Fifty-one confirmed at Starkville St. Joseph
By Fabvienen Taylor
STARKVILLE — Eight young men were sporting red ties at their confirmation on Sunday, April 19, at St. Joseph Church.
Last Sunday, April 12, each young man received the tie, a symbol of the Holy Sprit, from his sponsor, said Sister Alies Therese, pastor coordinator of Ackerman St. Mark and Eupora St. John Neumann missions.
Four young men from each mission were prepared for confirmation.
“Their sponsors stood up with them and told them how proud they were of them and presented them with a tie to wear today, which is symbolic of the gift of the Holy Spirit they will receive today.”
Sister Therese and Lorenzo Aju, pastoral minister at St. John Neumann, both wanted to impress on them that confirmation would make them men of God, but they also needed to be men of integrity.
“We tried to connect everything with that message. We looked at doctrinal issues, social justice issues, everything we could,” she said.
“And we asked them to think about that, to make that connection when they were at school with their school friends, with their lady friends, when studying, when deciding whether or not to go to church,” Sister Therese said.
“We made it very clear to them confirmation was not a diploma, not a graduation, that they were not finished,” she said.
In confirmation the Holy Spirit is given to those already baptized to make them stronger in their faith with these words from the bishop: “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
For Lindsey Marie Garner, a Mississippi State University junior, joining the confirmation program at St. Joseph with Fran Lavelle, diocesan director of campus ministry, gave her another chance at confirmation.
“I wanted to confirm my baptism and continue my walk of faith and continue to grow in my faith,” she said. “I didn’t get confirmed in high school so when I saw the opportunity here, I decided to do it, not because it was just expected of me, but because I really wanted to.”
Lavelle prepared five college students this year. “It is a great gift to see them now completing their sacraments of initiation because it is so totally their choice. It is outside of religious education.”
“Each year I just put out the word and whoever shows up, that’s who we prepare. It is the greatest privilege of my ministry,” Lavelle said.
This year confirmation for parishes/missions is being held in one church in each of the six deaneries. Young people from Columbus Annunciation Parish were also confirmed. Asa Cistrunk, 16, of Ackerman, liked the idea. “Oh, it’s great,” he said at the reception following Mass. “You get to see and meet a lot of new people. It feels good. It feels good to be confirmed with all of them.”
Nicholas Klaskala, 17, of St. Joseph Parish summed up the day this way: “It’s a bigger and a better vibe. I like it. You get a good sense of family.”
