This Sunday afternoon a new group of our youth will be Confirmed by Bishop Hanefeldt. It is unfortunate that Confirmation has come to be seen as a type of graduation at the end of an educational experience, leading those who are Confirmed to think, “I’m good, I’m done, I’m out of here!” It is very prevalent and very unfortunate. Confirmation is a sacrament like Holy Orders. It is not a “graduation” but an empowerment by the Holy Spirit to serve the Lord with supernatural grace. If that sounds overstated, it absolutely is not. We should rightly expect the supernatural experience of the Holy Spirit to be active in our lives via the sacraments. But our wrong thinking and bad attitudes get in the way. St. Paul said, “Knowledge puffs up”, makes us prideful. If you don’t believe that hang out with a group of college professors, even seminary professors. It’s the natural and unholy progression and possession of knowledge that causes us to we have arrived at some place of sufficiency and superiority. When Confirmation is seen as a “graduation”, that’s what happens. The attitude of self-pride totally blocks the working of the Holy Spirit. Many Catholics today lament their lack of knowledge and understanding of the faith. They believe that someone failed to teach them, or they fail to expose their mind to the truth. That’s not the problem. The problem is always a lack of proper humility. Jesus made it very clear that a child can understand his truth. So, let us take this occasion to humble ourselves before the Lord and pray for our youth who are to be Confirmed and let us each ask the Lord for a renewal of our own Confirmation. It is only through the lens of our personal weakness that we will see the ever present and supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. We need His help more than ever right now and our youth desperately need it. So, please pray! Yours in Christ our Lord, Fr. Sid.