Year 1 & 2 Sponsor Information
Confirmation Classes
Year 1
October 5: Session 1 – Youth will be getting to know their catechists, classmates and the Sunday morning routine. There are 12-13 youth in each class, with 2 catechists. They will be setting up tasks for each student, so that sessions will begin smoothly each week. This session will focus on the uniqueness and value of each individual and the universal hunger in the human heart that can only be satisfied by God.
October 12: Session 2 – Youth will continue to become more comfortable in their groups with self-awareness activities. They will explore Jesus’ challenge to be salt and light from the Gospel of Matthew and the challenge to be accepting of others. Catechists will introduce youth to journaling, which they will be doing often as a personal response to the lesson.
October 26: Session 3 – Youth have heard a lot about Jesus in the past few years, but in the lesson today they will be challenged to look at him with new eyes, to be open to new insights. They will be encouraged to trust in God with their fears and needs. A high school youth will give a witness on how she has trusted in God with the decisions she has had to make in her life.
November 16: Session 4 – Youth will look at what it means to be Church. They will be challenged to “build” a church in a small group, and they will explore how the church is a community worshipping and working together, focused on Jesus and guided by the Holy Spirit
December 7 – Session 5- This lesson is foundational for the next 7 sessions and focuses on revelation – how God speaks to us. As Catholics we believe that God speaks both through scripture, the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit, and through Tradition as revealed to the apostles, the handing on of the content and practices that are essential to the faith, such as the sacraments. Youth explore salvation history by making a Jesse tree with symbols to represent important events and people in the Old Testament history of the people of God. They also begin a scripture scavenger hunt, designed to acquaint them with the different kinds of books in the Bible and some interesting trivia (what are four kinds of animals that the Jewish people were forbidden to eat?) They learn an ancient but still much used method of prayer called lectio divina, which encourages reflection on scripture. It’s a full lesson!
January 11 – session 6 Youth now begin a study of Jesus, his words and ministry. The first session focuses on the baptism of Jesus and his temptations in the desert. They will be examining 3 baptism accounts from different Gospels and discussing why they are different, as a way to focus on how and why the Gospels were written. They will relate the temptations of Jesus to temptations that youth experience themselves.
January 18 – session 7 This lesson focuses on Jesus’ mission, to bring about the Kingdom or Reign of God. They will reflect on how the values that Jesus promoted might be lived by young people today.
February 1 – session 8 The focus of this lesson is on Jesus as teacher and healer. Youth will be looking at the wisdom of Jesus as expressed in some of his parables. We invited a speaker named Shawn Phillips who works in pastoral care for St. Timothy’s parish in Blaine. He shared about his experiences with the miracles of God’s love.
February 22 – session 9 What is sin? How am I touched by sin in my life? What can I do about it?
March 1 – session 10 We have a great speaker, David Rinaldi, coming to join us in the parish activity center at 9:45. His topic will be “Living Our Faith in the Real World.” It’s easy to say we love God. How do we place God at the center of our lives and share His love with others? Sponsors and parents are welcome to join us.
March 15 – session 11 Why did Jesus have to die? What is the meaning of the cross?
March 22 – session 12 The Resurrection: God is victorious! What does it have to do with me?
Year 2
October 5: Session 1 –
This class session continues where we left off last spring when we talked about the resurrections of Jesus. Youth will focus on Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. Two stories from scripture will form the framework of the lesson, the disciples recognizing Jesus on the road to Emmaus and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Special emphasis will be placed on the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit.
October 12: Session 2 –
We will have guests from Faribault, youth who attended World Youth Day in Australia. They will bring a message from Pope Benedict on the power of the Holy Spirit and share what they experienced of the universality of the Catholic Church. Two youth from Faribault will give testimonies on how they were touched through the WYD experience. In their classroom, youth will explore the Holy Spirit in the scripture and the life of Jesus and begin a collage on the symbols of the spirit.
October 26: Session 3 –
The focus of this lesson is prayer. Youth will go to four stations on different kinds of prayer. The stations will be on prayer all around us, meditation, prayer in Christian music and prayer in everyday life (examination of conscience, rote prayer, quick spontaneous prayer) Youth will journal and be encouraged to make prayer more a part of their lives.
November 16: Session 4 –
We will focus on the Creed, and what it means to be Catholic. Our guest will be Bro. John Bauman, a Franciscan who is living at the Prior Lake Franciscan Retreat House and studying for the priesthood at the seminary at St. Thomas. He will share his story: why Catholic, why the priesthood, why Franciscan?
December 7 – Session 5-
This lesson focuses on love and Christian morality. After considering what a good definition for love might be, youth review the 10 Commandments and Jesus’ two great commandments, love God and neighbor. They will explore the moral vision of Jesus in scripture and the cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice.
January 11 – session 6 Catholic Social Teachings are the centerpiece of this lesson. Youth will be viewing a DVD on faithful citizenship put out by the US Council of Catholic Bishops and exploring their website. They will be writing postcards to legislators regarding the Freedom of Choice Act, which would remove all restrictions on abortion. They will also be reflecting on how Catholic Social Teachings relate to the 10 commandments and how they live these teachings in their own lives. You can view the DVD and see the website yourself at www.faithfulcitizenship.org.
January 18 – session 7 Youth are having the first of three meetings with Fr. Kevin to ask questions they may have about the Catholic faith. They will also be taking a look at the Creed and Baptism.
February 1 – session 8 We invited a speaker named Shawn Phillips who works in pastoral care for St. Timothy’s parish in Blaine. He shared about his experiences with the miracles of God’s love. Youth also took a look at the meaning of their Baptism and how it relates to Confirmation.
February 22 – session 9 We explore the meaning of the Eucharist and why it’s so important to Catholics. Our Confirmation catechists will also continue the discussion with Fr. Kevin on questions the youth in their classes have about the Catholic faith.
March 1 – session 10 Youth will take a look at the meaning of the sacrament of Confirmation and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
March 15 – session 11 What is the meaning of the rituals that make up the sacrament of Confirmation? What will happen and why? What does it all mean? We will have our final discussion with Fr. Kevin.
