of the Holy Spirit. During their preparation, they have prayed in written and spoken word, in song, with the Scriptures, in quiet meditation, in rap, in gesture, and in ancient chants.
These candidates have also been challenged to continue to develop their faith beyond Confirmation as fully initiated Catholic Christians. Let us invite them into the ministries of our parish and mentor them in responsible citizenship in our Church. Join them this week in praying for the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Knowledge, Counsel (Right Judgment), Understanding, Fortitude (Courage), Piety (Reverence) and Fear of the Lord (Wonder and Awe).