ADVENT CONFIRMATIONS UPDATE

Dear Parents,

after prayer and reflection I want to share some further thoughts on our special Advent Confirmations 2022

When? Beginning on the Feast of St Andrew, November 30th and concluding on the Feast of St John of the Cross, December 14th 2022

Where? Both our parish churches.

Note: with regard to St Brigid’s some clarification may help. Straffan is not a parish. St Brigid’s is not a parish. Our parish is dedicated to St Patrick and St Brigid, the parish boundary includes the town of Celbridge and the village of Straffan and a significant hinterland. We are blessed with two beautiful churches.

The difficulty with a church the size of St Brigid’s is its viability for liturgy given the impending scarcity of priests. That said, primarily because of its faith community, including an ongoing commitment to the various ministries, lector, Eucharistic, Sacristans, Stewards, Cleaners and beautiful sacred music, and the beauty of the church itself I am firmly committed to St Brigid’s remaining a vibrant and valued part of our parish.

When it comes to Confirmation in St Brigid’s we must however, be realistic. This would mean in St Brigid’s a group of 25, plus parents, plus sponsors would mean a total of 100. I think this is quite a number in such a small church but I am happy to celebrate Confirmation in this manner.

The groups confirmed in St Patrick’s, given the space, in addition to parents and sponsors, may well enjoy the company of siblings and grandparents.

Why? Once the candidates have satisfactorily completed the adapted program, delivered primarily by the Confirmation Team in collaboration with home and school, and are ready to celebrate this beautiful sacrament they will be sent an invitation to a Confirmation ceremony in one of the parish churches, based on where they normally worship and the school they attend.

It is a source of real joy for any faith community to confirm young people into the adult life of the Church. I look forward very much to these celebrations.

How? On the actual Confirmation day I would like to see elements of:

Fire, water, wind, dance, song, music embedded into the celebration of the sacrament. I look forward to celebrating this very special day with our Confirmation candidates and their families.
It is a day that builds on family, friendship, fun and faith and above all is an encounter with the Holy Spirit. It will be a day like no other, a truly memorable landmark on the faith journey.

I am sad indeed that some will opt to be confirmed elsewhere but needless to say will pray that they have a blessed and happy day.

The registration process is now open to all of you and we hope will be completed in the next few days.

Fraternally, JoeMcD

ADVENT CONFIRMATIONS UPDATE

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