One of the many things that I've neglected to write about is my daughter Sophia's First Communion and Confirmation. She received both sacraments on April 26th, 2008. She was so beautiful and so excited, it was truly inspiring.
I'm thrilled that our bishop has lowered the age of Confirmation. As a former high school teacher, I can confirm that our young people need as much grace as they can get. Going into adolescence equipped for battle just makes sense to me.
The ceremony was pretty funny. The Dean, Fr. Chuck (who confirmed the children on behalf of Bishop Olmsted) had such a hard time getting decent answers from the kids when he questioned them that I wanted to ask him how long he had been in dentistry.
"What do we receive when we're confirmed? Bobby?"
"The gift of Confirmation!"
"Good, Bobby, but when we get the gift of Confirmation what do we get?"
"Confirmed!"
It went on like that forever. He finally got them to start listing the gifts of the Holy Spirit and some were dubious. I don't think St. Paul mentioned the gift of Niceness.
Sophia chose St. Josephine Bakhita as her confirmation name. Here's what she wrote about her on the prayer cards we made as party favors:
St. Josephine Bakhita was born in the Sudan, captured by slave traders at
age 10, and lived most of her life as a slave. She was tortured severely—beaten, burned and forced to work very hard. Despite all of this, she saw the wonderful works around her and wondered what master could have made them.
Although she did not know the name of God, Bakhita always knew He existed. She was sold many times and eventually ended up with nuns in Italy. It was there that she learned the name of God: Jesus Christ, her "Good Master." She was so happy to know Him that she served Him with her life. She forgave her kidnappers and torturers and had great love for everyone she met.I chose St. Josephine to be my confirmation Saint because of her bravery, her
longing to know Jesus, and her great love for Him.
St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us!
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