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KEEP THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION FROM THE ARCHDIOCESAN GUIDELINES IN MIND.

St. Margaret Mary Parish
Confirmation Program Guidelines
(Taken from: Sacramental Guidelines for the Archdiocese of Hartford)

PARENTS
a) The initiation of children into the sacramental life is for the most part the responsibility and concern of Christian parents. They are to form and gradually increase a spirit of faith in the children and, with the help of catechetical institutions, prepare them for the fruitful reception of the sacraments of Confirmation and the Eucharist.

b) Suitable parental instruction is to precede the celebration of the sacrament.

c) Where the faith of the parents is manifestly weak, the Confirmation of their children provides a teachable moment for spiritual renewal. However, the event should be viewed as an occasion for affirmation and hope, not challenge and confrontation.

CANDIDATES FOR CONFIRMATION
a) The call to confirmation comes as a result of inner maturity and commitment of faith in Jesus. This factor should prevail over mere social custom.

b) The age of Confirmation will vary depending upon the psychological level of development in the faith. In the future, the ninth grade will be the expected minimum. However, it is preferable to confirm in the tenth grade rather than earlier.

c) The immediate program in preparation for Confirmation should be gradually raised to an increasingly higher age of maturity. A gradual process will insure an orderly transition.

d) Where a candidate is manifestly unprepared for Confirmation because of negative motivation or total neglect of the Eucharist, the sacrament is to be postponed.

e) A personal interview should be conducted between each candidate and parish leadership in order to ascertain a readiness for effective reception of the sacrament.

f) In some parishes Confirmation candidates are assigned spiritual advisors taken from active members of the Christian Community, including younger members themselves recently confirmed, who will provide a spiritual model for the candidates. This has met with some measure of success.

g) A post-Confirmation youth program, directed by a youth minister, should be the goal of every active parish.

CATECHESIS/INSTRUCTION
Each parish is to have at least a two year Confirmation program encompassing the following dimensions:

• Confirmation as celebrating the Paschal Mystery

• Confirmation as sign of initiation into adult faith

• Confirmation as gift of hope and challenge to believers and community.

• Confirmation as sign of messianic community expressed in service and mission.

• Confirmation as affirmation of faith-community.

GRADE 8

Instruction begins in grade 8. There will be a parent meeting to explain the requirements. Each student will write a letter of commitment and complete 10 hours of approved service work.

GRADE 9

Things to remember:

You should have decided on a sponsor by now.

The interviews are being scheduled through your class teacher. Your teacher will notify you of the date and time of your interview. ALL PAPERWORK must be turned in to your teacher. Interviews will not be scheduled until all completed paperwork has been turned in. Interviews will be scheduled in May & June.

Resources

This is a list of all requirements and paperwork that needs to be completed by
the time of the Confirmation interview or by the end of May.

• Attendance at all group classes.
• Attendance at the retreat.
• A total of 20 hours of approved service work. (10 hours for grade 8 and 10 hours for grade 9)
• All necessary paperwork (see following)
• Interview

Paperwork

1. Letter to Fr. Sullivan Requesting Confirmation: include your request, your Confirmation Name and Name of your Sponsor. (See sample below.)

2. Service Hours Summary: On a separate sheet say what you did for service hours including contact person and phone number.

3. Essay: state why you chose the particular saint to be your namesake. This should include a short mention of the saint’s life and qualities as well as your reason for choosing the name. Length of two or three paragraphs should be sufficient. Please type your essay. (see page 388-398 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)

4. Baptismal Certificate: If the candidate for Confirmation was baptized at St. Margaret Mary or made First Communion here he or she will not need a copy of this. If the candidate for Confirmation was not baptized here and did not make First Holy Communion at St. Margaret Mary he or she will need to submit a copy of the Baptism Certificate to the Religious Education Office secretary.

Guidelines for the Sponsor
The Sponsor must be a confirmed, practicing Catholic 16 years of age or older. If your sponsor is from this parish, he/she will need to contact the rectory. If the sponsor is from another parish, he or she must contact their parish office and obtain a sponsor certificate. This should be sent to the student and attached to the letter requesting confirmation along with the other paperwork. NOTE: You may only have one sponsor for Confirmation. According to the Code of Canon Law, a confirmation sponsor may not be the candidate’s mother or father (#893, 874) (see page 168 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)

Interview

Each student will be interviewed by a member of the catechetical staff of the parish which includes: the Confirmation coordinator, Director of Religious Education, Youth Minister, Deacons and Priests of the parish and any other qualified person that the pastor may designate.

The interviews will be conducted on either an individual or small group basis. The point of the interview is to allow the students to express, in a more personal way, their desire to be confirmed as Roman Catholics and to clearly understand their motivation for wanting to do so. Also, the students should be ready to demonstrate that they understand the sacrament as well as the basic elements of faith and Christian living.

Following is a helpful checklist:

Basic Prayers

Sign of the Cross
The Our Father (see page 383 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)
Hail Mary (see page 383 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)
Apostles Creed (see page 382 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)
An Act of Contrition (see page 380 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)

Principles of Christian Living

The 10 Commandments (see page 373 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)
Precepts of Catholic Christians (see pages 376-7 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)
The Beatitudes (see page 373 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)
Spiritual Works of Mercy (see page 374 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)
Corporal Works of Mercy (see page 373 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)
Theological Virtues (see page 373 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)
Cardinal Virtues (see page 373 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)


The Holy Spirit and Confirmation

Pentecost (see Acts chapter 2)
Effects of Confirmation (see page 167-9 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)
Gifts of the Holy Spirit (see page 374 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)
Rite of Confirmation (see page 169 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)

Other

Holy Days of Obligation (see page 377 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)
Seven Sacraments (see page 151 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)
Archbishop and Auxiliary Bishops names
The Mass (see page 378-9 of The Catholic Faith Handbook)

Sample Letter Requesting Confirmation follows…

Date

Rev. Daniel J. Sullivan
St. Margaret Mary Church
80 Hayes Road
South Windsor CT 06074

Dear Fr. Sullivan,

I, Your Full Name Here, do hereby formally request to be fully initiated into the Roman Catholic Church through the Sacrament of Confirmation. I have been studying the faith in classes, attended a retreat day of reflection, dedicated at least 20 hours in service (explained in the attached letter) and have completed all the necessary other Sacraments of Initiation.

I would like to take the name Your Saint’s Name Here as my confirmation name for reasons explained in the attached essay.

For my sponsor I have chosen Your Sponsor’s Name Here who I feel is the best possible person to help and witness to me in my faith. He/she is a practicing Catholic as the attached sponsor certificate indicates.

Thank you for considering my candidacy in this most important step in my life.

Sincerely,

Sign Your Name Here

Type Your Name Here