Given on 2 March 2025 for the Deaf Community Confirmations in Cathedral Hall.
Today our brother Yasser will be Confirmed and receive the Holy Spirit. He will also receive Holy Communion for the first time. Thank you for welcoming Yasser into this community.
Before Yasser is Confirmed he will be asked five questions. These questions were asked before, they were put to Yasser’s parents when they brought him for baptism. Today Yasser will speak for himself, his answer will be, ‘I do’.
The first question ‘Do you renounce Satan and all his works and empty promises’? The one we call Satan makes promises, he tempts us to do such and such, they result he promises is happiness and fulfilment. The promise is never kept. Happiness is promised, it is always sadness that is delivered. We renounce those promises, they are empty and meaningless.
‘Do you believe in God the Father Almighty’? is the next question. I am not asking Yasser if he believes if God exists. If I say to you, ‘Do you believe in me’ I am not asking if you believe I exist, you know I exist you can see me. I am really asking, ‘Do you trust me’? Yasser is being asked ‘Do you trust God’. Both God and Satan makes us promises, the difference being, God always keeps his. At the heart of our faith is the belief God always keeps his promises. We put our trust in him.
Next I ask ‘Do you believe in Jesus Christ our Lord’. We give Jesus many titles to describe who he is for us. He is our Saviour, He is our Redeemer. He is our Lord. The Lord of heaven and earth, the Lord of life and death. Everything is under his control. In being Confirmed we are not only accepting these truths but taking Jesus as our friend, permitting him to be our daily companion, to be with us at all times guiding us We are agreeing to give him first place in our lives. There many important things in our life, many things we enjoy doing. Everyone has what we might call a ‘Lord’, in their life. It could be anything, watching television, going to football, taking drugs. What is my ‘Lord’? Jesus is our Lord.
Then I will ask, ‘Do you believe in the Holy Spirit’. The Holy Spirit is spoken of as a gift from God. From time to time we receive gifts, chocolates, a scarf, a picture. If we do not appreciate a gift received or have no use for it we put in a drawer and forget about it. The Holy Spirit is the gift from God which completes our life as Christians. Today Yasser is given the Holy Spirit for a reason, so that he can be like that healthy tree we heard of in the Gospel, that he may bear good fruit; so that he can bring God’s goodness into the world by the way he relates with other people, by the good things he does. At the very centre of this ceremony I will take some Chrism (Christ’s) oil apply it to Yasser’s forehead with the words, ‘Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit’.
The final question starts with the words ‘Do you believe in the holy Catholic Church’. It then goes on to speak about the Communion of Saints, forgiveness, resurrection and everlasting life. What is the holy Catholic Church? It is the Body of Christ, it is a place of forgiveness, it is community, it is a place where we are prepared for life with God forever.
Please don’t forget how important all of you in this community are. The Church needs you and it is wonderful to see you present at so many different events. At this Mass each month, at Ash Wednesday Mass, at the Mass for the Sick, at the Stations of the Cross during Lent. We need this community and we welcome Yasser into this community. I hope, Yasser, and everyone gathered here that you will experience the holy Catholic Church a place where you are always welcome knowing you have a home. May we all allow the Holy Spirit to enter our hearts so that we will be drawn together to celebrate God love for us and for all people.
Yasser please now stand so that you can be Confirmed, receive God’s Holy Spirit and become a full member of the Catholic Church.