​Last year Corey Luna and I began implementing a new preparation process for students seeking Confirmation and I wanted to give you an update on how that’s going.
For many years Confirmation was widely seen as a Catholic rite of passage, a sacred ritual where someone accepts the faith for themselves and commits to the responsibilities of being an adult Catholic. What that has looked like here at MHT is that when a student reached a particular grade they started Confirmation preparation and were, for the most part, expected to receive the sacrament along with everyone in that grade.
However, for the past few years the diocese has been rethinking how we prepare students for Confirmation. They began by looking at what the Catechism and Canon Law say about Confirmation and discovered that the approach presented in these documents is much more personal. The Church is clear Confirmation is not a rite of passage where the individual confirms their own faith but rather an outpouring of grace where God confirms and strengthens the recipient. So rather than a “conveyor belt” of students receiving Confirmation because they reached a certain age, the Church expects the local parish to discern each individual’s desire and disposition for the sacrament they want to receive. Neither is it the decision of a candidate’s parents or family. There are only two people that discern the readiness of a candidate to receive Confirmation: the person themselves and the Church. 
Based on this, Corey and I discerned that the best way to determine something so personal was to have multiple interviews with students. Those meetings focus on a student’s desire and disposition for Confirmation. Based on that interview we give each student a preparation program tailored to them that could include recommendations for daily prayer, retreats, catechesis, Mass, Confession, etc. These recommendations are their “Confirmation requirements” and each student’s recommendations look different. Then after a few months each student schedules another interview with us where we follow up on those recommendations. From that meeting the student and the interviewer discern if they are ready for Confirmation or if they should wait a few more months and meet again. Whenever they are ready they will attend a Confirmation retreat later in the year and then be Confirmed at the next Confirmation Mass with Bishop Boyea. This process means students are free to take however long they need and can be Confirmed any year during high school. 
The switch from large group Confirmation preparation to personal discernment has been really fruitful. Because the personal interviews are focused on helping students articulate their relationship with God now and where they want it to grow, they have been like spiritual direction. Corey and I are able to provide really personal and concrete direction for each student to grow in their prayer life. We are able to answer their questions about the faith and address the specific struggles that they may have about a particular Church teaching. We are able to help them see where God is acting in their life and how He’s speaking to them in prayer. 
Beyond that, because of the personal insight we are gaining about the students, Corey and I have been able to adjust our other events in order to meet the needs that we hear being expressed in the interviews. Further, one very practical and unexpected benefit of moving away from large group preparation was that the social distancing restrictions due to COVID have had little negative impact on Confirmation preparation because we are still able to meet with students one on one. Now, we are still figuring out the best way to have a Confirmation retreat later in the school year with the restrictions, but that shouldn’t be too difficult. 
Please pray for all of the students in this process. Please pray specifically that the Lord will meet them exactly where they are at in their faith life and lead them forward. Pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal Himself personally to them and empower them like He did for the Apostles at Pentecost. Pray that they will have a renewed relationship with the Holy Spirit and, like Mary, hear His voice and respond to His promptings throughout their entire life. 
God Bless,
Paul
 

Our last adult retreat was February 14-16, 2020.  This was the last event we were able to have before the pandemic hit.  There was such a sense of excitement after the retreat, and we planned to really build off that moment moving into the spring.  We had a Holy Spirit Encounter planned, we had another Praise and Worship night scheduled, in addition to our monthly Heart of Jesus Holy Hours.  It was really exciting because it finally felt like adult ministry was taking off.  A lot of our events are encounter base, meaning we provide opportunities for our parishioners to not only learn about who God is, but to experience him!  So to say it was a disappointment to have to cancel these events due to the pandemic would be an understatement.

For me personally, I really enjoy serving others.  To have that aspect of ministry get taken away was difficult.  I was stripped of all my “normal” modes of doing ministry.  Making the transition to an online platform was exhausting and a brand new experience for me.  It was really hard trying to find ways to still help parishioners in their faith journey.  A major component of our events is to build community.  This is really difficult to do when you are supposed to stay home or social distance from others.  Live streaming Adoration and doing the Staff Sharings (short testimonies) on Facebook were a few ways we were able to reach people during this time, but it still didn’t have that same retreat feel.

As September grew closer, so did the date for the next Adult Retreat.  The idea of planning a weekend retreat, when things are changing on a daily basis seemed like such a daunting task.  Once I got over the idea that I wouldn’t be able to do the retreat like we normally would, we started getting creative and thinking what can we do.  It was really exciting planning an event again!  Here’s what we came up with.

On Saturday, September 26, we will be hosting a day retreat.  This event will take place outside, behind the youth center.  Registration will start at 12:30, with the first session starting at 1:00pm.  There will be 4:30 Mass in the Church, followed by dinner, and ending with an outdoor Adoration.  

Being able to bring the community together again to focus on the Lord and his goodness will be so refreshing.  There’s a sense of excitement in providing an opportunity to experience Christ and allow his spirit to move freely and bring healing, hope, and peace for people.  This pandemic has been difficult and challenging for so many people.  People are experiencing hopelessness, fear, frustration, isolation, and loneliness.  Our goal is to bring God into those areas and restore hope, faith in God, peace, and a sense of belonging.  In prayer we have a sense that God wants to shatter walls people are putting up and restore hope.  

Registration for this event can be found on our website.   ​