This is again written before I even begin retreat! If it were written in the normal cycle, I would still be on my Silent Retreat and not write this! So, it is written 2 weekends in advance! That is how prescient your pastor is! Haha!
Confirmation
On Wednesday evening, March 23rd, Bishop Stephen Parkes will be here to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on 58 young men and women of our parish! What a night of grace that will be! Please pray for them as they receive an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and their lives are filled with an abundance of grace and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
All of us who have received this Sacrament of Confirmation have received those gifts: fear of the Lord, piety, fortitude, wisdom, knowledge, counsel, and understanding. These are given to us to be used in our daily Christian life of discipleship. A question for us all: do we open them and use them? Do we ask the Holy Spirit to give us fortitude when living the Gospel of Jesus seems difficult? Do we ask for wisdom as we tackle a particular issue in our family or our work environment? My brothers and sisters, these are given to us to use. This Sacrament is not the end of our Christian life, it is the beginning. The race begins with Confirmation. The battle commences and we are now soldiers for Christ. May each of us turn towards those gifts and use them as we run this race of faith, as we fight together in this battle for our souls and the souls of all.
I will see you when I return from Retreat and visiting family!
May the Lord Jesus bless you and your families abundantly this Lenten Season!
~ Fr. Daniel Firmin