Thirty-two confirmed at St Francis De Sales

Nov 03, 2016

SITIAWAN: The Holy Spirit’s presence was very evident in the Eucharistic celebration that saw a harmonious blending of English, Tamil, Bahasa and Mandarin songs sung by multilingual choirs and the congregation.

It was a joyful and memorable day for 32 candidates who, after have completed two years of preparation and studies, received the Sacrament of Confirmation administered by Msgr Henry Rajoo, Vicar General of the diocese of Penang in the absence of His Lordship, Rt Rev Datuk Sebastian Francis. Parish priest Fr Vincent Paul concelebrated.

Prior to this, all the confirmands had attended a camp at Virgo Resort, Teluk Batik, Lumut for two days, Oct 2-3. Dr Albert Yong spoke on Human Sexuality, followed by a talk on Family Life by Christopher Aroliasamy. In the afternoon session, Alfred Sayagam spoke on Life in the University and the final talk was by the chief facilitator, Robinson Fernandez, on Meditation and Taize prayers.

The climax of the two days preparation was the Sacrament of Confirmation for the thirty-two.

During his homily, Msgr Rajoo said that he was very happy to see so many confirmands who have come forward to invoke the Holy Spirit. However, he said, there were two important things to follow. “One: The Spirit of Courage. You must have courage and boldness. In the beginning, everyone is scared but you should not be afraid.

“Two: The Spirit of Right Judgement. Today, young people are afraid and make a lot of mistakes. Let us pray for all these young people who are here, well dressed in their black and white attire, smiling and greeting each other with their families, teachers and sponsors, ready to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.”

The Rite of Confirmation followed. The candidates professed their baptismal vows while Msgr Henry Rajoo laid his hands on them, invoking the Holy Spirit. Then he anointed them with the Chrism Oil.

Before the final blessing, Veronica Christi Nathan, representing the group, thanked Msgr Henry Rajoo, Fr Vincent Paul, parents and all present for their kindness in being with them during this auspicious occasion. Most of all, they thanked the Holy Spirit for instilling the value of the gifts upon them.

The Chief Facilitator, Robinson had this to say at the end of the day, “It was a joy teaching this batch of confirmands because they have conducted themselves very well. They were full of ideas during the Sunday school sessions.” Fr Vincent then thanked Msgr Henry Rajoo for his kind attendance, the catechetical ministry for preparing the candidates spiritually, as well as coordinating the celebration among the four language groups.

After the final blessings, there was a photo session and the handing out of certificates to the candidates. — By DMC Durairaj