+JMJ
Dear Parishioners,
Congratulations to our youth who received the Sacrament of Confirmation at Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral this weekend. The gifts that the Holy Spirit poured out upon these youth, along with the character they received on their soul, truly will be an asset for the rest of their life. In his Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas explains how the four intellectual gifts received at Confirmation (understanding, counsel, wisdom, knowledge) enable a person to think both speculatively and practically about heavenly realities, and then to think both speculatively and practically about earthly realities/situations. Consider how necessary it is, especially in our day, to have a solid Catholic worldview in order to be able to navigate the many and difficult moral issues. We certainly need the Holy Spirit's help to live the Catholic Faith as adults.
The other three gifts are super important as well: piety, fortitude and fear of the Lord. Piety is not only religious practice (as important as that is). Traditionally, piety was understood as familial loyalty. Then fortitude gives us the ability to accomplish the righteous act, even when faced with difficulty. Then fear of the Lord enables us to always consider the Lord's perspective on our life – never wanting to offend Him, both out of concern for punishment, but also out of awe and reverence before His sublime holiness, righteousness and love.
Congratulations to our newly confirmed youth! May the Lord continue to build you into the saints he desires you to be, and may you be His instruments bringing divine life to the world dying because of its unwillingness to acknowledge His presence. May you magnify His presence to the world!
In cordibus Iesu, Mariae et Iosephus,
Father Poggemeyer