A Holy Sacrament

What IF the apostles never left that upper room?  

As Catholic Christians, we know the story well.  We recall the apostles after our Lord had risen to rejoin His Father, leaving those that followed Him behind.  What should they do? How could they proceed without Him?  They were frightened- they were afraid they too might be arrested, possibly even killed. But they found their faith...

Inspired by the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire appeared over their heads, they left that room.  They preached the Word to all who would hear.  They revealed the love of our Lord through their words AND their actions.  The apostles went forth... and our world has never been the same.

Now it is time for our sophomores and freshmen at OLOL to embrace the faith as have so many who have come before.  It is time for them to join all those who would call themselves followers of Jesus to show the world there is a BETTER way.

Confirmation's Meaning
Confirmation is a sacrament of initiation.  Like baptism, it marks us yet again as children of God, yet it recognizes the changing nature of our connection to our Holy Father.  As newly baptized members of the faith, our experience is a bit more focused on self; on our own private connection to God.  The sacrament of .confirmation is the acknowledgement that we have GROWN in that same faith.  We have grown to the point of maturity, and with that adult understanding and acceptance of truth we are ready and willing to live out our faith in community.  We take our faith, in other words, into the world- just as the apostles did so many years ago.  We are, after all, people of an "apostolic" faith.  As such, we are called to go forth with God's Word on our minds, on our hearts, and on our lips.

One Program- Three Areas of Focus
At OLOL, we are committed to presenting a variety of meaningful opportunities to our teens participating in preparation to receive this amazing sacrament.   We understand the demands of time on the modern family, and have developed a flexible yet powerful variety of faith-building opportunities for our youth throughout their preparation.  Our program feeds three different areas of importance that are essential toward a mature practice of the Catholic faith: knowledge, spirituality, and apostolic action.

Knowledge

A mature understanding of the faith is absolutely essential.  Our youth know what we believe, but do they know why?  More importantly, do they share that understanding?  Our freshman and sophomore catechists continue to build that understanding as we engage the next generation in religious education.  Confirmation features a two-year program, taking place on Wednesday nights.  Our schedule may be found here.

Spirituality

The Mass is beautiful- it is essential.  Not enough can be said about its importance!  For many however, it is the sole expression of their Catholic faith.  At OLOL, we encourage our youth to experience our Lord through other avenues as well.  We arrange for retreats, we attend Youth Rallies, we help our Confirmation candidates to take their perception of prayer and church as a faith community that exists beyond any one building.

Apostolic Action

"Faith without works is dead..." James 2:14-26
When Jesus rose, He ascended to His Father having given us to each other.  We are our brothers' keeper.  At OLOL, we provide many opportunities for our youth to act on their faith, and show Christ's love to others in need.  Through outreach locally, service at our Champaign workcamp, and through opportunities to serve the needs of people beyond our state, we encourage our youth to take it out into the world.  We are meant to live joyfully, courageously, humbly, and with love in our hearts.

OLOL Confirmation Program in Summary - How do I prepare my teen?

As detailed above, developing a mature understanding and expression of our faith depends on growth in three areas.  As such, we strongly encourage our teens to take part in opportunities presented throughout the year in each of these areas; knowledge, spirituality and apostolic action.  

The goal is for each candidate to approach the end of the two-year preparation with a "resume" of sorts- one that features faith-building experiences from each of these three areas.  It might be helpful to keep a record of activities and events your teen participates in throughout the process.  Our religious education staff is looking forward to hearing about their faith journey when we meet in the spring!  

So, what sorts of opportunities will be offered this year?  Below is a sample of practices, suggestions, and event opportunities we suggest for each of our Confirmation candidates as they seek to mature in their understanding and practice of their faith. 

Knowledge

  • Candidates should have been enrolled in religious education for at least two years prior to beginning preparation for Confirmation.
  • Our teens should also attend confirmation prep classes regularly.
  • ​Any work given by our catechists should be completed and  submitted for feedback
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Spirituality

  • Candidates should attend Mass regularly
  • Candidates should try to attend at least three weekday Masses (often offered monthly @ 6:30pm during school year)
  • Participate in Eucharistic Adoration (available every Thursday 7-9pm, try to be present for at least 30 minutes )
  • Develop an ongoing connection to God through regular prayer.  Try out the "Inner Monk" app for your smart phone- track your progress week to week!

Apostolic Action

  • Experience faith in community, try to attend at least three youth group events 
  • Offer to serve our parish: help at donut day, fish fry, parish clean-up day, parish picnic or the like
  • Consider serving our greater community: help at our MAYC 5k drink station, volunteer at Mahomet Helping Hands. Other options exist- check materials given at Confirmation meeting
  • Attend at least one of our week-long events such as Totus Tuus or Catholic HEART Workcamp.
  • Service Project: Plan and coordinate something to benefit our parish, community or a local charity.  Consider working with another candidate, ask your  teacher for ideas.