2024-2025: CONFIRMATION PREPARATION FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES 8, 9, AND 10
Earlier this year, the Archdiocese of Boston announced that Cardinal Seán has approved a proposal that will lower the ordinary age of Confirmation from Grade 10 to Grade 8, to be implemented over the next 2-3 years.
For some time, the Archdiocese has been involved in an extensive consultation on a question of great importance: how to strengthen the participation of young people and their families in the life of faith in Jesus Christ lived out in our parishes, schools, and communities. Over the past several years, they have consulted with parents, young people, priests and deacons, and parish/school faith formation teams here in Boston and in other dioceses. The overwhelming consensus was to lower the age of Confirmation, which will:
- Decrease the gaps between the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation).
- Increase and strengthen the role of families in the faith formation of their young teens.
- Make the grace of this Sacrament available to our young people in greater numbers, and at a critical time when they begin to encounter the demands and challenges of adolescence.
For 2024-2025, we will offer Confirmation Preparation programs for students in Grades 8, 9, and 10, and all students enrolled in these programs will be scheduled to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in the spring of 2025.
ABOUT THE PREPARATION FOR THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION
As a Sacrament of Faith, Confirmation completes the Christian commitment begun in Baptism. The four components of the Confirmation program for adolescents are:
- Community (developing their sense of belonging to the Church and parish community)
- Message (having a well-developed understanding of the faith)
- Worship (regular, active participation in the Sunday Eucharist and personal prayer)
- Service (witnessing Christ’s life of service through projects that assist those in need)
Regular and active participation in the Sunday Eucharist is central to our faith and is the foundation of Confirmation preparation. As such, our Sunday 5pm Youth Mass is the centerpiece of our Confirmation programs; all other components supplement the regular and active participation in the Eucharist. From the music, to the homilies, to the Spirit-filled sense of vibrancy and joy, the Sunday 5pm Youth Mass is designed to touch the hearts and minds of our young people and draw them closer to God and the Church.
Classroom work supplements participation in the Sunday liturgy, and fosters in our students a well-developed understanding of the faith. Classes meet as scheduled around the Sunday 5pm Youth Mass.
A Spiritual Retreat assists the candidates in becoming people of prayer, and is integral to the preparation for the Sacrament.
The Christian Service component of the program challenges the candidates to model Jesus’ life of service. These projects help to foster an understanding of the centrality of service in the Christian life.
We also encourage our high school students to participate in our Youth Ministry program. The focus of this program is to help give our young people a lived connection to Christ Jesus and the community of the Church, and help them to grow in faith as young adults. Youth Ministry also offers service opportunities within and outside our Collaborative, as well as social and recreational activities, to help our young people strengthen their connections to each other and to their community.
For more details and information about our Confirmation Preparation Program please visit the Religious Education Program website.
For More Information
Please email Linda Messore at linda.messore@sjspwellesley.org