Confirmation
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Questions / Register
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Sarah Moorestandrewparishymyahoo.comYouth Minister
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Barbara Johnsonstandrewparishyahoo.comOffice Administrator
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Forms
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St. Andrew's has a two-year preparation policy for receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. During the 2018-2019 school year, our 2019 Confirmation Class Candidates will continue the preparation they began in the 2017-2018 school year. As with those receiving First Holy Communion, students receiving Confirmation need to participate in Preparation Programs for two consecutive years to strengthen their understanding of the Catholic faith before reception of the Sacrament. Confirmation Preparation is open to all high school students.
If you (or your child) wish to prepare for Confirmation and are not currently enrolled in the program, check back September 2019. First-year classes will be offered 2019-2020, and second-year classes will be offered 2020-2021. Your Confirmation date will be in Spring 2021.
If you are an adult and are seeking to receive Confirmation, head over to our RCIA page.
Requirements for Confirmation Candidates- Mandatory Retreats (to be scheduled soon, usually one in fall and one in spring). Retreats must be attended in order for youth to qualify for Confirmation.
- Must attend either Saturday or Sunday Mass throughout the year. If students are noticed to be missing Mass, they are considered to be unready to receive Confirmation and will be asked to attend the program at a later time.
- Candidates are also expected to be part of a ministry with Mass at St. Andrew's. Each student will select how they would like to engage in Masses and regularly participate as an altar server, usher/greeter, lector, or musician.
- Candidates are expected to take Confirmation classes seriously; if a student misses more than three classes over the course of a year they will need the pastor's approval to go through with Confirmation. Make-up class sessions will be offered on a limited basis.
- Each candidate requires a Sponsor. This person should be selected as soon as possible. Eligible Sponsors are at least 16 years old, faithful Catholics, and have themselves received the Sacraments of Baptism, First Holy Communion, and Confirmation. If married, Sponsors must be married in the Catholic church.
- Candidates also need to complete 20 hours of community service through St. Andrew's. Service opportunities will be provided throughout the year.
- If the candidate was not baptized at St. Andrew's, a copy of his or her Baptismal Certificate is required.
Confirmation Classes- Classes are ordinarily held in the social hall at
- Some classes (marked on the Confirmation class calendar) are held at Core Team family homes instead.
- Some classes (also marked on calendar),held at the social hall, REQUIRE parents and Sponsors to attend alongside the youth.
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Why Mass Attendance?
The Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of the Catholic faith. Just as without nourishing our bodies daily we would die, so too, without nourishing ourselves with the graces provided by this Sacrament, our souls would perish. The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament in which Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, becomes present in our midst. It is this sacrament which distinguishes Catholics from every other religion on earth, and it is through the Eucharist that every grace is given to the world. In short, without the Eucharist, there would be no Church.
When a child is preparing for their First Holy Communion, attendance at weekly Mass introduces them to the person of Jesus Christ, our Lord, our God, the beginning and end of our faith. In addition, regular attendance helps the child grow in their Catholic identity and unite themselves to their fellow Catholics in prayer and community life. The most important means to foster this love of the Mass, and thus, of the faith and our God, is the example of parents. Studies have shown that if only the mother of a family attends Mass regularly, her children have a 3% chance of attending Mass regularly once they are adults. If both the father and the mother attend Mass regularly, their children have a 33% chance of attending Mass regularly once adults. The parents’ example is critical to ensuring the Faith is handed on to their children. (See the full study at www.bit.ly/Massandfamilies ).
Because Mass attendance is the essential act of Catholic worship, participation at Mass is a necessary part of preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation, along with classroom instruction. Following the directives of the Diocese of Yakima, Confirmation candidates are “judged not to be prepared for reception of Confirmation if they do not attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days and receive the Eucharist with regularity.” If parents have youth preparing to receive this sacrament, we ask that they attend Mass with them, if at all possible. If this is not possible due to sickness, family circumstances, or other conflicts, please contact St. Andrews to see if alternate transportation can be provided. As the Catechism asks of prayer, “How can the Holy Spirit be our life if our heart is far from him?”
Mass is the perfect prayer. In attending Mass, may we learn, with the saints, that “Nothing is equal to prayer; for what is impossible it makes possible, what is difficult, easy. . . For it is impossible, utterly impossible, for the man who prays eagerly and invokes God ceaselessly ever to sin.” Mass attendance and participation encourages unity, family, community, and holiness. It is how we will one day reach salvation and eternal happiness in Heaven.