Across last weekend and this week, 41 St Matthews students received the Sacrament of Confirmation during very special masses at St Mary of the Presentation Catholic Church. The Sacrament of Confirmation is one of the initiation sacraments in the Catholic faith, along with Baptism and Eucharist.

When we are baptised, Catholics believe that we receive seven special gifts from the Holy Spirit, and these gifts are strengthened within us at Confirmation. We believe that these seven gifts help us as we come to see and understand the way God is constantly working in our lives. Life presents us all with many challenges, but the knowledge that we have the Spirit to guide and help us can be a wonderful source of courage and strength.

The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are:

1. Wisdom: this gift helps us to think deeply about a situation, conflict, or experience and see things more clearly - the way God sees them
2. Understanding: this gift helps us to experience a more compassionate awareness of what others think and feel
3. Right Judgment: the gift of right judgment, helps us to make good decisions based on what is right and wrong
4. Courage: with the gift of courage, we experience the strength to overcome our fears
5. Knowledge: this gift helps us to make good decisions based on the information we have at hand
6. Reverence: With the gift of reverence, we can worship God and prayer more meaningfully.
7. Wonder and Awe: the Holy Spirit enables us to be in wonder and awe of God’s creation and of our relationship with him.

I think all of us can easily imagine how the presence of these gifts might better equip us to live life to the fullest. I pray that the young people who received the Sacrament of Confirmation last week will know that they are deeply loved by God and that they will always have the Holy Spirit to help them as they journey through the ups and downs of life.

God bless
Angela Myles