Thinking Anew
ALL over the country, bishops are arriving at local parishes for the annual confirmation ceremony. Thousands of young teenagers will present themselves before the man who represents Jesus in their area. He will pray over each child individually, wishing upon them the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There is something beautiful about the spiritual leader of the local Church wishing wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and awe in God’s presence someone who stands on the threshold of adulthood:
“As you take your first steps as an adult I pray that you will be wise in all your decisions. I pray you will be tolerant of others; and may you be a good friend. I pray you will have strength in times of challenge; may you study and learn to achieve new things. May you discover a deep spirituality within yourself; and may you always know the greatness of God and the dignity of your own high destiny.”
And then we release these young adults into a world that pays little respect to these values. It is a world where profit, prestige and gratification are the dominant values. It is a world preoccupied with longevity, continually boasting of new advances that will heal our ills. The fact that longevity today is 70 to 80, just as it was when Psalm 89 was written, should indicate our folly. We have chemical answers to the results of our excesses but we haven’t added a hair’s breadth to our time. Today we feast, tomorrow we fast, and we will live forever chasing our tails in a journey that never progresses anywhere. For many the profit of the confirmation money and the prestige of the good clothing comprise the total gratification of the day. The gentle and noble prayer of the bishop is sadly absent from the consideration of most candidates.
Yet there is something valuable in persisting with this practice. It is still a good thing that the believing community expresses its wish for good things for the children of sixth class. It is still worth mentioning that the spiritual values of faith play an important part in our lives. At an age when most of us are somewhat idealistic, it is good to show that there are other ideals to strive for beyond a diminutive waistline and designer underwear. We should remember that this is a generation that boasts openly of plastic surgery but treats mental/spiritual illnesses in a way that makes Biblical lepers seem valued.
So where is the hand of God in this shallow world? The hand of God is represented in the hand of the bishop praying that the goodness and generosity of this young generation will rise to achieve something better. Placing his hand on the candidate’s head, he hopes earnestly that the gifts of the Holy Spirit will truly bring deep meaning and happiness to the young adult. In this he leads all the believing community in a fervent prayer.
We pray that before these young people become embroiled in a meaningless world of externals, they will be told that they are capable of so much more than a job description for the good times and a bottle of gin for the bad ones. And as we pray our hopes, we are confident that the candidates also wish these things for themselves. So when you see the chap in the pointed hat coming by your local church it might provide you with a chance to see how well you did with these gifts – and be thankful that they are still on offer. FMacE