Bishop Silva to restore proper order of the Sacrametns of Initation

Citing the lamentable reality that the Sacrament of Confirmation has become for too many people "the sacrament of farewell," His Excellency the Most Reverend Clarence "Larry" Silva, Bishop of Honolulu is restoring the proper order of the Sacraments of Initiation in his Diocese:

Some may point out that we have been doing what we are doing for 100 years, so why change now? The reason is simple: What we are doing is not working very well. Confirmation is often experienced more as a graduation from the Church than as a free gift of God’s grace. Pope Francis acknowledged this: “There was this experience: the sacrament of Confirmation — what is this sacrament called? Confirmation? No! Its name has changed: the ‘sacrament of farewell.’ They do this and then they leave the Church. … Many young people move off after receiving Confirmation, the sacrament of farewell, of goodbye, as I said. It is an experience of failure, an experience that leaves emptiness and discourages us. Is this true or not?” (Sept. 22, 2013).

Sadly this is true in the Diocese of Honolulu, as it is true in many other places. While Confirmation programs do meet with success in many of our young people, who do become faithful disciples of the Lord, we are still missing the mark with many others. It is apparent that we are not accomplishing the goal of converting the hearts of all our young people to the Lord. Still the problem is bigger than that. A review of statistics shows that half of the children we baptize are never confirmed. Confirming children at the time of their First Holy Communion will increase the numbers of those being confirmed and receiving the grace of the sacrament.

I have long advocated for just such a restoration and wish now to repeat what I have said four years ago, with a few additions:
 

Too often in recent decades, the notion of the Sacrament of Confirmation as a 'rite of passage' has crept into the life of the Church. None of the Sacraments are milestones or rites of passage along the Christian life; the Sacraments are not about us as much as they are about Christ Jesus.

It is often said today that the Sacrament of Confirmation allows a young person - or an older person - to "accept the faith for themselves." Rubbish! This notion you will not find in the Rite of Confirmation, in the Catechism or - unless I am much mistaken - in the tradition of the Church. The Catechism reminds us that "although Confirmation is sometimes called the 'sacrament of Christian maturity,' we must not confuse adult faith with the adult age of natural growth" (1308).

Consider the following, all of which are true: 

A person accepts the faith for himself when he renews his baptismal promises during the Easter season.

A person accepts the faith for himself when he renews his baptismal promises during the Baptism of a child.

A person accepts the faith for himself when he recites the Creed, either the Nicene Creed or the Apostles Creed, whether at Mass or during the rosary or at any other time.

A person accepts the faith for himself when he responds, "Amen," to, "The Body of Christ," and receives the Eucharistic Lord.

If a person has not accepted the faith for himself he should be doing none of these things, for in so doing he would make himself a great liar.

If Confirmation really were the acceptance of the faith for oneself, then my own reception of this great Sacrament would be meaningless. Why? I was born, baptized and confirmed on the day of my birth because I was not expected to live. Certainly as an infant of less than one day old I could not have accepted the faith for myself, and yet "his grace to me has not been ineffective" (I Corinthians 15:10).

It has been said that Confirmation is "a sacrament in search of a theology." Hogwash! It has a theology, and it always has.

Regarding the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, with my emphases:

Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the "sacraments of Christian initiation," whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed" (1285).

Because Confirmation is "a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit," it brings about "an increase and deepening of baptismal grace" (CCC, 1302-1303) and it

• roots us more firmly to Christ;
• increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
• renders our bond with the Church more perfect;
• gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross.

I am in full support of a younger age for the recption of Confirmation, even before the reception of First Communion, both to restore the proper ordering of the Sacraments of Initiation and to strengthen the grace of God in our young people.

Consider this: if Confirmation really is the sealing with the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit - which it is - why do we wait so long to give this gift to our children when they have already erroneously and - quite likely - invincibly formed their consciences? Would it not be wiser to confirm them when they are young so they have the fulness of the Holy Spirit to help them form their consciences according to the truth of the Gospel? 

I have written a few other posts on the Sacrament of Confirmation which might be of use in this discussion: on the theology of Confirmation and revisiting the age for Confirmation.

Revisiting the age for Confirmation

I have long been in favor of restoring the appropriate order of the Sacraments of Initiation and of ending the nonsensical notion of the Sacrament of Confirmation as an individual person's acceptance of the faith for himself (which is not found in any of the Church's books or documents).

With this in mind, you can imagine my delight to read Richard Becker's argument for rethinking the age for Confirmation. Part of his reasoning is as follows:

Current practice puts the accent on confirmation as a sacramental goal line, and so it is incorrectly perceived as the “source and summit of the Christian life” instead of the Eucharist. And not only does confirmation come last in line, but it also generally involves a great deal of preparation—a full year or more of instruction and formation, for example, along with any number of obligatory service projects. All those mandates can give the misleading impression that confirmation is not only the most important sacrament, but also one that must be earned.

First Holy Communion prep was, by comparison, so simple: A few crafts and some worksheets, maybe a banner, and that was it. There was never any question that the Eucharist could or should be earned, and the only real requirement was that the communicant be able to recognize the difference between ordinary elements on the one hand, and the Eucharist on the other. It was all so elementary because, well, the recipients were in elementary school.

According to the Church, kids reach the age of reason around their seventh year, and at that point they have adequate intellectual and, presumably, spiritual resources to prepare for not only confirmation, but penance and Eucharist as well. Our actions, however, indicate that confirmation is so serious that it requires greater spiritual maturity and intelligence, and so we push it off until the teen years.

This was not the ancient practice of the Church. This is not the practice of the Eastern Churches. Nor is it always the current practice in the Western Church, even in the U.S.A. I, as another example, was confirmed when I was baptized on the day I was born (I wasn't expected to live long).

Please, let's return to looking at the Sacrament of Confirmation for what it is, a strengthening of baptismal grace, rather than what it never was.

On the proper order of initiation

His Excellency the Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila, Bishop of Fargo, has been a leading adovocate for the restoration of the proper order of the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.

Speaking at Mundelein Seminary last July, he spoke against treating the Sacrament of Confirmation as "a reward, or worse, as something earned or deserved for attendance and work in a parish catechetical program."  This Sacrament is often treated this way because are under the false impression that Confirmation is about the candidate's choosing on his/her own to follow Christ.  Bishop Aquila corrected this widespread misunderstanding, saying, "Confirmation is not marked by a choice to believe or not believe in the Catholic faith. Rather as disciples we are chosen by God to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit."

As one who received the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation together on the day of my birth - as a Roman Catholic (I was not expected to survive) - I am in full agreement with Bishop Aquila on this matter.  And, it turns out, so is the Pope.

After meeting Pope Benedict XVI on March 8, 2012, Bishop Aquila said:

I was very surprised in what the Pope said to me, in terms of how happy he was that the sacraments of initiation have been restored to their proper order of baptism, confirmation then first Eucharist.

Bishop calls for Confirmation before First Communion

The Catholic News Agency has a story reported that His Excellency the Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila, Bishop of Fargo, has called for the reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation before the reception of First Holy Communion.

As someone who was confirmed when he was baptized just after death [Update: Correction: make that "after birth."  Oops!] (I was not expected to live long and the Franciscan priest knew what he was doing), I couldn't agree with him more.

CNA's text follows, with my emphases and comments:

Mundelein, Ill., Jul 9, 2011 / 06:58 am (CNA).- Bishop Samuel J. Aquila of Fargo in a recent lecture examined the sacrament of confirmation and explained his reasons for believing children should receive it before First Eucharist.


“One can speak of the many effects of confirmation and the impact it makes upon one’s life, but it is always important to remember that the divine person of the Holy Spirit is received in confirmation,” he said in July 6 remarks at the Liturgical Institute at Mundelein Seminary. “We need the gifts of the Holy Spirit, every day, every hour, every minute and every second to live a life that gives glory to the Father as Jesus glorified the Father.”

The bishop explained that he had initially favored the view that confirmation was a “sacrament of maturity” that should be reserved to high school students only. However, his view changed after further studies, work with the sacraments of initiation and experience with young children who were confirmed when they entered the Church.

Placing confirmation after First Communion “only muddied the primacy of the Eucharist as the completion of initiation into the Church and the life-long nourishment of the relationship established with the Trinity and the Church in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation,” the Fargo bishop said.

In an August 2002 pastoral letter, Bishop Aquila instructed that after children receive the sacrament of reconciliation in second grade, they should receive confirmation and First Eucharist in the third grade during the same Mass.

The bishop’s July 6 remarks surveyed the history the sacrament. Originally, confirmation was part of a “continuous rite of initiation” leading up to the reception of the Holy Eucharist. This is still the practice in the Eastern Catholic Churches.

After the fifth century, Bishop Aquila said, it became difficult in the West for a bishop to travel to all parishes to baptize and confirm all at once and so the administration of the sacraments became separated.

The custom of receiving First Communion as a second grader and later receiving confirmation in middle or high school is “a recent practice of the Church” and the Second Vatican council had called for a revision of the rite of confirmation.

Turning to the present administration of the sacrament, Bishop Aquila questioned whether the common placement of confirmation in late adolescence treats it as “a reward, or worse, as something earned or deserved for attendance and work in a parish catechetical program.”

“Should the fear of not receiving a sacrament ever be used as a means to keep a young person involved in the life of the Church? Should the gift and strengthening of the Holy Spirit be denied young persons in their most formative years?” he asked.

Bishop Aquila also wondered whether the special attention and length of preparation given to confirmation makes many perceive it to be more important than baptism and the Eucharist [this is a very good question].

The view that confirmation is a way for young people to make a personal commitment to their faith “distorts” the sacrament [very much so; it is not the one receiving the sacrament who does the confirming, but the Bishop who does the confirming!  What is more, every time a Catholic recites the Creed, renews his baptismal promises or receives Holy Communion he renews his commitment to the faith!], he said.

“Confirmation is not marked by a choice to believe or not believe in the Catholic faith. Rather as disciples we are chosen by God to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit ["It was not you who chose me..."], to be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit generously bestowed by God, and we are called to cooperate with that grace,” he explained.

Confirmation confers a gift of the Holy Spirit that is ordered to “the life of worship,” the bishop said while summarizing Catholic thought. It helps the person achieve a “more perfect integration” into the Body of Christ. This helps us understand how confirmation is ordered to the Eucharist.

In this light, it appears “odd” to have someone participate in the Eucharistic life of the Church if he or she has not received “the seal of the Holy Spirit which perfects the personal bond with the community.”

While some have said that maturity is necessary for the sacrament, the bishop said that children can be mature spiritually [often moreso than adults].

"If they are mature enough to receive the Eucharist, the crown of the sacraments, are they not mature enough to receive a sacrament that is ordered to it?” he asked.

“I have found the third graders to be most receptive to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and their childlike trust and wonder is beautiful to behold. Many times their ability to see the truth and have complete trust in God is strikingly better than our own. It allows for a deeper receptivity of the graces of the sacrament.”

By contrast, too many young adults have regressed spiritually into a state of indifference or despondence towards God.

He suggested that restoring the order of the sacraments of initiation will aid the local community in forming effective catechesis which acknowledges growth in faith as a life-long process.

Why do we withhold the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit until many young people have already erroneously formed the consciences?  Give them the gifts of the Spirit when they are young so that as they grow and mature they can call freely upon the grace of the Spirit to guide them and form them with his seven-fold gifts.

On Confirmation preparation

The anonymous author of the catechetical blog Transformed in Christ (from a south London parish), has recently written about the true and authentic goal of catechetical preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation.  He's a part, with my empases:

Often you hear people saying that being confirmed is about young people ratifying the decision that was made on their behalf at their Baptism. I really wanted to ensure that in our group of catechists we eliminated this idea – a sacrament is always about what God does for us, not about what we do. We studied what the Catechism said. Confirmation strengthens baptismal grace; it seals the candidate with the Holy Spirit so that they belong fully to Christ and are enrolled in his service forever; they are strengthened to go out and spread and defend the Faith. Read more at CCC 1285-1321.

So if this is what the sacrament does, what must be the goal of the catechesis? The catechesis needs to form and prepare the candidate so that they are disposed to receive these graces – the grace of the sacrament is effective insofar as the person is spiritually disposed to receive it (this is a different thing from saying that the sacrament doesn’t work if they are not disposed – as we know, sacraments ‘work’ ex opere operato – out of the very fact of their being performed). But the more someone’s heart is open and ready to receive the grace, the more fruitful it will be in their life. How do we form Confirmation candidates so they are as disposed as possible to receive the grace of this sacrament?

The Catechism underlines two goals: that they develop a more intimate union with Christ; and that they develop a more lively sense of the Holy Spirit. [read more]

If more Confirmation preparation "programs" focused on this interior preparation, we would truly see a new Pentecost!

Capello tip to Father Finigan at The Hermeneutic of Continuity.


So if this is what the sacrament does, what must be the goal of the catechesis? The catechesis needs to form and prepare the candidate so that they are disposed to receive these graces – the grace of the sacrament is effective insofar as the person is spiritually disposed to receive it (this is a different thing from saying that the sacrament doesn’t work if they are not disposed – as we know, sacraments ‘work’ ex opere operato – out of the very fact of their being performed). But the more someone’s heart is open and ready to receive the grace, the more fruitful it will be in their life. How do we form Confirmation candidates so they are as disposed as possible to receive the grace of this sacrament?

Thoughts on Confirmation

Too often in recent decades the notion of the Sacrament of Confirmation as a 'rite of passage' has crept into the life of the Church. None of the Sacraments are milestones or rites of passage along the Christian life; the Sacraments are not about us as much as they are about Christ Jesus.

It is often said today the Sacrament of Confirmation allows a young person - or an older person - to "accept the faith for themselves." Rubbish! This notion you will not find in the Rite of Confirmation, in the Catechism or - unless I am much mistaken - in the tradition of the Church. The Catechism reminds us that "although Confirmation is sometimes called the 'sacrament of Christian maturity,' we must not confuse adult faith with the adult age of natural growth" (1308).

A person accepts the faith for himself when he renews his baptismal promises during the Easter season.

A person accepts the faith for himself when he renews his baptismal promises during the Baptism of a child.

A person accepts the faith for himself when he recites the Creed, either the Nicene at Mass or the Apostles during the rosary.

A person accepts the faith for himself when he responds, "Amen," to, "The Body of Christ," and receives the Eucharisitic Lord.

If a person has not accepted the faith for himself he should be doing none of these things, for in so doing he would make himself a great liar.

If Confirmation really were the acceptance of the faith for oneself, then my reception of this great Sacrament would be meaningless. Why? I was born, baptized and confirmed on the day of my birth, because I was not expected to live. Certainly as an infant of less than one day old I could not have accepted the faith for myself, and yet "his grace to me has not been ineffective" (I Corinthians 15:10).

It has been said that Confirmation is "a sacrament in search of a theology." Hogwash! It has a theology, and it always has.

Regarding the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, with my emphases:

Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the "sacraments of Christian initiation," whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed" (1285).

Because Confirmation is "a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit," it brings about "an increase and deepening of baptismal grace" (CCC, 1302-1303) and it

• roots us more firmal to Christ;
• increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
• renders our bond with the Church more perfect;
• gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross.

I am in full support of a younger age for the recption of Confirmation, even before the reception of First Communion, both to restore the proper ordering of the Sacraments of Initiation and to strengthen the grace of God in our young people.

Consider this: if Confirmation really is the sealing with the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit - which it is - why do we wait so long to give this gift to our children when they have already erroneously and - quite likely - invincibly formed their consciences? Would it not be wiser to confirm them when they are young so they have the fulness of the Holy Spirit to help them form their consciences according to the truth of the Gospel?

Confirmation pictures

Over at The Schuette Zoo, Kenda has posted a few pictures taken last Thursday evening when Bishop Lucas administered the Sacrament of Confirmation, including this one or her son and I:

Confirmation names

Please pray for our Confirmandi, who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation this evening, and who have chosen the following patrons (in one form or another):

Alice
Anne
Anthony
Brendan
Brigid
Catherine
Cecilia
Clare
Corrado
Dominic
Elias
Eligius
Elizabeth
Francis
Helena
Ignatius
Isaac
Isabella
Isidore
James
Leo
Joseph
Lawrence
Lucy
Luke
Mary
Michael
Nicholas
Pio
Raymond
Richard
Robert
Rose
Seraphina
Sola
Sophia
Therese
Thomas
Veronica

Many of the Confirmandi will likely have chosen their patrons based more on family names than by the life and witness of the Saint (though they did each research their chosen patron). Please pray that these young people may strive to follow each day in the footsteps of their patrons.

The theology of Confirmation

This evening His Excellency Bishop Lucas will administer the Sacrament of Confirmation here at St. Anthony of Padua parish.

It has recently been suggested that Confirmation is a Sacrament “in search of a theology.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The Second Vatican Council, in Lumen Gentium, taught:

By the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the
Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence
they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and
defend the faith by word and deed (11; CCC 1285).

Confirmation is not in search of a theology; it has a perfectly good theology, and always has.

For too many years now catechists have told the young people under their formation that the Sacrament of Confirmation is the moment when they, the young people, accept the faith on their own since their parents accepted it for them at their Baptism. This is simply false; you will not find such a teaching in any document of the Church.

No Sacrament is given solely for the benefit of an individual. Even the Sacrament of Holy Orders is given not so much for the man who is to be ordained but for the benefit of the entire Church, which will benefit from his ministry. The Sacrament of Marriage is not so much about the love shared between the man and the woman as it is about the love that Christ has for his Bride, the Church. The Sacrament of Confirmation is not so much about the person confirmed, as it is about the faith that is being confirmed.

We accept the faith for ourselves every time we receive Holy Communion. When we say, “Amen,” to “the Body of Christ,” we give our assent not only to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, but to all that Church teaches. Every Sunday and holy day we accept the faith as our own when we recite the Creed. Every Easter Season and at every Baptism we renew our baptismal promises. Very often, the Faith is personally accepted long before the reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation.

We must remember that it is not the confirmand (the one who is confirmed) who confirms the faith, else my Confirmation would be meaningless, a conclusion I whole-heartedly reject. How could I, as a day-old infant, have accepted the faith for myself? Yet the Church does not confer Sacraments superficially so there must be something more to this Sacrament beyond an individual’s faith.

The ordinary minister of Confirmation is the Bishop for “the administration of this sacrament by them demonstrates clearly that its effect is to unite those who receive it more closely to the Church, to her apostolic origins, and to her mission of bearing witness to Christ” (CCC 1313). It is the Bishop – or, in his absence, the priest specifically delegated – who confirms that the faith entrusted to the person in Baptism is the faith of the Apostles, living and true; it matters not whether the person believes the faith or not. The faith itself is true.

The introduction to the Rite of Confirmation speaks of the dignity of the Sacrament:

This giving of the Holy Spirit conforms believers more perfectly to Christ and
strengthens them so that they may bear witness to Christ for the building up of
his body in faith and love. They are so marked with the character or seal
of the Lord that the sacrament of Confirmation cannot be repeated (2).

Perhaps another day I will address the age at which Confirmation is given.

Homily - 27 April 2008

What was it that Philip proclaimed to the crowds of Samaria that made them all pay “attention to what was said” (Acts 8:6)? He proclaimed Christ our hope to them, just as Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed to us last week and people all across the world listened to his message. Were you among them?

Already here in the Acts of the Apostles we see the differentiation of the three-fold ministry of bishop, priest and deacon established by Christ Jesus.

This Philip who preaches to Samaria is not the Apostle, but one of the “seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3). This Philip, together with the other six men, were “set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid hands upon them,” entrusting to them the ministry of preaching and of service to the poor (Acts 6:6).

The apostles sent Peter and John to the new believers in Samaria precisely because Philip was a deacon; he was not entrusted with the sacred power to call down the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation. Philip could baptize, but he could not confirm. Peter and John “laid hands upon them and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:17). In just a few weeks’ time, His Excellency Bishop Lucas will come, as the successor of the Apostles, to call the Holy Spirit down upon some of our young people as he administers the Sacrament of Confirmation.

What, then, is the Sacrament of Confirmation? It is more than a mere rite of passage and far more than an individual confirming his or her own faith. In the Sacrament, it is not the one receiving it who does the confirming, but the Bishop, the Successor of the Apostles. He confirms that the faith entrusted to a person in Baptism is the faith of the Apostles living and true and in this way the Sacrament builds up and strengthens the Body of Christ, the Church.

Jesus tells us that after we receive the Holy Spirit “you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). For this reason the Second Vatican Council teaches that through the Sacrament of Confirmation the faithful “are more perfectly bound to the Church and are endowed with the special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread the faith by word and deed.”[1]

Here, then, we come to the command of Saint Peter, the first Pope: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope” (I Peter 3:15). Peter’s successor invoked these words on at least three occasions during his visit to us, thereby showing their great importance.

When Pope Benedict XVI came to us a few days ago, he came as an apostle, “sent by Jesus Christ,” and “as a friend, a preacher of the Gospel.”[2] He came bringing to us the message of Christian hope and the exhortation to share our hope, our faith, with everyone we meet.

He came not only to “strengthen further the bonds of communion that unite us,” but also to spur us on to a deeper faith in Jesus Christ, to live more faithfully as his disciples so that our lives might bear greater witness to Christ our hope.

He pointedly asked us:

Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday, and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs? Is it consistent for practicing Catholics to ignore or exploit the poor and the marginalized, to promote sexual behavior contrary to Catholic moral teaching, or to adopt positions that contradict the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death? Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted. Only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel.[3]

The Holy Father has challenged us to live our lives in conformity with the truth of the Gospel. Does your faith shape every aspect of your life?

How, then, are we to make the changes necessary to live more faithfully as followers of Jesus Christ?

We must first of all call upon the Holy Spirit, who will “be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him” (John 14:16-17). Secondly, we must heed the words of Saint Peter to always be ready to give a reason for our faith. We do so first of all within the family.

During his Apostolic Visit, Pope Benedict XVI spoke often of the role of the family, noting, “the family is the primary place for evangelization, for passing on the faith, for helping young people to appreciate the importance of religious practice and Sunday observance.”[4]

And so parents, grandparents and godparents, I ask you: when was the last time you spoke to your children, grandchildren or godchildren about your faith, about the hope that is in you? When was the last time you sincerely sought to understand your faith more clearly in order to explain it more fully and convincingly?

This task is given to each and every one of us. Each of us has a solemn duty to grow in the knowledge of the faith, in the knowledge of the truth, and to share this hope with everyone we meet. This is why the Lord has given us the Holy Spirit.

At the same time that we seek to grow in faith and in the knowledge of faith, handing it on to each generation, we must also seek to conform our lives ever more closely to this truth, to this faith, to live lives of integrity. In this way we will keep the commands of the Lord and will know his love.

His commands are not given as a set of prohibitions to limit our freedom. Rather, they open us up and show us and guide us along the path of true freedom, along the path of life!

What do you seek in life? Do you seek happiness? Contentment? Peace? Of course you do. Have you found it yet? I tell you, you will never find it apart from Jesus Christ!

He says to us today, “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him” (John 14:21).

Today, my friends, call upon the Holy Spirit to help you follow the command of Christ to love God and neighbor. By faithfully following him you will find life, joy and peace and in this way you will be filled with hope, the hope that makes all things new in Christ. Amen!

[1] Lumen Gentium, 11.
[2] Pope Benedict XVI, Video Message to Catholics and People of the United States of America on the Occasion of the Upcoming Apostolic Journey (8 April 2008) and Address at the Welcome Ceremony (16 April 2008).
[3] Ibid., Meeting with the Bishops of the United States of America, 16 April 2008.
[4] Ibid.