 It's kind of scary how easy it is to give into temptations that distance us from the church. You kinda just go through the motions of being a Catholic without thinking much of it. So between the temptations of sports or school or extracurriculars, which most of us high school students are a part of, it's so easy to come up with excuses for how to get out of church. I’m sure all of us are guilty of that.
I found myself really distant from the Catholic Church in middle school. As a 12 year old, you're so easily persuaded. All my friends were going to a popular non-Catholic church. Where everything is basically a party and all young students are automatically attracted to. I decided to go on a retreat with that church one summer to spend time with my friends. There I realized the setting I thought I would enjoy became a place that filled me with uneasiness and discomfort. That weekend I came home and immediately jumped back into routine. I went to mass that night with my mom. It’s crazy most of us have never really experienced an epiphany when it comes to church but in that moment I really did. It's really a hard feeling to describe and I can really only relate it to a homecoming. As soon as I walked through those doors and into the chapel, all that uneasiness from the night before went away. I was finally home. When high school school started I found myself distracted again, a new school, new friends, and new extra curriculars that now for some reason take so much more time. I would go months at a time without stepping into the church. Then my mom signed me up for CCE classes, and I know I relate to many when it was just something you did to make your mom happy. There I met the greatest and most influential people I have ever met. I started to enjoy coming to church and it became my choice to want to be there, not my mothers. I had found a second family in my second home. Something I realized is that I wouldn't have survived high school without this second home which never gave up on me. Whether you get distracted and walk away, the Catholic Church will always be there. Whether you're ready to get confirmed or not or even if you've already been confirmed and find yourself distracted, you will always have a place to come back to. No matter how far you wander, the Catholic Church will always be your second home.
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Biggest and Best List of Confirmation Saints - as published on lifeteen.com/blog by Rachel Penate1/19/2017 It happened. I tried to stifle the laugh, but it was impossible. She was just too funny, too sassy, too real… St. Thérèse of Lisieux had literally made me laugh out loud in adoration. How embarrassingly awesome.
Ever since I was 14, St. Thérèse had been a “saint-buddy” of mine, but it was in a simple moment while reading Story of a Soul (Thérèse’s autobiography) that her journey to sainthood became real to me. Her sassy, stubborn-headed, emotional self had truly spoke to me in such a real and personal way. She spoke to me like a sister. The saints, our teachers What an incredible gift we have in the communion of saints. The saints are like us! They are our ancestors, our teachers, our friends, our siblings. They are real, truly human. They are sinners, they are repentant children of God. The saints lived on this earth and experienced suffering, joy, pain, broken promises, peace, frustration, war, injury, heart-break… they know our hearts. But mostly, they know what it takes to be united with God here on this messy earth. They know what it takes to live well for Him. Why a saint for Confirmation? We choose a Confirmation saint (like we choose a Confirmation sponsor) not out of due diligence to the “rule,” but rather because we realize how unfortunate it would be to travel alone. We recognize how important it is to know your Confirmation saint not only by name, but also by story. The saints have so much to teach us about this journey. The following list is for you to use as a starting point in your journey to decide whom your “Confirmation saint-buddy” will be. Pick a saint who speaks to you somehow. Know their story. But, mostly know the power of their prayer. Ask for their intercession like you would ask for the prayers of your friends. Saying “yes” to a Confirmation saint is like saying “yes, you may always pray for my poor and weary soul.” How fantastic is that!? I pray that in this process you don’t just find a Confirmation saint, but instead an incredible friend. So, here it rolls… the list to top all lists. Happy picking! Saints who I’m pretty sure were actually superheroes No, their “superpowers” weren’t designed by fancy machinery or alien power. They were simply receptive to the mighty power of God. These saints stories are incredibly heroic.
Modern day saints Men and women who know what it means to live in the 20th century and still live a holy life. Whew, that’s not only impressive, but beautiful. We have a lot to learn from these men and women.
Saints who are Doctors of the Church No, we’re not talking about Dr. House or Dr. Who, but rather physicians of the theology of the Church. Men and women who, through their own intense study and reflection, have given the Church great wisdom and insight.
Saints with a really cool conversion story God works wonders in our lives in small and hidden ways, but sometimes His wonders are loud. These saints experienced a profound conversion that really shaped their life in tremendous ways.
Saints with names your bishop might have trouble pronouncing … cause (don’t lie) that would be really funny. But also, their names aren’t the only rad thing about these saints; check out their stories!
Saints who reached sanctity before the age of 25 Most of these saints were younger than you when they reached sainthood. What’s your excuse?
Saints to invoke if you need prayers for a very specific intention A saint is way more than their patronage, but sometimes we just need a saint in our lives who can pray for us in a particular way.
By no means is this a complete list of the saints. If it was, it would totally be way more overwhelming than helpful. But, I pray you have found your “saint-buddy” on this page. If not, I pray you will soon, for the saints truly are our greatest friends and advocates. They are our family!  We’ve all been there before, you see a post, a picture, a Snap, a text, of all of your closest friends hanging out —without you. With the advent of so many ways to be connected to the people we care for most through social media and other forms of communication, it is easier than ever to feel the fear of missing out. The initial sense of shock wears off and you find yourself feeling alone, questioning the intentions of people who you thought to be your friends. As someone who has felt this way so many times, I can tell you from experience that it stinks. In the moments after, it is so easy to jump to conclusions, to blame yourself, to ask yourself ‘am I not good enough?’, ‘not funny enough’, to question the authenticity of your friendship. It is normal to feel pain upon being excluded, you have every right to be upset, but it is so incredibly important to know that none of this is your fault.
You were created as a child of God, in the image and likeness of God, with your gifts and traits bestowed upon you by Him so that others may come to see Him in His glory. You are not responsible for changing your appearance, your personality, or anything else that makes you undeniably you, just to be able to ‘blend in’, nor can you expect to be able to change someone else’s flaws. So often after being ignored, I acted as if their actions did not hurt, and continued to encourage them to hang out with me, in the hopes that they would see me as someone who could fit into their group. That desire to please others and fit in, I soon noted, was beginning to take precedence over my desire to know and please God. Often, we feel a deep pain in our hearts upon being rejected or ignored, an emptiness that feels as if once again, we are deemed to be not good enough. This void is meant to be interpreted as a call from God, a way of Him letting you know that He is ready and willing to enter into your heart and fill the void in order to heal the emptiness. In those times of recovering from loneliness, it is easy to feel utterly alone and as if no one could ever possibly understand what it feels like to be wronged, or rejected, or ignored—WRONG! Jesus knows exactly how you feel. Denied three times and left to suffer on the cross, He rose again. And you will too. |
AuthorYour confirmation teachers - Kathleen, Eric, Sophia, and Valerie, and with contributions from 410 alumni Archives
September 2021
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