SHELBURNE FALLS — Parents, siblings, grandparents, friends, fellow parishioners and classmates congratulated Kristin Slowinski, Krystal Finn, James Harrison, Vega Johnson-Bouchard, London Summers and David Hobbs in the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) Program at St. Joseph Parish in Shelburne Falls on Tuesday, April 12 when the students received the Sacrament of Confirmation.
The Sacrament of Confirmation confirms membership in the Christian community and seals Baptism with an anointing. Confirmation consists of a prayer to the Holy Spirit, the laying on of hands while the prayer is said and the anointing of the candidate with the Oil of Chrism.
Confirmation is the final formal step in the process of becoming initiated into the Christian community and is an invitation to each one of us to renew the Baptismal promises made on our behalf by our parents and godparents when we were baptized. This process invites us into a deeper way of relating to God, to Jesus and to one another, and to becoming more actively involved in the life of the community through the on-going presence of the Holy Spirit.
To receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, students must (1) have been baptized, (2) made their first Reconciliation and (3) received the Sacrament of First Holy Communion.
The celebration was officiated by the Most Reverend Mitchell T. Rozanski, Bishop of Springfield and con-celebrated by Pastor Anthony F. Cullen, Pastor Emeritus John A. Roach, and Rev. James W. Longe.