Catholic Faith Formation Holy Family Catholic Parish 9669 Kraft Ave SE Caledonia, Michigan 49316 Phone: 616-891-8867 x238 Fax: 616-891-1346 Email: tbierenga@holyfamilycaledonia.org November, 2010 Dear Sponsor, Congratulations! You have been chosen to be a sponsor for Confirmation. This is quite an honor; at the same time, your willingness to fill such a role is quite a responsibility. We encourage you to make this time before Confirmation a special time of sharing and support for the candidate. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults has this to say about those who serve as sponsors and Godparents: “The sponsor is close to the candidate because of his/her example, character, and friendship. It is his/her responsibility to show the candidate in a friendly way the place of the Gospel in his/her own life and in society, to help him/her in doubts and anxieties…and to watch over the progress of his/her baptismal life…his/her responsibility remains important when the candidate has received the sacrament and needs to be helped to remain faithful to his/her baptismal promises…” Although the above was written in reference to adult converts preparing for initiation into the Church, it is also relevant in our situation as well. There are three projects that are to be completed together with your candidate as a part of their preparation process. I am giving you the project information to allow you time to plan and complete these projects. Hopefully the summer months will allow for more flexible schedules. To get the project information and instructions, please visit our website at www.holyfamilycaledonia.org and click on the Sacrament of Confirmation Sponsor Project Information. For Sponsors who are unable to participate in the preparation process due to distance, health or other issues, I have included a few suggestions to be actively involved on the website as well. Finally, I would like to encourage you in your role as Sponsor (next page). There is a lot going on in a short period of time and some may feel overwhelmed by it all. I pray for God’s grace to be upon you, and may you joyfully guide this young person in his/her faith journey. Thank you and God Bless, Tim Bierenga Middle School CFF Coordinator C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc Confirmation Sponsor Requirements 2010-2011 Role: The Sponsor represents the support and prayers of the entire Catholic Church. He or she will be the Candidate's "spiritual friend". Choosing the right Sponsor is the key to having a fulfilling Confirmation experience even after the program is done. The Baptismal Godparents are recommended, but another important adult, who meets the requirements, can be chosen. * According to Canon Law 874, a Sponsor can not be the Candidate’s mother or father. Sponsor Requirements: must be a practicing confirmed Catholic at least sixteen years of age. needs to be a person who is prayerful, loving, and is comfortable sharing with the young person. needs to be a person who will spiritually support the parents in raising the young person in the Catholic Church for the rest of the young person’s life. Program Requirements: The following is asked of the Sponsor 1. Pray for and with the Candidate. Get to know the Candidate and lead them closer to Jesus Christ and His Church. 2. Attend the Confirmation Day retreat at Holy Family Parish with the candidate, Sunday, January 16, 2011 from 11:00am – 7:00pm. 3. Complete a Eucharistic Adoration Reflection hour with the Candidate. 4. Complete an act of service that shows "Faith in Action" with the Candidate. . 5. Assist the Candidate in choosing a Confirmation Patron Saint. 6. Write a letter of Recommendation to Fr. Mark Bauer. Letter details on website. 7. Present Candidate during the Confirmation Mass. 8. Continue to be available for the Candidate to lend spiritual support after the Confirmation ceremony is over. C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc Confirmation Recommendation Letter Instructions Please write a Letter of Recommendation to Fr. Mark Bauer regarding the Candidate you are sponsoring. This is a chance for you to share what changes and growth has occurred in the Candidate during the discernment period. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just your thoughts and feelings of what you have accomplished together. This letter is due by Sunday, March 13, 2011. The letter needs to include the following: 1. Summary of your time together at the retreat. 2. Summary of your service project Service project is something you and your Candidate do together as an outreach. It is important to do a service project during this time because of the discernment process. Faith in Action is important as Catholics. By serving others, we are fulfilling our baptismal call. 3. Summary of your hour of adoration or hour of prayer in chapel 4. Describe your time together researching a patron saint. 5. Interesting observations you may have experienced during this discernment process. 6. Your opinion on the teen’s openness and readiness for the Sacrament of Confirmation. You may submit the Letter of Recommendation by mail, fax (891-1346) or email to tbierenga@holyfamilycaledonia.org. Please put Sponsor Letter in the subject line. C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc Saint Research Project Choosing a patron Saint is an important part of the Confirmation preparation process. In the Roman Catholic Church, the sacrament of Confirmation is a Sacrament of Initiation. Once you have received the Sacrament of Confirmation, you are considered an active adult in the Church. One aspect of receiving Confirmation is that you are asked to choose a saint for your Confirmation name. This new name signifies your change in status - you are now fully initiated into the Catholic faith. Further, the saint whose name you choose becomes a patron saint in your new endeavor to grow in the life of faith as an adult. To choose a saint's name for your Confirmation is not necessarily easy. Saints are as unique and diverse as the rest of humanity. Although there are far more saints in heaven than there are canonized (official) saints, each canonized saint has a specific and individual path to sainthood which is intended to be an example to the rest of the Church. Read a general overview of the lives of the saints, or find a website which gives brief biographies of each saint. Does any saint's life story particularly appeal to or inspire you? This could be your Confirmation saint. There are many saints who died or were martyred while they were children or teenagers. If you are being confirmed as a teenager, a youthful saint might be a good choice for your confirmation saint. For example, St. Agnes or St. Cecilia were both martyred as young women. Do you have any serious hobbies or interests? If so, there is a patron saint for almost any hobby, interest, or sport. The patron saint of your favorite enthusiasm could be a good choice for your confirmation saint. For example, if you love learning, St. Thomas Aquinas could be a good saint. Or, if you prefer sports, St. Sebastian could be your patron. Do you want to perfect a specific virtue in your life? There are saints who exemplify every virtue. For example, St. Maria Goretti is the patron saint of chastity. Do you feel particularly called to the married life, or to the religious life? If so, there are saints who provide excellent examples of both vocations. If you feel drawn to the married life, perhaps St. Joseph would be a good saint to choose. If you feel called to the religious life, perhaps the founder of a religious order you are fond of would be a good choice (for example, St. Dominic or St. Benedict). No matter who you choose, remember to pray to your Confirmation Saint often as you navigate your new life as a fully initiated Catholic in the Church! C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc Name SAINT DECLARATION PAGE Stage #1 Possible Saints to select: __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Stage #2 Research Why are you choosing this saint? What do you know about this saint? How will you nurture your relationship with this saint? What qualities of your life do you share with the life of this saint? Stage #3 Final Decision Saint Due: Sunday, March 13, 2011 C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc My Hour with Jesus in Adoration! Eucharistic Adoration Reflection Hour Jesus is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. Eucharistic Adoration is an awesome way to get close to God and to let Jesus heal us! A priest once said “the sin in our lives is like a cancer to our soul…and sitting before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the radiation for the soul.” The Eucharist is the center of what is unique about Catholics from all other Christians and it is the “source and summit” of our faith. You are to join your Candidate for one hour of Eucharistic Adoration. Holy Family Parish has Adoration every Thursday starting at 10:00am and ending at 7:00pm. If this time doesn’t work for you, the chapel is open to Candidates and Sponsors to participate in Eucharistic Adoration beginning at 6:30am and ending by 5:00pm Monday through Friday for an hour of prayer. Please have the teen reflect on and answer the following questions and return it to the CFF office no later than Sunday, March 13, 2011. You may hand this in with the Letter of Recommendation. Candidate Name _________________________________________________ Sponsor Name ____________________________________________________ Date of Eucharist Adoration Reflection Hour________________________ Please check all responses that reflect how you felt before, during and at completion of your time spent in the presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. Before: ___Peaceful ___Anxious ___Sad ___Happy ___Don’t care Why? During: Lectio Divina Exercise (next page) After: ___Peaceful ___Anxious ___Bored ___Sad ___Happy ___Loved ___Alone ___Refreshed Why? Any other reflections you would like to share? C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc LECTIO DIVINA PRAYER EXPERIENCE God desires to speak to you through His living word. Take the next few minutes to prayerfully go through the steps of Lectio Divina with the Scripture below. …he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with the fullness of God. -Ephesians 3:16-19 LECTIO-Reading/Listening Read this Scripture passage slowly and intentionally, listening as if God is speaking directly to you, because He is doing just that. Read through the passage at least twice. MEDITATIO-Meditation What is the word or phrase that really spoke to you in this passage? What impact do these words have on your soul? ORATIO-Prayer Have a conversation with God about what you’ve read, what you do and don’t understand, what jumped out at you during meditation. Ask God how it may be calling you to change your life and faith walk. CONTEMLATIO-Contemplation The final step is less about you and more about God. Simply take some time to be with God-no agenda or list of questions-just simply be and allow Him to be with you. Notes: C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc Faith in Action Project Horton Hears a Who! is actually a parable about justice. When you were young, you could only relate to the fun aspects of the story. Now that you are older, you can understand the deeper meaning of the story and the seriousness of the situation that prompted it. After the Second World War, Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) went to Japan as a correspondent for Life magazine. While he was there, he developed a great respect for the Japanese people and their culture. His attitude toward the Japanese, however, was at odds with the attitudes prevalent in the United States at that time. Horton Hears a Who! is Theodor Geisel’s statement about those attitudes. In the book the Whos in Whoville are like the Japanese immediately after the war, small insignificant, and powerless in a hostile world. Horton spends most of the book trying to protect the Whos and to convince the other animals that “a person is a person no matter how small.” Theodor Geisel saw a situation that he believed was unjust and used his particular gifts and the benefits of his situation as a writer to do something about it. The intention of this project is to serve those in need. The following steps are necessary to learn and act on what we are called by God through our Baptism. Please complete the project in the following order: 1. Read, study and complete the Faith in Action handouts with your candidate. a. What is Justice? pgs 3-4 What is Justice Handout Reflection Questions What passage did you find the most meaningful? Why? What quotation within the passage did you find the most challenging? Why? b. King Solomon and the Otter pg 5 i. Discuss the differences between Rights and Responsibilities pg 6 c. My Action Plan pg 7 i. Review Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy pg 8 and then fill out the action plan C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc 2. Choose and make arrangements for Faith in Action Service Project. Here is a list of possible “Faith in Action” ministries to contact. Feel free to create an idea of your own. Pray about what to do and ask God to lead you to where he wants you to go to take care of His people. o Degage’ Ministries 454-1661 www.degageministries.org o Mel Trotter Ministries 454-8249 www.meltrotter.org o Kids Food Basket 235-4532 www.kidsfoodbasket.org o God’s Kitchen 454-4110 www.ccwestmi.org Visit the Catholic Charities of West Michigan website to learn more about this ministry o Ray of Hope for Haiti 633-4258 ww.raysofhopeforhaiti.com Doug Porritt, Executive Director Franciscan Life Process Center 897-7842 3. Complete the act of service together. *There are no specific number hours that are needed to complete this project. The key in the volunteer project is to help someone…to look beyond yourself for the sake of another. C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc Instructing Advising Consoling Comforting Forgiving Bearing Wrongs Patiently Giving Alms (Donations) to the Poor Feeding the Hungry Sheltering the Homeless Clothing the Naked Visiting the Sick and Imprisoned Burying the Dead C:\Users\Becky\Documents\Holy Family\Word Documents\SponsorProjectInformation.doc