The end of May marked an important event in the faith lives of Grade 6 students at St. Elizabeth School. After months of preparation through discussion, lessons and actions, they received the Sacrament of Confirmation on May 31.
One of the steps in their preparation for the event was a retreat held at St. Elizabeth Church. In the accompanying story (page 8) one participant, Kelsey Stafford, describes the retreat day. In her story, Stafford mentions her visit to the shelter operated by the Shepherds of Good Hope.
The visit to the Shepherds of Good Hope centre provided an opportunity for the students to put their faith into action. Fr. Daniel Dubroy, Pastor of St. Elizabeth's Church and retreat leader, later praised their efforts and the contribution the trip made to the success of the retreat.
“The students made eight and one-half cases of sandwiches,” he told a congregation of students and other worshippers on June 2. “It was enough to feed all the men who would be dropping into the centre later. There were no other volunteers that day, so if the students had not gone down to volunteer there would not have been any sandwiches for the men.”
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Confirmation perfects Baptismal grace; it is the sacrament which gives the Holy Spirit in order to root us deeply in the divine filiation, incorporate us more firmly into Christ, strengthen our bond with the Church, associate us more closely with her mission, and help us bear witness to the Christian faith in words and deeds.”
Certainly these Grade 6 students did bear witness to their Christian faith in keeping with the spirit of the sacrament which they received. We can only hope this spirit of helping others will continue to manifest itself as they grow up in our community for “confirmation is the sacrament of maturity and coming of age.”