The Power of Forgiveness in the Sacrament of Confession

British Catholics take to the streets for Corpus Christi processions

Source: Catholic Herald
posted Monday, 30 May 2016

A passerby genuflects as the Corpus Christi procession passes through London (Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk)

Bishops took part in processions in London, Oxford, Sheffield and South Wales

Churches around Britain held Blessed Sacrament processions yesterday for the transferred Feast of Corpus Christi.

In London, a procession was led by Archbishop Mennini, the apostolic nuncio. It started at Our Lady of the Assumption, Warwick Street and ended at St James’s, Spanish Place.

This is the third consecutive year that the procession has taken place. Last year, Cardinal Vincent Nichols was present.

An international procession took place from St Patrick’s, Soho, to St Giles-in-the-fields where Benediction was given. Along the way, volunteers handed out leaflets explaining to passers-by what the procession was about.

Bishop Ralph Heskett of of Hallam led the procession from St Marie’s Cathedral, Sheffield, while Bishop-Elect Paul Mason, Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark, led a procession from St John the Baptist, Westerham.

A procession also took place at Neath Abbey in South Wales, led by Bishop Tom Burns of Menevia.

In Oxford, a Pontifical High Mass for Corpus Christi, celebrated by Bishop Robert Byrne, was followed by a procession through the streets. The procession stopped at Blackfriars, where Fr Robert Ombres OP preached a sermon, and finished at the Catholic Chaplaincy.

In Ramsgate, a procession attracted more than 350 people. Fr Marcus Holden, the parish priest of Ramsgate and Minster, said the turnout was “amazing”. He tweeted: “a great witness and act of loving devotion. Deo Gratias!”

When All You Thought Non-Catholics Church Services are the Real Ancient "Christians" Worship, Think Again!

Those noisy drums and Rock bands! Those goose-bumps emotional worship services! Those great preaching without any liturgy! Are they rooted to the First Century Christian way of Church Service? For comparison, please come back and read THIS LINK after reading the whole article below. -CD2000

Chapel of Saint Ananias, Damascus, Syria, an early example of a Christian house of worship; built in the 1st century AD

Source: Gospel Coalition

What Was a Church Service Like in the Second Century

I’m really enjoying N.R. Needham’s 2,000 Years of Christ’s Power, Vol. 1: Age of the Early Church Fathers, part of a very accessible but well-informed multi-volume survey of church history. On pp. 66-75 he outlines a fairly typical church service in the second century (A.D. 101-200), based on descriptions and instructions found in the early Church fathers. I thought it might be helpful to outline it below.

The service of worship on Sunday lasted about 3 hours in total, with the typical posture being standing throughout. There were no musical instruments, and the Lord’s Supper was observed every week.

The first part, “The Service of the Word,” was open to three groups: (1) baptized believers; (2) those receiving instruction in the Christian faith; and (3) (probably) those who were merely curious about Christianity.

The second part of the service, “Prayers and the Eucharist,” was only open to believers who had been baptized. The rest had to leave. Needham writes that the early church understood congregational prayer as “participating by the Holy Spirit in the glorified Christ’s own heavenly ministry of prayer”—something unbelievers could not share in since they did not have the Spirit.

Part 1: Service of the Word

1. Opening greeting by bishop and response by the congregation. Often, the bishop would say “The Lord be with you” and the congregation would respond, “And with your spirit.”

2. Old Testament Scripture reading. Usually read or chanted by a deacon.

3. Psalm or hymn (I). Chanted or sung.

4. New Testament Scripture reading (I). This first NT reading was from any NT book outside the gospels.

5. Psalm or hymn (II).

6. New Testament Scripture reading (II). From one of the four gospels.

7. Sermon. Delivered by the bishop, while seated.

8. Dismissal of all but baptized believers.

Part 2: The Eucharist

1. Congregational prayers. The prayer leader—the bishop in the West; senior deacon in the East—would announce the first topic. The congregation prayed silently for a while. Then the leader summed up the petitions with his own spoken prayer. Then he would do the same pattern again with a new topic. This was a lengthy part of the service. Early Christian art suggests that a typical posture from praying was standing, looking heavenward, with arms outstretched and palms up.

2. The Lord’s Supper. Here’s the order: (1) the bishop offered a greeting; (2) the congregation responded; (3) there was a “kiss of peace” (men to men, women to women); (4) church members brought their own small loaf of bread and flask of wine from home; the deacons took these and spread them out on the Lord’s table, emptying the flasks of wine into one large silver cup. (5) The bishop and the congregation engaged in a liturgical “dialogue” with the congregation; (6) the bishop led the congregation in prayer; (7) the bishop and the deacons broke the bread and distributed the cup to the congregation. (8) Something would be said to each member as he or she received the elements (e.g., “The bread of heaven in Christ Jesus,” with the response of “Amen.”) Unconsumed bread and wine would be taken home by church members to use for celebrating communion at home during the weekdays.

3. Benediction. E.g., “Depart in peace,” spoken by the deacon.

Catholic Answers: Born Again - The Bible Way

Article Source: Catholic Answers by Tim Staples

October 4, 2013

“Have you been born again, my friend?” Thousands of Catholics have been asked this question by well-meaning Fundamentalists or Evangelicals. Of course, by “born again” the Protestant usually means: “Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior through the recitation of ‘the sinner’s prayer?”” How is a Catholic to respond?

The simple Catholic response is: “Yes, I have been born again—when I was baptized.” In fact, Jesus’ famous “born again” discourse of John 3:3-5, which is where we find the words “born again” in Scripture, teaches us about the essential nature of baptism:

Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicode'mus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

At this point, a Fundamentalist or Evangelical will respond almost predictably: “Baptism does not save you, brother; John 3:5 says we must be born of water and the Spirit.” The Catholic will then be told the “water” of John 3:5 has nothing to do with baptism. Depending on the preference of the one to whom the Catholic is speaking, the “water” will either be interpreted as man’s natural birth (the “water” being amniotic fluid), and “the Spirit” would then represent the new birth, or the water would represent the word of God through which one is born again when he accepts Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior.

Amniotic Fluid vs. Baptismal Water

To claim the “water” of John 3:5 is amniotic fluid is to stretch the context just a smidgen! When we consider the actual words and surrounding context of John 3, the waters of baptism seem to be the more reasonable—and biblical—interpretation. Consider these surrounding texts:

John 1:31-34: Jesus was baptized. If you compare the parallel passage in St. Matthew’s gospel (3:16), you find that when Jesus was baptized, “the heavens were opened” and the Spirit descended upon him. Obviously, this was not because Jesus needed to be baptized. In fact, St. John the Baptist noted that he needed to be baptized by Jesus (see Matthew 3:14)! Jesus was baptized in order “fulfill all righteousness” and “to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,” according to Scripture (cf. Matt. 3:15; Luke 1:77). In other words, Jesus demonstrably showed us the way the heavens would be opened to us so that the Holy Spirit would descend upon us… through baptism.

John 2:1-11: Jesus performed his first miracle. He transformed water into wine. Notice, Jesus used water from “six stone jars … for the Jewish rites of purification.” According to the Septuagint as well as the New Testament these purification waters were called baptismoi (see LXX, Numbers 19:9-19; cf. Mark 7:4). We know that Old Testament rites, sacrifices, etc. were only “a shadow of the good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1). They could never take away sins. This may well be why “six” stone jars are specified by St. John—to denote imperfection, or “a human number” (cf. Rev. 13:18). It is interesting to note that Jesus transformed these Old Testament baptismal waters into wine—a symbol of New Covenant perfection (see Joel 3:18; Matthew 9:17).

John 3:22: Immediately after Jesus’ “born again” discourse to Nicodemus, what does He do? "... Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea; there he remained with them and baptized." It appears he baptized folks. This is the only time in Scripture we find Jesus apparently actually baptizing.

John 4:1-2: Jesus’ disciples then begin to baptize at Jesus’ command. It appears from the text, Jesus most likely only baptized his disciples and then they baptized everyone else.

In summary, Jesus was baptized, transformed the “baptismal” waters, and then gave his famous “born again” discourse. He then baptized before commissioning the apostles to go out and baptize. To deny Jesus was teaching us about baptism in John 3:3-5 is to ignore the clear biblical context.

Why does the Catholic Church baptize babies?

Source: CatholicSay.com

Q: Why does the Catholic Church baptize babies? Aren’t they too young to understand what is happening to them?

A fair question. The easiest and perhaps best answer would simply be that this was the constant Tradition or teaching of the early Church, right from the time of the Apostles.

Despite this, the first objection often is that babies cannot personally make the commitment necessary for Baptism. But, since the time of Abraham right to the present, Jews have circumcised infants and brought them into the Covenant on the eighth day after birth, based on the faith of the parents, just as we do now in Christian Baptism. Could you imagine the Apostles standing before the Jewish crowds, announcing the New Covenant, but adding that their children were excluded, until they could make the decision for themselves? It would be unheard of!

And Scripture is very clear that the faith of a believing parent or spouse can have great effect, and can literally make a child or unbelieving spouse, “holy”. In 1 Cor 7:14, we read, “For the unbelieving husband is consecrated through his (believing) wife, and the unbelieving wife is consecrated through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy.” It is this faith of the parents, and Godparents, that asks for the gifts of Baptism on behalf of the child, which God graciously responds to.

St Paul also confirms that baptism now replaces circumcision as entry into the New Covenant. For example, he says, “In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not administered by hand, by stripping off the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ. You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him” (Col 2:11-12).

In fact, an early council of the Church, the Council of Carthage [252 A.D.] met in part to consider exactly our question. But the question wasn’t whether to baptize babies or not. No, the question was, that under the New Covenant, should we wait until the traditional eighth day of circumcision to baptize. And the decision was to not even wait until the eighth day, but to baptize as soon as possible, without delay!

St. Peter further settles the issue for us. As he gave the first great sermon of the Church on the day of Pentecost, converting some 3000 Jews at once, he would close, saying “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, ( i.e. babies too! ) in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children” (Acts 2:38-39).

St. Peter makes it clear that children were included in this call to be baptized. While having no need to repent of personal sin, babies certainly do need the great, freely given, unmerited gifts of baptism — the stain of original sin washed from their souls, the indwelling of the Trinity restored, Sanctifying Grace poured into their souls — making them children of God and members of the Body of Christ.

In Mark 10:14, Jesus Himself gives further confirmation of all this. “People were bringing even infants (the Greek word here literally means infants, NOT older children) to Him that He might touch them…. ‘Let the children come to Me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these…” And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands upon them.” Awesome!

Now according to Scripture, Baptism is the normal way of entering into the Kingdom of Heaven. “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (John 3:3-5). “Being born of water and Spirit” is Baptism according to what the early Church taught about this passage. If Jesus says the Kingdom of God belongs to infants and children, it would make no sense if He then withheld the gift of Baptism that would give them entrance to this very Kingdom.

Additionally, in 1 Cor 1:16 and Acts 16:15,33, we see baptism of “whole households”, with no mention of excluding babies. In fact, in all of Sacred Scripture, there is not a single place that says babies should not be baptized, not one. Period!

But, what does the early Church have to say about this matter? Lots!

Listen to St Irenaeus (A.D. 189), a disciple of St Polycarp who was taught by St John the Apostle himself! “He [Jesus] came to save all through Himself; all, I say, who through Him are reborn in God: infants, and children… He passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, sanctifying infants; a child for children, sanctifying those who are of that age”.

The great St Augustine would write: “The custom of Mother Church in baptizing infants is… not to be scorned, nor regarded as superfluous, nor is it to be believed that its tradition is anything except apostolic”.

In his 215 A.D. letter, “Apostolic Tradition”, St Hippolytus would write: “Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them.”

St Gregory of Nazianz summarizes the answer for us perfectly in his “Oration on Holy Baptism”. “Do you have an infant child? Allow sin no opportunity; rather, let the infant be sanctified from childhood. From his most tender age let him be consecrated by the Spirit.” Perfect!

Is CONFESSION Scriptural?

Much to the attention of the world, Filipinos in the Philippines once more display its antagonistic approach against the Catholic Church, on priests and on Pope Francis who was featured in international news having CONFESSION to an ordinary priest.  In this article Bold move: Pope Francis confesses sins to ordinary priest bad comments are trending.  Obviously comments from atheists, agnostics, anti-Catholics, unbelievers and anti-Christians (yet so coward to confront other religions such as Islam and the Moslems).

Pope Francis having confession to an ordinary priest at the Vatican (Photo source: DailyMail.co.uk)

Here are some few comments to start with:

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    big dawg • an hour ago

    
    

    why would anyone confess their sins to a man?

    
    
    

    tarikan • 2 hours ago

    
    

    I'm not worried about the Pope. I'm worried a lot about the ordinary priests taking confessions from their co-priests. Priest A (taking confessions from Priest B): You did? How many times? I thought I was the only one. Was it the acolyte or that girl choir membe
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    Roy Rosales • 2 hours ago

    
    

    The local catholic hypocrite officials should take heed from none other than their POPE in Vatican,who is becoming a model in simplicity and humbleness.I would like to imagine how our Cardinals,Archbishops,Bishops,and some priests who are sinners ranging from being GAYS,PEDOPHILES,CORRUPT,HYPOCRITES,who,Interferes with purely state affairs.,will go CONFESSION with an ordinary priests.WILL THEY CONFESS THEIR SINS??,Will they tell the truth???
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    Jesse_Bruce_Pinkman • 5 hours ago

    
    

    The Celebrity Pope is putting on a good show. TMZ reports that the Pope is also praying at night before going to bed.

    The actual transcript of the Pope's confessions has recently been released. It reveals some amazing insights:

    Pope: "Forgive me father for I have sinned... It has been ages since my last confession"
    Priest: "Pope Francis... are you sure this is a good idea?"
    Pope: "Sshhhh... just follow my lead"
    Priest: " Alright. Tell me your sins"
    Pope: "My biggest sin was that I moved a cup from point A to point B and I forgot to turn it over. I could not sleep"
    Priest: "Seriously, Pope..."

    
    
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    judefawley • 5 hours ago

    
    

    pero kailagan talaga e picture at ipalabas sa buong mundo? lumang tugtugin nato. Wala epek ito.
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    Tulume • 5 hours ago

    
    

    CBCP confessions.. This is what I'm waiting for.
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    Noel • 6 hours ago

    
    

    I wonder what the Pope's sins are. BTW, if Pope is Christ on earth, why would he confess to another priest who's not God but a human being? Why does the Pope not confess directly to God. This is ridiculous.
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    scolexx • 7 hours ago

    
    

    kala ko ba infallible? pinaglololoko lang kayo jan.. layasan nyo na. Francis, sa Dios ka mangumpisal pati sa pinagkasalaan mo.

Here is what the CATHOLIC CHURCH proof that CONFESSION is BIBLICAL.  Thanks to Catholic.com for this article:

The Lord declares inIsaiah 43:25:

I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

Psalm 103:2-3adds:

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases…

Many will use these verses against the idea of confession to a priest. God forgiving sins, they will claim, precludes the possibility of there being a priest who forgives sins. Further, Hebrews 3:1 and 7:22-27tell us Jesus is, “the… high priest of our confession” and that there are not “many priests,” but one in the New Testament—Jesus Christ.Moreover, if Jesus is the “one mediator between God and men” (I Tim. 2:5), how can Catholics reasonably claim priests act in the role of mediator in the Sacrament of Confession?

BEGINNING WITH THE OLD

The Catholic Church acknowledges what Scripture unequivocally declares: it is God who forgives our sins. But that is not the end of the story. Leviticus 19:20-22 is equally unequivocal:

If a man lies carnally with a woman… they shall not be put to death… But he shall bring a guilt offering for himself to the Lord… And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed; and the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him.

Apparently, a priest being used as God’s instrument of forgiveness did not somehow take away from the fact that it was God who did the forgiving. God was the first cause of the forgiveness; the priest was the secondary, or instrumental cause. Thus, God being the forgiver of sins in Isaiah 43:25 and Psalm 103:3 in no way eliminates the possibility of there being a ministerial priesthood established by God to communicate his forgiveness.

OUT WITH THE OLD

Many Protestants will concede the point of priests acting as mediators of forgiveness in the Old Testament. “However,” they will claim, “The people of God had priests in the Old Testament. Jesus is our only priest in the New Testament.” The question is: could it be that “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13) did something similar to that which he did, as God, in the Old Testament? Could he have established a priesthood to mediate his forgiveness in the New Testament?

IN WITH THE NEW

Just as God empowered his priests to be instruments of forgiveness in the Old Testament, the God/man Jesus Christ delegated authority to his New Testament ministers to act as mediators of reconciliation as well. Jesus made this remarkably clear in John 20:21-23:

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Having been raised from the dead, our Lord was here commissioning his apostles to carry on with his work just before he was to ascend to heaven. “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” What did the Father send Jesus to do? All Christians agree he sent Christ to be the one true mediator between God and men. As such, Christ was to infallibly proclaim the Gospel (cf. Luke 4:16-21), reign supreme as King of kings and Lord of lords (cf. Rev. 19:16); and especially, he was to redeem the world through the forgiveness of sins (cf. I Peter 2:21-25, Mark 2:5-10).

FAQ about the Catholic Church: On the Sacraments

Why do Catholics believe in seven sacraments, while Protestants believe in only two? Exactly what is a sacrament, and what does it do for a person?

Catholics believe in seven sacraments because Christ instituted seven; because the Apostles and Church Fathers believed in seven; because the second Ecumenical Council of Lyons (1274) defined seven; and because the Ecumenical Council of Trent (1545-1563) confirmed seven. In short, the enumeration, seven, arises from the perpetual tradition of Christian belief--which explains why that enumeration is accepted not only by Catholics, but by all of the other ancient and semi-ancient Christian communities--Egyptian Coptic, Ethiopian Monophysite, Syrian Jacobite, Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox.

To understand what a sacrament is, and what it does for a person, one must know the correct, the traditional Christian, definition of a sacrament. Properly defined, a sacrament is ``an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace'' (holiness) to the soul . . . that is to say, it is a divinely prescribed ceremony of the Church in which the words and action combine to form what is at the same time both a sign of divine grace and a fount of divine grace. When this special grace--distinct from ordinary, inspirational grace--is imparted to the soul, the Holy Spirit of God is imparted to the soul, imbuing the soul with divine life, uniting the soul to Christ.

As the Scriptures point out, this grace is the grace of salvation--without it man is, in a very real sense, isolated from Christ. And as the Scriptures point out, Christ gave His Church seven sacraments to serve as well-springs of this ineffable, soul-saving grace, the grace which flows from His sacrifice on Calvary:

BAPTISM--the sacrament of spiritual rebirth through which we are made children of God and heirs of Heaven: ``Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'' (John 3:5. Also see Acts 2:38, Rom. 6:2-6).

CONFIRMATION--the sacrament which confers the Holy Spirit to make us strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ: ``Now when the apostles, who were in Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John. Who, when they were come, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost.... Then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost.'' (Acts 8:14-17. Also see Acts 19:6).

The EUCHARIST--the sacrament, also known as Holy Communion, which nourishes the soul with the true Flesh and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus, under the appearance, or sacramental veil, of bread and wine: ``And whilst they were eating, Jesus took bread; and blessing, broke, and gave to them, and said: Take ye. This is my body. And having taken the chalice, giving thanks, he gave it to them. And they all drank of it. And he said to them: This is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many.'' (Mark 14:22-24. Also see Matt. 26:26-28, Luke 22:19-20, John 6:52-54, 1 Cor. 10:16).

PENANCE--the sacrament, also known as Confession, through which Christ forgives sin and restores the soul to grace: ``Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. '' (John 20:22-23. Also see Matt. 18:18).

EXTREME UNCTION--the sacrament, sometimes called the Last Anointing, which strengthens the sick and sanctifies the dying: ``Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord . . . and if he be in ,ins, they shall be forgiven him.'' (James 5:14-15. Also see Mark 6:12-13).

HOLY ORDERS--the sacrament of ordination which empowers priests to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, administer the sacraments, and officiate over all the other proper affairs of the Church: ``For every high priest taken from among men, is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins.... Neither doth any man take the honor to himself, but he that is called by God, as Aaron was.'' (Heb. 5:1-4. Also see Acts 20:28, 1 Tim. 4:14). Also: ``And taking bread, he gave thanks, and broke; and gave to them, saying: This is my body, which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of me.'' (Luke 22:19).

MATRIMONY--the sacrament which unites a man and woman in a holy and indissoluble bond: ``For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one flesh. Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.'' (Matt. 19:5-6. Also see Mark 10:7-9, Eph. 5:22-32).

There you have it, the Word of Christ and the example of the Apostles attesting both to the validity and the efficacy of the seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church. In truth, every one of them is an integral part of Christ's plan for man's eternal salvation.

Read More HERE

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The Power of Forgiveness

Pardon one another so that later on you will not remember the injury.

The recollection of an injury is in itself wrong. It adds to our anger, nurtures our sin, and hates what is good.

It is a rusty arrow and poison for the soul.

- Francis of Paola

Moments of Faith

Thanks to Patrick Button for these photos:



Mass on Iwo Jima



Mass on Saipan 1944



Mass in Vietnam 1966



The Otranto Cathedral with reliquaries behind the high altar containing the 800 skulls of the Puglian Catholics martyrs.



Embracing the Catechism: An Open Letter to My Godson on His Confirmation

From Catholic Exchange

Dear Thomas Patrick,

On the occasion of your Confirmation I wish to offer the sage and time-honored advice of a saint.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, teaching on the Sacrament of Confirmation, quotes St. Ambrose, a bishop and theologian from the 4th century. His words are worthy of repeating here. My prayer for you, as your Godmother and Sponsor, is that your reception of this important sacrament would mirror the words of St. Ambrose:

Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear in God’s presence.

Guard what you have received.

God the Father has marked you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts.

The grace of your Confirmation deepens the grace you received way back on your baptismal day. It will have many effects. (See CCC 1303.)

Your Confirmation roots you more deeply as a son of God, and it strengthens your prayer to “Our Father”: The same Father in Heaven that you can call “Abba” as Jesus did, or as “Daddy”.

Through your Confirmation, you will be more deeply joined to Christ, the Lord Jesus who loved you so much as to give up his life for you. Remember that Jesus was called the Son of God, right? By the gift of grace, in and through your baptism long ago, you were made a child of God too. Now your sonship is being taken to a new level.

In Confirmation, you, the beloved son, will give your own “yes” to God in and through your Profession of Faith (in the Creed.) And moments later receive the next measure of grace that Our Father wants to pour out on you. You will be marked with a sign – the bishop will use holy oil to anoint your head. And as he does, God will anoint your soul with an indelible mark that can never be erased. You belong to Him.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit that Ambrose talks about will not only strengthen your identity as a Catholic, they will give you new power to be a Christian – not in name only – but in word and deed. For the gifts of the Spirit empower you to be a witness for Christ in your family, among your peers, and wherever you go in the world.

My prayer is that you take St. Ambrose at his word and guard what you have received.

Whenever you feel that faith doesn’t matter, or it feels hard to live out, or when you are tempted to doubt or give up, I want you to redouble your efforts and guard what you have received. God has already provided you with the graces and strength of this sacrament to weather storms of doubt, confusion, frustration or heartache. Call on God and rely on Him when these times come. And they will.

Guard what you have received.

Ambrose is a saint for a reason. He gave up a successful and comfortable life as a lawyer and the governor of Milan to take up the role of being a bishop in the Lord’s service. For years Ambrose fought heresy against his fellow Catholics – a very hard predicament! – and on other occasions he defended churches that were literally surrounded by enemy soldiers. Yet he never resorted to violence.

Ambrose fought for truth and against corruption in the culture of his day, standing up for God and ransoming Christians who suffered unjust imprisonment. He used his intellectual gifts and his communication skills. He left us a legacy of faith and reason and a life worthy of the calling he had received … always guarding what he had received from God as something precious and worthy of giving one’s whole life.

Thomas, you will receive much more than will be visible at Confirmation. Trust God and stay close to him. He is very close to you.

With love from your Godmother,

Auntie Pat