Some months ago, my Parish Priest invited me to attend a seminar, the Life in the Spirit Seminar. In truth it wasn't the first time I had heard about it but I saw it as something for the 'Charismatics'.
I decided to attend because when my Parish Priest asked me I said 'Yes' and I couldn't go back on my word. Also I had been soul searching and asking questions, praying to know and love and serve God more. I had also been praying to receive confirmation of what my charism is and God's purpose for my life.
Six weeks into the 9-week journey and I know that I have been missing something fundamental in my life, the intimate knowledge of the Holy Spirit.
Getting to know him as a friend, a helper, a confidant, a guide, a comforter and so much more makes me realize how much I have missed and I so look forward to making up for lost time. And yes in a few hours from now, God willing, I will be 'born-again' as I receive a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
But it also got me thinking.
In the Catholic Church we have the sacrament of Confirmation through which Catholics receive a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit to be empowered for the work of evangelization. Unlike the sacrament of baptism which can be received at any age because no one is too young or too old to be initiated into the family of God, the sacrament of confirmation is only conferred on those who have attained the age of reason. A key requirement is that these individuals understand and appreciate that they have made a personal decision to respond to the Great Commission under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
And so this is why I strongly believe that every candidate preparing to receive the sacrament of confirmation must go through the Life in the Spirit seminar. It is so important that before anyone takes this most important step, they understand who the Holy Spirit is and the role that he plays.
Having been both a cathechumen and a cathechist, I think that the current preparation is inadequate and if the church must deliver on the 'Great Commission', we must have Spirit-filled disciples.
0 comments:
Post a Comment