Do you remember the day of your Confirmation?
You do? How providentially fortunate for you.
My memory is now just a hazy blur, but then, we are going back to circa 1953 when most of you, my dear friends, were in the waiting room of the Lord, yet to be summoned.
I cannot recall whether it was Cardinal Bernard Griffin or Bishop Craven that conferred me with the power of the Holy Ghost...for that is what it is....power.
Power to be a soldier for Jesus Christ...do they say that anymore? Has Fr Volpi banned it yet?
To a young lad, whose father had served in the First World War and who had two brothers who had fought in the Second World War, (one in the South Lancashire Regiment and one in the Commandos), such a phrase was a call to action (no, not that bunch of twerps, I mean real action, standing up for the Faith and taking all incoming fire without flinching).
Do we do that anymore?
Our priests (not the ones that we all know and admire, who are excluded from this post) seem to enjoy keeping a low profile, not entering any debate that might get a little bit..you know...punchy.
Some years ago in our local town, a disreputable person (allegedly) applied for planning permission to open a sex shop.
Mrs L and I sent in an objection fully expecting the local PP and his parish council to be way ahead of us.
But, when the County Council deliberated on the subject, only the local Baptists, had raised our heads above the parapet besides ourselves.
Not many priests it seems, wish to enter the public arena. Not many would, for example, set up stall in the town square to preach against secularism.
And as for the laity.....pooh! White feathers blowing on the breeze, happy to be pushed in any direction the world wishes to blow them to.
Read now the words of the Bishop during Confirmation:
Fill them
with the spirit of Your holy fear, and sign them with the sign of the cross +
of Christ in mercy for eternal life. Through the same Jesus Christ... in the
unity of the same Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.
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Adimple eos Spiritu timoris tui, et consigna eos signo
crucis + Christi, in vitam propitiatus aeternam. Per eumdem Dominum... in unitate
ejusdem Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen
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Do not those words send a shiver of excitement down your spine?
And then, the Bishop administers the much anticipated but gentle slap on the face:
......symbolizing that the Christian is now a soldier for Christ and must endure suffering and the persecution that comes from conflict with the world. A hymn might now be sung if the candidates are numerous.
So, having received the indelible seal of the Holy Spirit, binding us to Him until the day of redemption, why are we less than keen to go out and fight the good fight?
Why are the numbers at 40 Days for Life Vigils so low?
Why are we afraid to show the world that we are Catholic?
Where are the crucifixes in our homes?
And, why don't we stand up to our bishops, demand a decent Catholic education in our schools, fight for the return of the Latin Mass and oppose all those wishy washy, half baked sentiments coming from Westminster and Birmingham (see Protect the Pope).
I guess it's because the grace we receive at Confirmation demands and requires a matching input from us.
We need commitment.
We need to pray the Rosary, to live the Fatima life of prayer and penance.
To shrug off our air of passive indifference.
Remember, when you look on your breakfast plate of bacon and eggs; the hen who provided the egg was passive, only the pig providing the bacon was committed.
