We are all aware of the temporary suspension of the presence of the faithful during the celebration of Mass following the coronavirus outbreak. Even now, with the reopening of Mass to the presence of the faithful, there are many reports that people are still cautious about returning to Mass.

 

Understandably, the faithful need to feel comfortable with all that the Church is doing to protect their health and well-being along with that of the wider community. Still, we need to ensure that our commitment to Sunday Mass attendance and to the rich benefits of the Mass are in no way diminished in this exceptional moment.

 

Another casualty of the pandemic was many of the spring confirmation ceremonies. To protect against the spread of the virus, confirmations were postponed after March 17.

 

The Church does not mandate a set time of year for the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation. In the Diocese of Rockford, the administration of the sacrament takes place both in the fall and in the spring. Still, spring is a popular time for confirmation because it allows for its preparation classes to be scheduled like an academic school year. 

 

Also, for many the Easter Season, which ends with Pentecost, is a fine liturgical context for confirmation.

 

The ordinary minister of confirmation is a bishop (Canon 882). However, in a case of necessity and outside of particular moments established by the law of the Church, a priest can receive the faculty to administer the sacrament (Canons 882, 884).

 

In view of the extraordinary circumstance following the outbreak of the virus, and given the number of young people (and adults as well) who have prepared for and are waiting to be confirmed, pastors in the Diocese of Rockford have been given the option of requesting that delegation. To the extent possible, I will also try to be available for parishes who request the bishop to reschedule the confirmation ceremony.

 

These exceptional steps have been taken because of the great importance of the gift of the Holy Spirit given in confirmation. Those of us who have been confirmed might ask ourselves if we reflect often enough on the meaning of bearing the fullness of the Spirit given to us at that moment.

 

There is a temptation in our day, sadly sometimes as the result of inadequate prior catechesis, to see sacraments merely as social markers in the course of life. Baptism, for example, can be understood as a sort of introduction of the newborn. Or the wedding ceremony can become principally the occasion for a family gathering. In such cases, the sacred nature of what happens is obscured by an earthly or social meaning given to the ceremony.

 

In confirmation, we join the Church in the faith that the Holy Spirit is given to Jesus’s followers as an abiding and enduring help to carry out the mission God has called each of us to in our lifetime. That Holy Spirit, the presence of God Himself, is first given to us in baptism. The gift is completed in confirmation.

 

Further, we are sacramentally but truly joined to the first followers of Jesus who not only heard the sound of wind and saw the tongues of fire, but who were then strengthened to go forth to live and witness to their faith at Pentecost (Acts, 2).

 

Each of us who has been confirmed should ask, “Do I think about the presence of the Holy Spirit within me? Do I pray to the Holy Spirit asking Him to guide me in faith and witness?”

 

Confirmation is more than a statement of age or maturity in the Church. It unites us to the early Church and to the gift of God’s presence that orients us to the eternal future with Christ to which we are called.

 

I am grateful for the opportunity to confirm those whose ceremony was postponed. I thank also the pastors who are assisting me to do so in these days. Confirmation is so important we should not delay it one moment more than necessary.