RBWords

     The fundamental basis of every parish mission I preach is in those lines from the Second Letter to Timothy.  The first of the three services focuses on the "gift of God which you have received..." - a gift of "power and love and self-control."  This is what we receive in Baptism.  Confirmation is simply a form of completion of Baptism.  In that first service, I ask the congregation how many of them remember their baptism?  Very few do.  Those that do have come into the church later in life.  Most of us are babies when we are baptized.  We only think of it as a past event which we have to prove with a certificate for First Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony or Ordination to Orders.  I call attention to the first thing that most Catholics do when they enter a church.  They look for the holy water to make the Sign of the Cross (ever look for it when you went into a non-Catholic Church?)  This familiar gesture is meant to remind us of our Baptism with water and the words, "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

     This is not a past event.  It is a present reality!  I ask the congregation to process with me to the baptismal font (or to a bowl of water at the front of the church which I bless) to touch the water and say the words (which we often omit).  Then I ask how many remember their Confirmation ceremony.  I get more hands up this time!  But it still remains something in the distant past for most.  So, I ask them to join me in a Prayer for the Gifts of the Spirit - those seven gifts which we associate with the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Piety, Courage and Fear of the Lord.

     All of thisis contained in the words written to Timothy.  I find those words: "power, love and self-control" to be extremely important.  They describe the "missionary disciple" that Pope Francis has challenged us all to be. The gift we have received, we are challenged to give to others.  Timothy and Titus did that in their day.  We can do it in ours.  AMEN