Pastor’s Letter: November 16, 2025

Pastor’s Letter: November 16, 2025

14 Nov 2025 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear St. Philomena Parish Family,

Blessings and peace to you this day! This weekend our Diocese is continuing to celebrate our 150^th anniversary with a Gala event and our School Benefit Auction is (or was depending on when you read this) on Saturday evening. On Sunday, I’ll be traveling back to St. Mary’s, Pesotum, (where I grew up) for the 150^th anniversary of the parish…no doubt, celebration is in the air this weekend!

Speaking of celebrating, I just wanted to share a word of thanks to all those who made my birthday such a joyful one. From the many notes and kind gifts to heartfelt prayers—it truly was a great day! A few of my favorite highlights came from some of our school students, who decorated pumpkins for the rectory porch, made cards, recorded videos and songs…even created a whole online presentation—it really was so impressive what they did! Some of our students had specific wishes for me, like a trillion bucks…a Camaro, Porsche, or a Jeep…a puppy…and one dear soul who wished me happiness in my heart that the day. A few students also shared things they like about me such as I am an Illini fan or that I adjust the temperature in church up and down depending on the season! =) I shared with our Bishop all these joys and I told him I didn’t receive those big ticket items like the cars or a trillion bucks, but I did receive happiness in my heart!  =)

With all these joys in mind, I’m returning to our review of the Sacrament of Confirmation—this week looking at some questions about the actual celebration of the Sacrament. As we saw last week in the Scripture passages, there are both references to the Gift of the Holy Spirit in a unique way and some details like laying on of hands and anointing with oil. As you might have noticed, not every detail is spelled out for each of the Sacraments in the Scripture passages. Of course, the Sacraments are entrusted to the Church, which means the Church is able to fill in those details for when a Sacrament is received, what kind of preparations are needed, who is eligible, etc. Some of the details are left up to the local Bishop to decide (or even sometimes the pastor of the parish), such as the preferred age for when people receive Confirmation.

Who celebrates Confirmation? Ordinarily, the Bishop is the celebrant. In any setting, a Bishop can depute a priest (usually the pastor) to celebrate…this was last done on a large scale in our Diocese during the time of Covid. As you may know, pastors also commonly Confirm people who are joining the Church at Easter Vigil, either by mandate of the Church (for people baptized at Easter Vigil or for Christians baptized in other Christian backgrounds who are received into the Church) or by mandate of the Bishop (for people baptized as Catholics but not brought up in the Faith).

Who can receive Confirmation? Any baptized person who has not previously received Confirmation who meets the necessary pre-requisites: being in the state of grace, has undergone preparation/instruction and has made a Profession of Faith, as well as age requirements in some places.

What are the basics of the Rite of Confirmation?  Presentation of the Candidates; Invitation to the Candidates and asking the congregation to pray for them; The Laying on of Hands with Prayer, Followed by Anointing with Chrism and the words of the Sacrament:  “___, be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.”  –Amen. Peace be with you.  –And with your spirit.

 What are the words of the Prayer at the Laying on of Hands?  “Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who brought these your servants to new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, freeing them from sin: send upon them, O Lord, the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete; give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety; fill them with the spirit of the fear of the Lord.  Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

 What kind of oil is used? Sacred Chrism, which is also used in Baptism and Holy Orders. It is olive oil containing a perfume that is blessed by the Bishop at Chrism Mass each year. The perfume is meant to remind us of the sweetness of life lived in Christ.

What are requirements for a Confirmation Sponsor? A Confirmation sponsor is someone who serves as a good model of faith and can be a good spiritual support for the person being confirmed. A sponsor should be someone who is an active Catholic in good standing (practices the Faith regularly and lives in accord with Church teaching) who is a fully initiated member of the Church (has received Confirmation). In some places, there is an age requirement (16 years is a common threshold).

What is the significance of the Confirmation name? Scripturally, a name change symbolizes a new life or a new mission (for example Abram and Sarai become Abraham and Sarah; Jacob becomes Israel, Simon becomes Peter, etc.).  So a Confirmation name signifies a different engagement in how we live our Faith. Typically for Confirmation, we choose a saint name which provides a saintly patron/patroness who is a good example to follow and a friend to intercede for us.

Next week, we will take a closer look at those Gifts of the Holy Spirit which we heard about in the Prayer at the Laying on of Hands.  This might also be a good opportunity to invite everyone to be praying for all those who are preparing for Confirmation this coming spring—both from our 8^th grade class and for those who are in our OCIA and planning to join the Church at Easter! Know of my prayers and blessing for you all this week!

In Christ,
Father Luke