Parent Orientation

If you recall, in the Baptism Rite, the priest turns to the parents and asks, "You have asked to have your child baptized. In doing so you are accepting the responsibility of training him (her) in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring him (her) up to keep God's commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor. Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?" Parents are to respond, "We do."

I always found that hilarious.  I mean.... do any of us really understand what we are undertaking?    Raising a child in the faith is the most important thing we are doing as parents but it is not always easy.   Right? Since humans have free will, it's not like we can just force our children to do what we want - our role is to nurture them.  

We all have various reasons for bringing our child forward to Baptism and now for Confirmation, please take a moment to reflect and think about why you want Confirmation for your child.  

There are misconceptions out there about Confirmation.  One is that it is a Sacrament where the child decides to be Catholic for themselves (and Baptism was the parent's choice).   Another misconception is that it is something earned after having completed a program and learned certain facts about our religion. However, Confirmation is best understood as a Gift of Grace given to an open receiver and is a completion of Baptism that initiates the candidate fully in the church and gives them strength to live out their faith.

How does your understanding of Confirmation align with this?  How was it different?

1.  What does a sense of belonging look like for a teenager?  In what ways can you as a parent help your child form a sense of belonging with the St. Gabriel Community?  Does your teen have any church-based friendships you can encourage to further develop? If not, what might it take for you to help your child form connections with the parish?   What can the parish do to support you?

2. What do you need to feel empowered and encouraged to have faith-based conversations with your child?

Please print if you can so you can best follow along with the video

Confirmation Journey  Handout

This handout outlines the process and provides important dates and times. Please take this moment to add these dates to your family calendar, including the age-specific retreat, so you can plan other aspects of life around the Confirmation Journey.

Stepping Stone #1: Mapping Out the Journey

In this Stepping Stone, you and your child will have a conversation around a) What is Confirmation, b) how to choose a sponsor, and c) explain the Confirmation Seekers Card.

3. Start looking for a copy of your child's baptism certificate if your child was not baptized at St. Gabriel. (These can sometimes be hard to find, and you do not want to delay the start of the Sponsor Milestones). 

Qualifications of a Sponsor