Confirmation Year 1 Homeschooling

Known: Experiencing God in Prayer

The first program for teens and parents to work through together is called "Known: Experiencing God in Prayer." Prayer is our relationship with God, and it is foundational and essential to the Christian life. In this series, you will learn new ways of praying and you will practice using them together. We hope that each member of your family will build a daily prayer routine that will grow throughout their lives!

This program is meant to be used as a small-group high school bible study, but it can easily be modified to use as a homeschooling program. Youth and parents should watch and discuss the videos in this programs together. The program includes 7 sessions. Four of the sessions include videos and three of the sessions are meant for you to practice the methods of prayer that are taught in the previous session. You can view the full program and leader guide here. It will probably be best for you to download and print the leader guide.

Take your time going through this series and practicing prayer. It should take 7 weeks to complete.

FORMED.org

To access this program, you must create a Formed account:

• Visit formed.org/signup
• Enter "01983" or "Saint Rose Saint Agnes" to find our parish account
• Click "Next"
• Enter your name and email address
• Click "Sign Up

Formed.org is like a Catholic Netflix. It holds a collection of Catholic movies, audiobooks, radio talks, podcasts, studies, cartoons and more. Your religious education tuition fee helped to cover the cost of our parish Formed subscription, so you can now access all of the content Formed has to offer.

Decision Point

Decision Point is an online Confirmation program by Dynamic Catholic. It contains videos and a workbook to complete.

• Videos: You can access the online videos here.
• Workbook: The workbook is available for pickup at the parish office during regular business hours (9-4 M-Th; 9-12 F). The office is located next to St. Agnes Church, 22 Boston St. Middleton.

Watch the videos and complete the workbook activities/reflection questions for the following sessions

• Session 1
• Session 2
• Session 3
• Session 7
• Session 8
• Session 9
• Session 10

Sessions You May Skip: 4, 5, 6, 11, 12

When you finish, drop your workbook off at the parish office with your name written inside, so we know you completed the program.

This series if for all Confirmation students to complete before their final interview, at the end of year 2. You can get a jump start on this series now or you can wait until the summer or next year.

The Catholic Basics series was put together by a Faith Formation Director in Quincy, MA to help teens learn some things that all Catholics should know, along with the reasons why they should care. The videos may not be the highest quality, but the content is great! If you watch all of these videos, you will have no problem passing the Catholic Basics test at the end of the two-year Confirmation prep program.

• Why Catholic basics?
• The Fall
• What is Love?
• Sacraments
• How to Memorize the 10 Commandments
• What the 10 Commandments Mean
• The Pope
• Virtue
• Saints

Participating in Sunday Mass is one of the best ways to prepare to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. During Mass, we worship God and we are nourished by both the Word of God and the Eucharist, which helps us to live the Catholic faith throughout the week and become the best versions of ourselves.

Beginning November 6, Confirmation students will be required to attend Mass every Sunday. There will be a sign-in sheet in both churches for you to write your name on when you arrive. If you attend Mass at another church, you will need to submit a Mass Reflection sheet. Mass reflection sheets will be available here soon.

You will choose two people to stand with you on your Confirmation day and to walk with you on your journey of faith for the rest of your life. We want you to choose these people this year, so they can journey with you through the second year of the Confirmation program.

1. Sponsor: One of these people is someone living here on Earth, who is a role model in the Catholic Faith - this person is called your "sponsor." They will stand at your side on the day of Confirmation, and present you to the Bishop to be Confirmed. They commit to helping you on your mission to become a saint. 
2. Saint: The other person is a Canonized Saint living in Heaven. Whichever Saint you choose will then have a special task of interceding for you in Heaven. You will take the name of this Saint on your Confirmation day and your sponsor will present you by this new name, to the Bishop.

Requirements of a Sponsor:

Role of a Confirmation Sposor:

• Help to prepare a candidate for the Sacrament of Confirmation through prayer, conversation, and example
• Present the candidate to the Bishop during the Sacrament of Confirmation
• Continue to aide the candidate in living his or her faith after Confirmation

A Confirmation Sponsor must:

• Be at least sixteen years of age by the date of Confirmation
• Have received the three Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist
• Be a Catholic in good standing with the Church and display a visible commitment to living out the Catholic faith, by attending Sunday Mass, receiving the sacraments, praying, serving others, etc.
• Have the ability and intention to carry out his/her responsibility as a spiritual guide in the candidate's life
• NOT be the parent of the candidate

Things to Consider:

• Because the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation are so closely connected, Church teaching states that it is “desirable that the godparent at Baptism also be the sponsor at Confirmation." While it is preferable for you to choose a godparent as your sponsor, it is not required.
• The person you choose as your sponsor should be someone who you admire and respect and who actively lives out the beliefs of our Catholic faith.
• Your sponsor should be someone you trust and feel comfortable turning to for help, advice and guidance, especially in regard to your spiritual life.
• Your sponsor should be someone who, through his/her example, shows you what it means to be Catholic. 
• After you receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, your relationship with your sponsor does not end! You are both called to lead each other closer to God, to continue to grow in knowledge of your faith, and to challenge one another to lead lives of holiness and service.
• Each Confirmation candidate may choose only one sponsor.
• Prayer is key! Spend some time asking God who He would choose as your sponsor.

After Choosing a Sponsor:

You should be able to answer the following questions about your sponsor. If you can't, get together with your sponsor and ask them some of these questions.

• What Catholic parish are you a member of? 
• How did you become Catholic? Were you baptized when you were a baby or did you become Catholic as an adult through the RCIA program? How did you learn about your faith? 
• What name did you choose for your Confirmation name and why?
• Do you have a favorite saint(s)? Why is he/she your favorite? What is there about his/her life that has helped you on your faith journey?
• What challenges do you face when you are trying to live a life of holiness?

• How do you pray? Do you have a favorite place to pray or a favorite time to pray? Do you ever find it difficult to pray? When you pray, who do you usually pray to: God, Jesus, The Holy spirit, Mary, a saint?

• Do you regularly participate in service projects or volunteer opportunities at your parish, work, or in your neighborhood? What do you do and what have you learned from those experiences?

• Have you ever had a time in your life when you really felt close to God? Have you ever had a time in your life when you really struggled to believe in God? 

• Who has been a good role model for you to live according to your Catholic Faith? What has he/she taught you or shown you? How has he/she deepened your faith?

• In what ways do you think you still need to grow in your Catholic Faith?

• What do you think are the greatest challenges to being Catholic? What is the greatest joy of being Catholic?

You will choose two people to stand with you on your Confirmation day and to walk with you on your journey of faith for the rest of your life. We want you to choose these people this year, so they can journey with you through the second year of the Confirmation program.

1. Sponsor: One of these people is someone living here on Earth, who is a role model in the Catholic Faith - this person is called your "sponsor." They will stand at your side on the day of Confirmation, and present you to the Bishop to be Confirmed. They commit to helping you on your mission to become a saint. 
2. Saint: The other person is a Canonized Saint living in Heaven. Whichever Saint you choose will then have a special task of interceding for you in Heaven. You will take the name of this Saint on your Confirmation day and your sponsor will present you by this new name to the Bishop.

The Holy Spirit has enabled Christians of every century to live like Jesus and become saints. We are ALL called to be saints. Saints are holy people who tried to follow Jesus with all their hearts. The saints were ordinary Christians, just like each of us. They relied on the Holy Spirit and followed where the Spirit led. Saints have been men, women and children. Some were married and some were single; some were members of religious orders and some were laypersons. Saints have come from all parts of the world, from every age and from all walks of life. From heaven, saints continue to watch over and pray for the Church, for all of us. As Catholics, we remember and honor the saints because they show us how we can follow Jesus with all our hearts.

At Confirmation, you are launched into mission. You are empowered by the gifts of the Holy Spirit to live the Catholic faith in a deeper way. Throughout scripture, God gives people new names when they are given a new mission. To signify your new mission, you are able to (but not required to) choose a new name, the name of a saint, to take on your Confirmation day. 

You have two options concerning the choice of a Confirmation name:

1. Choose a New Name

Pick a saint’s name that would symbolize a new beginning in your faith life and a connection with that particular saint. A new name symbolizes a new mission and a renewed commitment to your faith. A new name shows that you are, in some ways, a new person. This new name would be used after your present middle name and before your last name. The particular saint’s name chosen would represent the direction you feel your faith life is taking, or would represent a strength or attribute you feel you need.

It is important and necessary to learn something about the saint you choose before you decide on that name. The option of taking a new name is not to be used because you like the sound of the name, how it fits with your other names, or because it is the name of a nice friend or relative. You should honor this saint through prayer and imitation. These resources may help you choose a saint name to take:

• Life Teen's Biggest and Best List of Confirmation Saints
• Sophia Institute Saint Cards
• Catholic Saints
• Catholic.org

If you choose to take a new nae, the Saint's name would go after your first and middle names, and before your last name.

2. Stay with your Present Baptismal Name (your regular first or middle name)

If your baptismal name is that of a recognized saint of the Church, there is no need to select a new name for Confirmation. Using your baptismal name for Confirmation highlights the relationship between the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. To stay with your baptismal name would demonstrate that you feel there has been a continual growth in your faith and you now wish to make this formal through Confirmation. You should honor this saint through prayer and imitation.

When you have finished everything above (by August 1 at the latest), please bring these two things to the parish office:

1. Completed Decision Point Workbook - Be sure your name is in the book!
2. Saint and Sponsor Selection - Please write 1-2 paragraphs stating which Saint name and sponsor you have chosen for Confirmation and why you have chosen these. Next year, you will have to write a longer letter to the bishop with this information.