Confirmation

1st March 2022

Dear Parents, 

May the Lord be with you all! The whole world has been going through difficult times, due to the pandemic and we all have been affected personally. I wish and pray that you are all well. 

The life of the Church was also disrupted during these times. Churches closed for months at a time, restrictions in the number of people who could attend church, weddings cancelled, funerals with only 10 people allowed in, first sacraments postponed, masks, QR codes, cleaning pews, etc. After more than 2 years, it seems to me that things are now easing. Hopefully this will be the beginning of the end of the pandemic. 

In our parish, we did everything we possibly could to make sure everybody was safe and continue to share our faith. Till today there has not been a Covid19 reported case in our parish. And that is a great testimony from the people of St Therese, who did their best to keep our Church open.

Our parish also used the internet to keep reaching out to people, through live-streaming masses and the parish website. We will continue of course to support our parish children, teaching them the faith and keep feeding the community with the love of God through the sacraments.

This purpose of this 2022 booklet is to make sure the love of God continues to reach everybody especially the new generations and help them to believe in the risen Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. And we will do this through the sacraments of initiation we celebrate every year.

Here you will find all the session (lessons) dates, times and celebrations that relate to this year’s Sacramental Programme. We know this will help you to prepare in advance for the year, so please make sure you these important dates are a priority for your family; because they are very significant steps in the Christian life of your children. We certainly want those children to share in the life of God and his graces in the Sacraments of the Church as they help us on our journey towards the kingdom of God; where we all hope to receive eternal life.

Parents, you have a great responsibility toward your children in this path of faith. You are responsible to make sure, they are fed in the Eucharist at Mass every Sunday, be reconciled with God and with brothers and sisters in confession and that the Spirit of God dwells in their hearts through Confirmation, the same Spirit who rose Jesus from the dead. The Holy Spirit will help them to do good deeds in the Church and the world. 

 It is critical for Christian growth in families that you feed this faith by providing opportunities to your children at home and at church. Please use this opportunity to practise your faith more, in this way your children may remain in this our faith. Please use your arsenal of spiritual tools to make sure your home become a good Christian place especially through praying, saying grace before meals or other special times, thanking God for the blessings of each day, praying for the sick and needy, etc.  Only in Christian family living and parish living will children be able to find real hope for now and the future.  Therefore, I urge you to practise all these in your home and in the church. And provide and attend to all the lessons, sessions and sacraments your children will receive throughout these primary years. Hopefully this will place a foundation for the faith in later years.

Yours sincerely in Christ, 

Fr Roberto Castillo 

Parish Priest, St Therese – Denistone