The confirmation course
The journey to Confirmation is one of “growing up” in faith. As children, we are given a child’s faith and a necessarily simplified view of who God is, what the Church is and what we should know and believe about them.
As we grow up, we develop critical thinking skills and experience profound changes both in mind and body. We often discover that the simplicity and certainty of our child-level faith is desperately inadequate in the face of these challenges.
Our Confirmation course aims to explore the Catholic faith much more deeply than is possible at the First Holy Communion level. As such, there will be many more questions than answers and we must learn to be content with uncertainty, with having to wait patiently for God’s answers, to be willing to be surprised by God and be open to following when he leads us in new and unfamiliar directions. We remember that “what would Jesus do” includes flipping tables and upsetting people just as much as showing compassion to all, touching the untouchable and eating with sinners.
We will also take a look at the lives of the saints, the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
We will be joining other Confirmation groups within the St Andrew’s Deanery for monthly Masses at St. Laurence’s in Cambridge and other events with a focus on our young people. In addition, we will be getting out and about for fellowship around a camp fire and enjoying each other’s company as we make this journey towards Confirmation.
Registration for the 2024/5 course is now closed. To register interest in our 2025/26 course, please contact Paul at confirmation@cambournerc.com.
Programme
| Date | Programme |
| Sun 29/9 | Parent meeting in church, after Mass |
| Sun 6/10 | Chapters 1&2 |
| Sat 12/10 | Chapter 3; the tale of Truth and Story |
| Sat 16/11 | Enrichment day with the Ignite Team |
| Sat 23/11 | <cancelled> |
| Sun 1/12 | Chapters 4&5 |
| Sun 8/12 | Chapters 6&7 |
| Sat 14/11 | Chapters 9&10 |
| Sat 11/1 | Prayer 1 |
| Sat 18/1 | Reading the Gospels: the frames of the Gospels |
| Sun 26/1 | Meet the Sponsors |
| Sat 8/2 | Cake sale |
| Sat 1/3 | The Good Samaritan’s envelope / Jesus and Zacchaeus |
| Sat 8/3 | St Paul / Parable of the wheat and the darnel |
| Sat 22/3 | The Prodigal Son / Reconciliation |
| Sun 30/3 | In the house of Simon the Pharisee |
| Weekend of 3/5 | Ignite Festival |
| Sat 10/5 | Prayer 2 – with guest speaker Kay Dodsworth |
| Sat 17/5 | Enrichment Day – with guest speaker Dr Sue Price |
| Sat 7/6 | The Holy Spirit |
| Sat 14/6 | Parent meeting – getting ready for Confirmation Day |
| Sun 29/6 | Introducing novena; Confirmation Day preparation |
| Sat 12/7 | Make Disciples of All Nations |
| Sunday 20/7 | Confirmation Day |
Following is an extract from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
The Effects of Confirmation
1302 It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost.
1303 From this fact, Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:
– it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, “Abba! Father!”;
– it unites us more firmly to Christ;
– it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
– it renders our bond with the Church more perfect;
– it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross:
Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgement and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear in God’s presence. Guard what you have received. God the Father has marked you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts.
1304 Like Baptism which it completes, Confirmation is given only once, for it too imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, the “character,” which is the sign that Jesus Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of his Spirit by clothing him with power from on high so that he may be his witness.
1305 This “character” perfects the common priesthood of the faithful, received in Baptism, and “the confirmed person receives the power to profess faith in Christ publicly and as it were officially (quasi ex officio).”
- Please also click and read the GUIDELINES from the Diocese of East Anglia.
- Please download the form for the candidate and the sponsor. Fill them in and give them back to the Parish Priest when you go to Mass, together with a copy of Baptism certificate and First Holy Communion certificate.
- Deadline for submission of Confirmation Form: 8th December 2024.
- Document