As confirmation season winds down, it’s a good time to examine what the sacrament really means. As one of the three sacraments of initiation meant to bring the recipient into deeper communion with the Church, confirmation deepens the baptismal grace, unites one more firmly with Christ, and gives the gifts of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands and anointing with oils by the bishop.
Although usually done between the ages of 12 and 18, any Catholic who has been properly baptized, can get confirmed.
Jordyn Dispenza received the sacrament at the April 19 Easter Vigil, at the age of 30 at St. Mary of the Cataract Parish in Niagara Falls.
Baptized and raised Catholic, she grew up going to church with her grandparents. She joined her grandmother as she volunteered at their Ascension Parish in North Tonawanda. Dispenza also took part in Vacation Bible School and other church related experiences.
“They raised me to know the love of Jesus. They took me to church every Sunday. We took many, many, many, many little vacations to Our Lady of Fatima during summer vacation,” Dispenza recalled.
As she grew older, her priorities changed. She admits to becoming more self-focused as a teenager and drifting away from the Church. After attending Niagara University, she accepted a teaching position at Catholic Academy of Niagara Falls that drew her back into her faith.
“Throughout my time here, very quickly, I became much more involved with the Church again,” she said. “Through the love of the teachers, my co-workers, my students’ families, I was right back into my faith and brought back into my spiritual roots.”
Working four jobs made it impossible for Dispenza to attend the regular catechesis classes needed to prepare for the sacrament. Luckily, Sister M. Joanne Suranni, CSSF, director of Faith Formation at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Niagara Falls, was willing to work with her personally.
“For several months, she would meet with me one-on-one, and we would talk about the Bible and the Church and Jesus, and my role as an educator and how I plan to incorporate our lessons with my students,” Dispenza explained.
Dispenza now plans to return to her roots in a way, by becoming an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist to bring Communion to her 83-year-old grandmother.
“Going to church with my grandma was one of the best memories of my life. We’d have tea in the morning. We’d do a novena together. We’d go to Mass. We’d go for walks. And we’d have a really lovely time,” she recalled. “And we can reflect together like we used to do when I was younger. I’m very excited to do that.”
Dispenza will also put her teaching skills to work with Sister Joanne at a Vacation Bible School this summer.
“I like to think as a 30-year-old going through this that I am setting an example for my students, because a lot of times little kids ask the funniest questions. They ask, ‘Why do we do this?’ “Why do we just know that Jesus loves us?’ It’s nice that they notice I can receive Communion and they ask me more in-depth questions. It’s just to be able to share that love and faith with them.”
Going the more traditional route, Phoebe Beal, 16, chose to get confirmed to take on a more mature role in her parish of Resurrection in Batavia.
“I’ve been going to church ever since I was younger. I did the first steps of baptism and Communion, and I wanted to get confirmed to be more a part of the Church,” she said.
Monthly classes began in October and continued until Easter, where her class learned prayers, important terms, the structure of the Bible, cardinal virtues, and the sacraments.
“I went on a retreat where we spent most of the day at the church learning about the process and grounding ourselves into the Church and understanding what confirmation means to us, and who we are to God and the Church,” she explained. “I’ve learned more about myself and my love for God and how He’s there no matter what we do, and being part of the Church is a very important part of life.”
She also had to complete a saint project, where the confirmands explain how the saint helped them on their journey. They then take on the saint’s name.
“I picked St. Cecilia because she is the patron saint of music and I love music,” Beal said. “Some of her virtues are perseverance and courage, which is what I like to follow in my own life. She loved God at a very young age, which I can relate to. She was a kind person who also loved music and liked to talk to God through music, which is what I like to do too.”
Beal plays guitar and sings, and plays clarinet in her high school band.
At home, her family prays together and reflects on Bible passages.
“She’s been wonderful,” said her mother, Jessica. “She’s come to me and said, ‘I want to read the Bible.’ So, she’s actually advocated that. So, it’s meeting them in the middle where they are and where their interests are. She’s been very easy in this process because she came home from the retreat and was excited to tell me about it. You don’t get that from a lot of 16-year-olds, but she said, ‘It was good. I enjoyed it.’ She showed me the collage of what confirmation means.”
Phoebe’s grandfather acted as her sponsor. Jessica’s role is to support and encourage her daughter and make sure all her children attend church. “I can’t remember a Mass we’ve missed.”