YOUNGSTOWN – When Jesus calls a person to follow Him, it is an invitation, never a demand, Bishop David Bonnar told those gathered in St. Columba Cathedral Nov. 20 for the Confirmation of 13 adults.
The day was the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, traditionally known as the Christ the King Sunday.
“In our freedom, we can accept or reject [Jesus’] invitation,” Bishop Bonnar told the confirmands, their sponsors and families, and cathedral parishioners who attended the 4 p.m. Mass.
“It has always been scheduled near or on the feast of Christ the King and Thanksgiving,” said Barbara Walko, diocesan director of Faith Formation and Lay Ecclesial Ministry. “It is appropriate in the season of gratitude to be thankful for the gift of faith and our faith families.” The Solemnity of Christ the King, which is the last Sunday of the liturgical year, also encourages Catholics to live out their faith in public, Walko noted.
In his homily, Bishop Bonnar explained that “Jesus Christ, King of the Universe” invites people to join Him, and the Confirmation candidates followed that invitation.
The bishop stressed that “Jesus’ power as king is not about money, wealth, riches, land or control, but rather freedom, love and mercy…. The call comes every day in the nitty gritty of life. We are invited to embrace Him – His way, truth and life.”
The 2022 adult confirmands represented parishes from all six counties in the diocese – Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning, Portage, Stark and Trumbull.
Each Confirmation candidate sat with his or her sponsor – a person they chose who has received the sacraments of Baptism, Holy Eucharist and Confirmation. The sponsor is a spiritual mentor who encourages the candidate to actively participate in their Catholic faith.
After the Liturgy of the Word, the confirmands and sponsors were asked to stand in their pews. They then were called up individually, and the bishop administered the sacrament to each person, inviting them to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, to strengthen and guide them in their faith life and to deepen their relationship with Jesus.
“The diocese has offered an opportunity for practicing Catholic adults to celebrate Confirmation every year since the mid-1990s,” Walko noted. “They are prepared at the parish and must have their eligibility verified by their pastor.”
While most Catholics in the diocese celebrate Confirmation in eighth grade, these candidates waited until adulthood for various reasons. One of the confirmands missed their opportunity to receive Confirmation at their parish in eighth grade due to a parent’s job transfer and a subsequent move. Another became ill on the original date of their Confirmation.
“I didn’t get to finish Confirmation classes as a teenager,” said Teresa Bencivengo, a parishioner at St. Michael Parish in Canfield, naming another common reason why a candidate may wait until adulthood.
Cornelius Bernard Drugan, a parishioner of St. Peter of the Fields Church in Rootstown, said, “I felt a spiritual calling to receive Confirmation as an adult. I have seen too many people in my age group fall away from their faith as they grow older and experience problems like failing health.”
The confirmands said they appreciated receiving the sacrament with other Catholics as a group, which is how they would have received it as a student.
“I felt more like I was part of a community, since there were other adults being confirmed at the same time,” said Drugan.
Several of those receiving the sacrament said they felt a stronger sense of belonging to their Catholic faith. “I feel more like a member of my parish and the Catholic Church since receiving Confirmation,” said Drugan.
The joyous occasion welcomed confirmands from multiple generations, including two in their 70s, to reaffirm their faith as adults in front of family, friends and fellow Catholics at Mass.
“We have previously had people in their 80s,” Walko said. “It is never too late to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit through the sacrament of Confirmation.”
