Q: I have Confirmation in the Parish next Sunday.
Regretably the bishop cannot attend so I have delegation to confirm (which I view as an honour as much as I’d prefer the bishop to confirm).
Recently, my view that candidates are for themselves now pro/claiming their Catholic faith, (a faith initially pronounced by parents/godparents), has been challenged.
Kindly offer your view on what children are saying ‘yes’ to, if in fact this is what they are doing?
Thankfully, the Readings for Trinity Sunday are providential as the context for conferring the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Thanks and Blessings
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A: I’ve written quite extensively on confirmation. This sacrament is not so much what the candidate does, but what the Spirit does. My book, Confirmation: The Baby in Solomon’s Court is my most extensive treatment of the theme. You can also find a talk I gave on this topic in Würzburg, Germany, here: https://paulturner.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/reforms_of_confirmation_web.pdf .
God bless you for serving the children of your community.