Fifth Sunday of Easter
Fr. Anthony Brankin
We had a wonderful event this week. The Holy Spirit confirmed about three hundred young men, women, and adults. Thousands came to Saint Odilo this week to four Confirmation ceremonies to pray for our young people. And may I add, that half of the children also received their First Holy Communion and First Confession. This happens every year because there are tens of thousands of young people in this area who are getting older and they are in danger of not receiving the Sacraments and the Catechism that they need. Our program at Saint Odilo makes it possible for them. This is important, because not only are the lives of our young people changed and made better but so too is our parish, as well as the towns in which we live. All that grace helps all of us.
Necessity of the Sacraments
When people receive the Sacraments, lives are changed. Heaven is brought closer and hell is pushed further away. The Sacraments are our lifeblood as Christians. If we wish to love Jesus and follow Him, we must participate in the Sacraments. We must love the Sacraments because Jesus is actually contained in them. And the Sacraments will help us love Him more deeply.
A couple of weeks ago, we talked about Baptism, so now we must also talk about Confirmation. If Baptism is the seed of God’s life planted in our souls when we are babies, then Confirmation is the fruit. In other words, Baptism is only a beginning. In Confirmation the Holy Spirit causes the person’s soul to resemble Jesus even more than when they were baptized. Our union with Jesus is deepened and made stronger. In a certain sense, Baptism may not be enough. Can anyone say that after Baptism, a person’s life is now settled? That his future is secure? That there is nothing more in his life that he will need? I tell this to families at Baptisms: That as soon as a family walks out that door with their little baptized baby there is a whole world of evil, greedy people trying desperately to get into that child’s mind and soul and corrupt that child and steal him away from his parents—and from God. Think of all the Facebook friends your child has, who are they? Do you know them? Does your child even know who they are? Twitter tweet—oh how innocent that all sounds. But what messages are your children really getting? And from whom? The Father of Lies?
The culture is prowling; strength is needed
Every baptized child, soon to be an adult, needs Confirmation to help them maneuver through, and eventually survive, this demon-infested world. Let me give an example of how desperately our young people need Confirmation. Maybe you saw this week in the news that the American rock singer, Prince, died. If you didn’t hear about it, trust me, your children did. But what made Prince the darling of this twisted age, a hero to many in this culture was that he exuded a constant sexual impurity, coupled with a doubtful sexuality. Everyone asked about Prince: Was he a man or a woman? Everyone was always wondering what those songs were really about. And he is considered a cultural hero, an icon, whom the world tells us that we need to look to for guidance and ideals.
Sure, I am an old guy, but I know what is happening. We live in a culture that twists things around. Good is bad. Bad is good. Beautiful is ugly. Ugly is beautiful. We live in a culture that celebrates death, and dirt draws us to the perverted, twisted, and evil. Its on television every night, and if you don’t see it, you can be sure you are one of its victims. Our young people are particularly vulnerable to it because they are young. Each one of those young persons, who was confirmed this week and trying to be moral and good and even holy is going up against most of his classmates, some of his friends, most of his teachers, a lot of his future bosses, and almost all of the politicians. And all he is doing is trying to love Jesus and the faith of his family. He is swimming against the tide of all the music that he shall ever listen to and most of the movies he shall ever see. When the whole world is shouting “Yes” he has to find the strength to say “No.” But he is only fifteen years old!
Yes. Baptism is absolutely necessary, but it is clear that we need more. Parental guidance and teaching is absolutely necessary, but we need more. We need Confirmation. We need to be confirmed in love, confirmed in grace, confirmed in the power of the Holy Spirit. There will be a lot of battles in this life, but with Confirmation we know there will also be victory.