People sometimes ask me what I do to keep busy? I could easily answer, “I administer the sacrament of confirmation.”

In the Diocese of Rockford, these ceremonies take place throughout the school year, that is roughly from Sept. 1 through May 31. I have been on the road a great deal and I try to use the celebrations of the sacrament as an opportunity to visit the faithful and the parishes throughout the area.

Those celebrations are always a moment of joy. I am sure the candidates are happy that the classes and preparation work is finally concluded.

But looking out over the almost always full churches, I see proud parents and grandparents, friends and neighbors, and sometimes just members of the parish who want to be part of such a moment. The Knights of Columbus regularly add color and solemnity and the choirs are always at their very best. Everyone feels the goodness of the moment.

Still, confirmation is a deep and important moment in the life of faith. To leave it as simply a milestone for celebration by our young people and their families would be to miss what is really going on.

Confirmation is the gift of the Holy Spirit given to us as it was first given at Pentecost. With the simple gesture of the bishop’s prayer and imposition of hands and then the anointing with the sacred chrism, those who receive the sacrament are strengthened by God’s Spirit completing, in fact confirming, the gift of the Holy Spirit first given at baptism.

The soul of everyone receiving the sacrament receives God’s life more fully. And that always means drawing closer to Christ, in love and friendship.

But grace and the Holy Spirit are not given only for the good of individuals. God always calls all of us to come together and enter more deeply into the Church and into the mission He has for each of us.

In the case of confirmation, the gift of the Holy Spirit requires that we witness before the world our love for and friendship with Jesus. It means witnessing by living moral lives in keeping with Christ’s word, that is, in keeping with our Catholic faith and belief.

That’s a huge challenge with all of the secularizing temptations of the world. Be it with regard to Sunday Mass attendance, the nature of marriage, lives of chastity, honesty, or love for the poor, in every age the Holy Spirit moves the faithful to strong moral convictions and actions that display God’s love and His plan for us.

Today, there is great need for another kind of witnessing to the world.

As Christians and Catholics, as friends of Christ, we need to raise our voices and enter the debates of the world. As society, and even our beloved country, slides further into moral decline, we cannot fear to speak up.

Too often, a soft silence has laid the groundwork for plans or policies or ideas that are not from God. How important it is for confirmed Catholics in politics, the judiciary or public service of any kind, to act in witness to God’s truth that will set us free. How important it is for all of us to speak up and witness in our families, our schools and our businesses to what is right and moral.

As I go through the diocese administering the sacrament of confirmation, I am moved by the image of our young people coming forward to embrace the faith and offer themselves as life-long witnesses to Christ.

For us who received the Holy Spirit in confirmation years ago, that image reminds us of the task entrusted to us as well.

Come Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts of your faithful. Enkindle in them the fire of your love!