We have been carefully analyzing feedback that we have received from the former program and have made significant changes based on candidate, parent, and instructor feedback. We also look forward to receiving feedback from the candidates, their sponsors, and their parents throughout this year to maximize the program’s effectiveness and relevance.
Firstly, the program is a one-year program that is spread over the duration of two-years. It is important to note, the Sacrament of Confirmation, itself, will take place during the first year. What has occurred in past years and has become typical in many Catholic communities is that Confirmation is perceived as a form of Catholic “graduation”, rather than a commencement into a deeper and more meaningful Catholic life.
Thus, in the first year there will be a strong focus on who we are as Catholics and the challenge of how can this reality be incorporated into one’s daily life. We will be challenging the candidates to examine their lives and to make room for the Holy Spirit, through small groups, a variety of media forms, and becoming active in various parish ministries.
After receiving the gifts of Confirmation, in the second year the focus will shift more outwards to the Spirit in action, looking at what is the Church’s history, where is the Church now, and where are we, as the Church, moving. Again, similar to the first year there will be a strong challenge to incorporate this reality into our lives.
Moreover, by spreading the course over two years we hope it enforces the fact that Confirmation calls one to be a witness for Christ and his Church, an eternal commitment.
