Name:_____________

Confirmation Booklet Year I

ST. JAMES THE GREATER

2019-2020

2

Table of Contents

CONFIRMATIONEXPECTATIONS 3

CONFIRMATIONEXPECTATIONSEXPLANATIONS 4-5

CONFIRMATIONYEARICALENDAR 7

CONFIRMATIONGUIDESLINESFORSERVICEHOURS

FAITHENRICHMENTACTIVITIES 8&9

FORMSTOCOMPLETE

CONFIRMATIONSPONSORFORM 6

COMMUNALRECONCILIATIONFORM 11

CONFIRMATIONSERVICEHOURSLOG 12

FAITHENRICHMENTACTIVITY1FORM 13

FAITHENRICHMENTACTIVITY2FORM 14

FAITHENRICHMENTACTIVITY3FORM 15

CANDIDATE&SPONSORACTIVITIES

CANDIDATE&SPONSORACTIVITY1 16-19

CANDIDATE&SPONSORWORKSHEET1 20

CANDIDATE&SPONSORACTIVITY2 21

CANDIDATE&SPONSORACTIVITY3 22

CANDIDATE&SPONSORWORKSHEET3 23-25

NOTES 25

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Confirmation Expectations

Year I

• Classes of Key Church Teachings

§ Mass Attendance

• Daily Prayer

• Service of Others

• Confirmation Name – Saint Name

• Retreat

• Candidate & Sponsor Activities

• Faith Enrichment Activities

• Sacrament of Reconciliation

• Baptismal Certificate

• Bringing up the Gifts

“Confirmation unites us more firmly to Christ. It strengthens our relationship with the Church, and it gives us a special strength from the Holy Spirit to defend the faith and confess the name of Christ.”

Pope Francis

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Confirmation Expectations Explanations

Classes of Key Church Teachings Canon Law requires candidates to be adequately instructed in the Faith. There will be 8 class sessions to attend. However, since everyone experiences occasional conflicts, candidates are allowed 1 non-emergency absence. Non-emergency reasons include school events, family trips, sporting events, ect. If you are going to miss a class for whatever reason, please call or email Kelly to let her know. 715-835-5887 or Beaudrie.kelly@gmail.com

Mass Attendance

Active Participation in the Sacrament of Sunday Eucharist. The grace received through the Eucharist is indispensable in preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Daily Prayer

Strengthen your relationship by spending time with God on a daily basis.

Service

Each candidate will be required to complete 15 hours of service – at least 5 of which must be within the St. James the Greater community. A resource list and log sheet of hours can be found in this packet. Two sessions have been scheduled for the group to get started. Candidates will be responsible for completing and keeping track of service hours. On-line forms can be found on stjameseauclaire.org website. See calendar for scheduled service projects.

Certificate of Baptism

If you were NOT baptized at St. James the Greater you will need to contact the church of baptism and request an updated copy of the Certificate of Baptism be sent to St. James.

Retreat

Confirmation Year 1 students will attend a retreat as required by the Diocese. Retreats are designed to give candidates a chance to internalize what they have learned and spiritually prepare for the sacrament.

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Sponsors

• Each candidate will need to choose a sponsor. A sponsor must be: • A practicing Catholic who has been confirmed and is at least 16 years old • A good role model for Catholic Christian living • Someone with whom the candidate can discuss their faith • Since Confirmation is tied to the sacrament of baptism, godparents can be a good option • As per Canon Law, parents may not be sponsors

Sponsors will meet with candidates throughout the 2 years to complete projects/activities. Sponsors should be available to help guide the candidate as they grow in faith.

Reconciliation

Each candidate is expected to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Communal Reconciliation during Advent is offered in our deanery. Dates to come for this week of confession. Individual reconciliation at St. James is on Saturdays at 3:30.

Faith Enrichment Activities

In order to give candidates a wider and deeper experience of their Catholic faith, students will be required to complete enrichment activities. Faith enrichment activities are designed to give you a taste of the Catholic Church outside what your “normal” experiences might be. You may discover something you didn’t know you liked!

Bringing Up the Gifts

Confirmation students in Year 1 and 2 are strongly encouraged to sign up with their families for bringing up the gifts during a mass of their choosing. Sign up will go out electronically during the month of November.

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St. James the Greater

Confirmation Sponsor Form Due for October’s class

Candidate Information:

Full Name: ___________________________

Telephone Number: _____________________

E-Mail: _____________________________

Sponsor Information:

Full Name: ________________________________

Full Address: (include zip code)

________________________________

________________________________

Telephone Number: ____________________________

E-Mail: ____________________________

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9th Grade Schedule 2019-20

September

18 Speaker @ Regis for Faith Enrichment Activity

October

9 Class –Faith Enrichment #1 due & Sponsor Information Form

30 Dinner & Speaker on Church History

November

13 RETREAT: Movie Night at Micon Downtown Budget Theater – bring money for concessions if you wish.

20 Class –Sponsor Activity #1 Due

December

Beginning of December Communal Reconciliation Week (Schedule to come)

4 Class –Faith Enrichment #2 & Communal Reconciliation Form Due

January

8 Class –Sponsor Activity #2 Due

22 Class

February

2 Souper Bowl Sunday Charity Collection after each mass

12 Class- Faith Enrichment #3

26 Ash Wednesday 6:15 Service – Regis excused

March

8 Parish Mission Speaker and Serve Soup Dinner 5:30-7:30

11 Class –Sponsor Activity #3 Due

April

1 Class –Service Hours Due

22 Last Class Bonfire 7:00-8:30 Bring a lawn chair & insulated mug

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Confirmation Guidelines for Service Hours Purpose As a Confirmation candidate, the Diocese of La Crosse requires service to others which demonstrates your faith in the world. St. James the Greater requires two service experiences including one for the parish and one for the community. In James 2:17 we find, “faith by itself, if it has no works is dead.” As Catholic Christians, we need to follow the example of Jesus who often reached out to the outcast and marginalized people of his day including tax collector, lepers, the blind, the lame and the poor. Two service opportunities have been scheduled already but you may set up others if these do not work for your schedule and for additional hours. Organizations/ideas to complete this service include

• Beacon House • Community Table • Bolton Refuge • Sojourner House • St. Francis Food Pantry • Feed My People • Hospitals • St. James the Greater Church: SonShine Days, Summer

Fest, Hospitality after masses, Child care for Parish Mission, Religious Educ. helper, Sunday Preschool Helper, church ground clean up, inside church clean-up day, Souper Bowl collection at church entrance for charity, pack and deliver Christmas donations from parish, Confirmation retreat planning committee, custodian helper for evening, choir

Your Service Must Be… • 15 hours of service either at scheduled opportunity or self-assigned • Minimum of 5 hours within Parish • 10 hours or remaining hours in community service • Must not be for a relative though - sorry Documented on Service Hour Log and hand in log in April.

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Faith Enrichment Activities – Try 3!

What is a “faith enrichment activity” and why do I have to do it??????

In order to give candidates a wider and deeper experience of their Catholic faith, students will be required to complete enrichment activities. Faith enrichment activities are designed to give you a taste of the Catholic Church outside what your “normal” experiences might be. You may discover something you didn’t know you liked! Do as many as you like but complete the Faith Enrichment form for 2 of them.

For each activity, answer the questions on the Faith Enrichment Form.

Oodles of Suggestions…

v Attend speaker at Regis in Sept. 26, 2018 v Attend parish mission - March v Join in on a teen youth group activity (Eau Claire Deanery Teen Youth Group) v Read a spiritual book v Watch a movie with a religious/spiritual theme for example: “The Shack”, “The Case for

Christ”, “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone”, “God Bless the Broken Road”, “God’s Not Dead I or II”, “The Reliant”, “The Star”, “Same Kind of Different”, “Heaven is for Real”, “Miracles from Heaven”, “Woodlawn”

v Do a Catholic Bible Study (independently or with a group) v Listen to Christian music for an hour v Help the ushers at church during Mass – learn about this ministry by doing v Visit the Shrine of Guadalupe in La Crosse v Head to Wisconsin Dells to attend the Immersion Retreat (Diocese Retreat) Nov. 10-12 v Grab a friend and go to a Lifeline Program at the NET Center in St. Paul (1st Sat. of every month

6:00 Oct.-May) v Pack your tent and come on the Teen Camping Trip in July v Attend an additional retreat – Action City in January? v Attend Triduum services (Holy Thursday, Good Friday or Holy Saturday Easter vigil) v Attend Catholic Mass in Latin, Spanish or another language. I.E. St. Mary’s 1:00 Sundays v Read up on a saint and write about him/her or do a collage of pictures that tell about him/her. v Take an hour to pray at Adoration v Go on a mission trip

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v Feel refreshed by going to a Communal Reconciliation (December) v Read one of the Gospels from the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) v Talk with adult about their faith journey – make a timeline of important events in their faith

life v Spend 20-30 minutes viewing the icon wall in the St. James sacristy v Pray with Lectio Divina – praying with a scripture, usually a Gospel reading. Ask a parent,

grandparent, sibling or friend to do it with you. (One of my favorites!) http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/catholic/2000/08/how-to-practice-lectio-divina.aspx

v Sing in one of the choirs at church v Go to a St. James baptism class to re-learn the details (last Sunday every other month) v Be on the Action City planning committee v Attend a mass at a church out of town – maybe while you’re on vacation or away for sports or

music activities v Pray by Daily Examen method – “reflection on the events of the day in order to detect God’s

presence and discern his direction for us.” http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen

v Watch 3 different videos on busted halo http://bustedhalo.com/category/video v Other ideas you have???? Ask Kelly if they’ll qualify.

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Eau Claire Deanery Communal Reconciliation

Which church did you attend?

Date of Reconciliation?

Who was the priest that lead the service that evening?

Did you go alone or with someone else?

What did you think of the experience?

How likely are you to attend another City Wide Communal Reconciliation?

1 being never and 5 For sure

1 2 3 4 5

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Confirmation Service Hour Log Sheet Name_______________________ Year 1 / Year 2

In Parish Service (at least 5 hours)

Date Service Performed #of Hours

Contact Person’s Name & Phone

Signature

Community Service (the rest your 15 hours)

Date Service Performed #of Hours

Contact Person’s Name & Phone

Signature

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Faith Enrichment Activity Form #1 Name:____________________________________________

Event/Activity 1 Date/Time Describe the event you attended or activity you completed. Give 2 details of something you learned from this activity. 1. 2. On a scale of 1-5 being terrible to awesome, how would you rate the event/activity?

1 2 3 4 5

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Faith Enrichment Activity Form #2

Name:____________________________________________ Event/Activity 2 Date/Time

What did you choose to do for a Faith Enrichment this time? What is one thing you learned by attending or doing this? Would you recommend this to another Confirmation student?

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Faith Enrichment Activity Form #3 Name:____________________________________________

1. What was the activity or event you completed for

activity #3?

2. Best part of the activity.

3. Anything you didn’t like about the event?

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Confirmation Year I

Walking Together #1:

Interviewing Your Confirmation Sponsor

Now that you have chosen your sponsor, it is time to spend a little more time with him/her to really get to know more about his/her faith journey. Please set up a time to meet with your sponsor to “interview” him/her. It would be BEST to meet with your sponsor in person, but if this is not possible, you can interview him/her by phone or email (last resort!) You can meet at your house or your sponsor’s house; you could meet for breakfast, lunch or dinner; you could go for a walk together. BE CREATIVE!

Plan on this activity taking at least one hour. Invite your sponsor to ask you some questions too! You do not need to get through all of the questions, but feel free to do so! You do not have to write in all the answers just discuss them.

Start your meeting by praying together! This may seem awkward at first so you could begin with a memorized prayer that you both say aloud.

At the end of your meeting, complete the Walking Together Activity Form #1 but not while you are meeting with your sponsor.

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YOU DON’T NEED TO WRITE ALL THE ANSWERS DOWN UNLESS YOU WANT TO – JUST HAVE A NICE CONVERSATION

J

1. How did you become Catholic? Were you baptized when you were a baby or did you become Catholic as an adult through the RCIA program? Tell me about how you first

learned about your faith, whether you were a child or an adult.

2. As a Catholic, what makes you different from other Christians?

3. How do you picture the Holy Spirit? What images come to mind? When or how have you experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life?

4. What name did you choose for your Confirmation name and why?

5. Do you have a favorite saint(s)? Why is he/she your favorite? What is there about his/her life that has helped you on your faith journey?

6. How do you define the word “holy”? Do you know people in your life that you would describe as “holy”? Do you think anyone describes you as “holy”? How does that make you feel? What challenges do you face when you are trying to live a life of holiness?

7. Tell me about an experience in your life when it was difficult for you to be Catholic – perhaps a time when you were ridiculed because of your faith or a time when you struggled to believe in the teachings of your Catholic faith. What did you do to “keep our faith” or find answers to your questions during these times?

8. In what ways do you feel that celebrating the Eucharist (the Mass) every week strengthens and nourishes you to live as a Catholic? Did you ever have a time when you did not like going to Mass? Do you like going to Mass now? What do you think caused the change?

9. What is your understanding of what it means “to sin”? What does “forgiveness” mean to you? What do you do when you find it very difficult to forgive someone who has hurt you? What do you do when you need to ask forgiveness from someone you have hurt?

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10. One very special aspect of our Catholic faith is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Tell me about your own feelings and thoughts about and experiences with this Sacrament. Is it difficult for you to celebrate this Sacrament or was there a time when it was? What kind of preparations do you find helpful before you celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

11. How do you pray? Do you have a favorite place to pray or a favorite time to pray? Do you ever find it difficult to pray? When you pray, who do you usually pray to: God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, Mary or a particular saint? Who or what do you usually pray for?

12. Do you regularly participate in service projects or volunteer opportunities at your parish, work or community? Describe what you do and how it impacts your life.

13. How would you answer someone who told you that “Catholics worship Mary”? Who do you turn to or what resources do you use when you find that you do not know an answer to a question about your faith?

14. Have you ever had a time in your life when you really felt close to God? Tell me about it.

15. Have you ever had a time in your life when you really struggled to believe in God? Tell me about it and how you keep your faith in the end.

16. Who has been a good role model for you to live according to your Catholic faith? What has he/she taught you or show you? How has he/she deepened your faith?

17. In what ways do you think you still need to grow in your Catholic faith?

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18. What is your favorite Scripture passage, verse or story? Tell me way.

19. Through the Sacrament of Confirmation, the gifts we first received at our Baptism:

Wisdom Understanding Fear of the Lord (Awe)

Right Judgement (Counsel) Courage (Fortitude)

Knowledge Reverence (Piety)

are strengthened and increased within each of us. These seven special gifts represent all of the gifts and blessings that God gives us to lead a good and holy life. They are special graces that are given to us through the Holy Spirit to enable us to respond to God’s call to holiness. Reflecting back on your life experiences and decisions, which gifts have you a lot? Which gift do you need to use more?

20. What do you think is one of the greatest challenges to being Catholic? What is the best thing about being Catholic?

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St. James the Greater Confirmation Walking Together Worksheet #1

Confirmation Candidate’s Name ____________________________________

Date Sponsor Meeting #1 Occurred: ________/__________/__________

Sponsor’s Name: ____________________________________________

DIRECTIONS:

Sometime after meeting with your sponsor, take a few minutes to reflect on your discussion and write brief answers to questions 1 and 2. Please take the time to answer questions 3, but you do not need to write anything.

1. What was one thing that you learned about your sponsor during your meeting?

2. Write about one story or experience that your sponsor shared that you felt showed that he/she was truly strengthened by the Holy Spirit through Confirmation to live a life of holiness.

3. Did you make a good choice of who you asked to serve as your Confirmation sponsor? If you are not sure if you did, pray about it, talk to your parents, and feel free to talk to Kelly about your decision and where to go from here.

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Confirmation – Year I

Mass Together #2:

Sponsor and Candidate Joint Activity

Attend Mass together at another parish. Complete the worksheet below together and return it to Kelly Beaudrie.

Confirmation Candidate’s Name ____________________________________

Sponsor’s Name: ____________________________________________

Date we attended Mass together: ________/__________/__________

Name of the Church: __________________________________________

City of the Parish _______________________________________________

Name of the Priest that said Mass: __________________________

How and why does attending Mass help our relationship with God?

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Confirmation – Year I

Busted Halo Film Clips #3

Sponsor and Candidate Joint Activity #3

Visit http://bustedhalo.com/category/sacraments101

Together with your sponsor watch these 4 short film clips on Baptism 101, Eucharist 101 & 201 and Confirmation. Complete Worksheet #3

Sacraments 101 – Baptism (why we Baptize) 6 minutes 28 seconds

Sacraments 101: Eucharist (how we receive) 4 minutes 45 seconds

Sacraments 201: Eucharist (what we believe) 9 minutes 18 seconds

Confirmation 101: (why we’re confirmed) 5 minutes 57 seconds

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Confirmation – Year I

Sponsor and Candidate Joint Activity

Busted Halo Film Clips

Worksheet #3

1. What are the Sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation known as? The Sacraments of:

2. Do we baptize someone again if they are converting from a different Christian religion? Why or why not?

3. What is meant by, an Emergency Baptism?

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4. Is Jesus truly present in the Eucharist?

5. What words are exchanged in the Receiving of Eucharist?

6. What does Amen mean when we receive Eucharist?

7. What is the role of the Confirmation Sponsor?

25

8. What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit? A brief description of each is given in the film on Confirmation.

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

g.

9. What is the significance of taking a Confirmation Name?

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No