GUIDELINES

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• Login should be with Student Name and Surname. No logging in from Multiple devices (Just one ID per student).

• Log in at the scheduled time - please avoid entering the classroom late.

• Our class session will include prayer, presentation, discussions, audio-visuals and question-answer session towards the end of class.

• Attendance is mandatory. However, we appreciate if the parent/student informs us in advance his/her inability to attend the class only for valid and emergent reasons.

• All children should revise the prayers at home and make it a practice to recite the prayers during the daily rosary.

• Due to limited online class duration, parents may read the Acts of the Apostles chapters/verses after the holy rosary as this is an integral part of our faith formation.

THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION

CONFIRMATION CLASS 8

LESSON 20

RECAP – WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT

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Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. He is the gift of God who shares His life with all

mankind. He is our helper and guide. He strengthens us to help us to follow Christ with faith and love. He is the

love between the Father and the Son.

When the Lord commissioned His followers to be His Witness “to the ends of the earth” He promised: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”. Acts 1:8

50 days after His resurrection, it was on the day of Pentecost

that our Heavenly Father poured out the gift of the Holy

Spirit on the disciples to give them power, and the strength

that Jesus had promised them.

This pouring of the Holy Spirit was experienced when they all

gathered in a room along with Mother Mary, when suddenly a

storm of wind and fire came upon them, and were filled with

the Spirit of God’s power and began to speak in strange ways

with the power of God behind them.

We celebrate this day as the birthday of the Church.

RECAP - WHAT IS CONFIRMATION

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Youcat 202: What is Confirmation?

CONFIRMATION is the SACRAMENT that completes

Baptism; in it the gift of the Holy Spirit is bestowed

upon us.

Anyone who freely decides to live a life as God’s child and

asks for God’s Spirit under the signs of the imposition

of hands and anointing with CHRISM receives the

strength to witness to God’s love and might in word

and deed.

He is now a full-fledged, responsible member of the

Catholic CHURCH.

The word Confirmation comes from the Latin word “confirmatio” which means “a strengthening”.

PREPARATION STAGE

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Youcat 206: Who can be Confirmed?

Any Catholic who has received the:

- Sacrament of Baptism and

- is in a “state of grace” can be admitted to Confirmation: To be in ‘state of grace’, means not to have committed any

serious sin (mortal sin).

- Activate your faith by planting His word more deeply in the soil of you

heart-Read the Bible

- Spend more time in personal prayer with God - Converse with Jesus more

often.

- Either pray alone or with others for the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

- Reconcile with God and with the people around you. Confession is part of

this, because it brings one closer to God even if one has not committed

mortal sin.

Preparing for Confirmation is a very important phase of your life. You need to:

WHO MAY CONFIRM?

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The celebration of Confirmation takes place at a Mass presided by

the Bishop along with the priests assisting him for mass.

While confirming Catholics in their diocese, the Bishop and the priests,

wears red vestments that symbolize the red tongues of fire seen hovering

over the heads of the Apostles of Pentecost.

Youcat 207: Wh0 may Confirm?

The Sacrament of Confirmation is normally administered by the BISHOP.

For weighty reasons when necessary, the bishop can also delegate a priest

to do it.

Why the Bishop?

Bishops are the successors of the apostles. They have received the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Hence, only

he can minister the Sacrament of Confirmation and Ordination.

STEP 1 – RENEWAL OF BAPTISMAL PROMISES

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Confirmation is something that happens betweenheaven and earth, between your God and you.- You will say ’YES’ to the gift of God, the Holy

Spirit;- He will come into your life and- He will never again leave you, not even in

the moment of your departure from thisearth, for he loves you without end.

The Bishop: Do you renounce Satan and all his works and all his empty promises?Candidates: I do.

After the negative comes the positive:

The Bishop: Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth?Candidates: I do.The Bishop: Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered death and was buried, rose again from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father?Candidates: I do.

Then the Bishop with ask you if you are really serious about the Church:

The Bishop: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who came upon the Apostles at Pentecost and today is given to you sacramentally in confirmation?Candidates: I do.The Bishop: Do you believe in the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?Candidates: I do.

Then the Bishop confirms your profession of faith:

The Bishop: This is our faith. This is the faith of the Church. We are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus our Lord.All present: Amen.

After the Bishop has given his Homily, The Rite of Confirmation begins with the renewal of baptismal promises and theprofession of faith by the candidates. Without faith, no one can receive any of the Sacraments. If you wish to receive theHoly Spirit, you must renounce everything that is opposed to God.

During the Rite of Confirmation, the candidates stand as a group for questioning by the presiding Bishop:

STEP 2 – LAYING OF HANDS

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The Bishop - Dear friends, in Baptism God our Father gave the newbirth of eternal life to his chosen sons and daughters. Let us pray toour Father that he will pour out the Holy Spirit to strengthen his sonsand daughters with his gifts and anoint them to be more like Christthe Sons of God.(All pray in silence for a short time, and from their hearts. You may also kneel at this moment, since kneeling is a posture of especially intense prayer).

The Bishop - All powerful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by water and theHoly Spirit you freed your sons and daughters from sin and gave them new life.Send your Holy Spirit, upon them to be their helper and guide. Give them thespirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgement and courage, thespirit of knowledge and reverence. Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe inyour presence. We ask this through Christ our Lord.All respond: Amen.

(So be it; we ask this too!)

At Baptism, we first received the taste ofthe power of the Holy Spirit, we began toshare in the work of Christ as Priest,Prophet and King.

At Confirmation, we reach a second stagein the process of becoming more likeChrist.

Gifts of the Holy SpiritWisdom, Awe (Fear of the Lord), Counsel,Knowledge, Courage, Understanding, Piety

Fruits of the Holy SpiritLove, Joy, Peace, Kindness, Goodness,Patience, Faithful, Gentleness, Self-control

The Bishop EXTEND HIS HANDS (the concelebrants too extend their right hands) over thecandidates to be confirmed as a sign of the sending down of the Holy Spirit upon them.

The HANDS are a symbol of the power and strength that will come to them throughthe Holy Spirit.

Just as Mary and the disciples fervently prayed for the coming of the Holy Spirit,the Bishop invites the whole congregation to pray together, with the followingwords:

With this gesture, he prays the following words over the candidates:

STEP 3 – ANOINTING WITH CHRISM

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The Confirmation candidates are now brought forward to the Bishop by their sponsors. TheBishop then dips his right thumb in the chrism, places his hand on the candidates head and thenseals each candidate withHOLY CHRISM by tracing the SIGN OF THE CROSS on the forehead.As the Bishop does this he says the following words with the person’s name:

CHRISM comes from Greek word chrisma =‘oil of anointing’; and christos = ‘anointed one’.Jesus himself is known as the ‘Christ’. In thepast, in Israel they would anoint kings,priests and prophets with chrism. Incidently,in Hebrew, the word “Messiah” means the“anointed one”.Since we belong to Christ, the confirmationcandidates share in the dignity of Christ, thegreat Priest, King and Prophet.

The Bishop then taps the candidates cheek, as a reminder to bebrave in spreading and defending the faith with the following words:The Bishop: Peace be with you.The candidate: And with your spirit

The anointing tells the candidate that he has been called byChrist to share in his life and his work.

The richness of the oil is a symbol of the generous blessing ofGod. It represents strength – the strength which will be neededto live as true followers of Jesus.

The attractive smell of balsam has a symbolic significance: itmeans the candidates have the duty to spread (or bear witnessto) the “fragrance of the knowledge of Christ”, that is to say, theGOSPEL.

The Bishop: ‘Name of the candidate’ and adds ‘Be sealed withthe gift of the Holy Spirit’,The candidate: Amen

(Yes, so be it. I want this. I agree to this.)

The cotton wool is used by the sponsors to wipe the forehead of the confirmed.

STEP 4 – LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST – FINAL STEP

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Prayers of the Faithful – we pray for the Church, the world,the candidates, and other particular intentions and needs

Offerings – presentation of gifts, the bread and wine is brought forward in procession

Communion Rite – through communion we strengthen and deepen ourrelationship with Jesus and with one another.

Liturgy of the Eucharist – we need to constantly renew our strength

Homework

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• Read Acts of the Apostles – Chapter 20

• Prayer –

SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (WACK CUP) 1. Wisdom 2. Awe and Wonder OR Fear of the

Lord 3. Counsel OR Right Judgment 4. Knowledge 5. Courage OR Fortitude6. Understanding 7. Piety OR Reverence

FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 1. Charity OR (Love) 2. Joy 3. Peace 4. Patience 5. Goodness 6. Kindness 7. Long suffering OR Generosity 8. Humility OR Gentleness 9. Faithfulness 10. Modesty 11. Continence OR Self-control 12. Chastity.