Live out your faith and profess courageously

The Sacrament of Confirmation, celebrated on July 21 in the Church of the Visitation, witnessed a total of 88 being confirmed.

Aug 09, 2018

By Paul Peter Fernandez
The Sacrament of Confirmation, celebrated on July 21 in the Church of the Visitation, witnessed a total of 88 being confirmed. The Form 5 students from the four-language groups made up the largest number with 72 candidates while the other 16 were adults from the special classes and RCIA.

The Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Julian Leow and concelebrated by Parish Priest Fr George Harrison and newly appointed Assistant Parish Priest Fr Xavier Andrew.

The multi-lingual Mass was animated by the Form 3 students and Liturgy team. In his homily in English and BM, Archbishop Leow began by saying, “The shepherds went off to a lonely place last week so that we could pray together and renew friendships.” He was referring to the recently concluded gathering of some 300 priests from Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsula at the 1st Malaysian Catholic Clergy Assembly (MCCA) in Majodi, Johor. At the assembly, he said, they looked at the history of how the faith came to different parts of Malaysia and the challenges that the Church is facing today.

Touching on the Second reading where Jesus brought together the Jews and Gentiles, His Grace said the Church too has a role to play to be the uniting force among Catholics, Christians and people of other faiths. He said the Church is in a good position to be a peace maker as she can dialogue with almost anybody.

He commended the Church of the Visitation for having taken such initiatives to approach and dialogue with people of other faiths. On the gospel reading, he said Jesus, as the Shepherd, has the answers to the needs of the lost sheep who are seeking peace, consolation and someone who understands their concerns and pain.

He asked the congregation to pray that the Holy Spirit will strengthen the confirmands that they will take their rightful place among the community as adult Catholics. He concluded by saying that the confirmands are no longer children but friends and disciples of Jesus, that they be strengthened through the Eucharist so that their faith will not fail. Instead, it will grow and deepen to withstand any storms and winds that may come their way.

After the homily, the renewal of the faith followed to which the confirmands answered, “I do.” Assisted by Fr George,

Archbishop Leow then anointed the forehead of each of the confirmands by making the sign of the cross with the Chrism oil.

After the concluding rites, Fr George Harrison thanked His Grace for presiding over the Mass.

One of the principal duties of a Christian will always remain the same for these 88 confirmands — Prayer. Pray to know, to love and to serve God even more earnestly than before. May the sacramental grace of Confirmation that they have received help them to live out their faith loyally and profess it courageously.

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