My dear Girls and Boys,
Today is a very special day in your lives. You have been preparing for it and so have I. Your Parents, your grandparents, your Godparents, your Sponsors, family members and your teachers have put a lot into making this day most special for you. Your priests have also had a large part to play in the preparation of this your Confirmation Day. And who else, do you think, has been looking forward to this special occasion in your lives? Yes, of course, it is Jesus. You see Jesus has a very special place in His Heart for each one of you. You are very special to him. He is your brother because, through your being baptised, you became a member of His Father's family. His mother Mary is also your Mother and mine as well. In fact we are all, through Baptism, sisters and brothers of Jesus and of each other. We are all one family and Jesus calls this family, His Church.
So why is today so special? Each one of you began your journey with Jesus at the baptismal font. Since then you have grown, not only in age and size but particularly you have grown in your knowledge of the Person of Jesus. You have heard His Word proclaimed so many times in Church; you have read about Him and His mission in school and you have learned to speak to Him in prayer in your home. You have also come to know of His great love for you, so great that He died to prove His love for you. But even more than this, He has, because He is God, found the way of remaining always with you and of giving Himself to you as food so that you might grow strong in your love for Him and for one another. So you see, boys and girls, all this growing in knowledge and love of Jesus began in your lives when your parents brought you to the Church to be Baptised. On that day you received what we call a special Baptismal Grace. You received the Spirit of Jesus that would enable you to call His Father your Father. Today, so many years later, that Baptismal Grace is completed by the reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation. By this new Sacrament you receive today you become more perfectly bound to the Church, God's Family, and by the special gifts you receive from His Holy Spirit you are enabled to be witnesses of the love of God in your lives. In a sense this is a "completion day" when you receive the third of the three great Sacraments of Christian initiation: Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation.
So you, girls and boys, have been preparing well for this special day. I met with some 156 of your representatives at the recent Confirmation Forum in Mallow and it was a wonderful day for all. I experienced the enthusiasm you have for Jesus in your lives, I listened to your hopes and your concerns and I came away from that day truly uplifted and enthused. I learned that you are eager to play your part in the life of the Church, in preparing the Liturgies, especially for young people, and Family Masses . I also learned that you have a great love of the Church. This is wonderful news and, now that you will be commissioned today as witnesses of the love of Jesus for each member of the Church, you will be in a position to play an active role in the life of the Church using all the gifts of the Holy Spirit you will receive in the Sacrament of Confirmation. I, your Bishop, invite you to be active in your parish and I ask all those, your priests, teachers and parents, who are in positions of guidance in the life of the Parochial Church, to find imaginative ways of engaging you actively for the good of all. I do know that efforts are made to engage you actively in the life of the Church - as Readers, Choir Members, Altar Servers etc. But sometimes the response is not enthusiastic. The Church needs you, needs to listen to you, needs to be challenged by you and needs to hear of your experience of knowing and loving Jesus. The Church which Jesus gave us, His family, is an all-inclusive Church and the talents, gifts and graces of all are for the benefit of all.
I also know, my dear girls and boys, from our encounter at the Confirmation
Forum, how concerned you are with the amount of violence and war there is in
the world. You are concerned about how people suffer for their belief and cultural
practices. This concern of yours is indicative of a very tender and beautiful
conscience sensitivity and this is where the teaching of Jesus can best bear
fruit. Our world today is torn asunder with all kinds of conflicts and oftentimes
it is the innocent, especially the children, who suffer. You want to change
this situation. So do I. So does Jesus. He has taught us, by example, that it
is possible to change the world by true love. Love for one another and respect
for truth will bring about a radical change in world affairs because it effects
a radical conversion of the individual's life. This will come about by experiencing
the love Jesus pours in our hearts. If anyone really does experience the love
of Jesus in his or her life then change comes about and the Word of God becomes
operative in daily life. Indeed, we have heard Jesus say in today's Gospel:
"If anyone loves me he will keep my word" (Jn. 14:23). The one way
to make this world a better place for all, the one way to make us Christians
truly effective witnesses of Jesus in our homes and our communities, is to experience
the love of Jesus in our lives. If we have in our hearts a love of Jesus then
we shall keep His Word and our homes, our communities and our Nation will become
havens of peace, respect and truth, all attributes necessary for the building
of a healthy society.
Girls and boys, do you love Jesus? Then prove it - by keeping His Word. I'm
sure you appreciate people who keep their word. They are people you can trust.
Jesus keeps His word with us. He has proven it by giving His life for each one
of us. Today, as you receive the fullness of His Holy Spirit and all His gifts,
Jesus asks you to be truthful and trustworthy. "If you love me keep my
word"(cf Jn. 14:23). He put it another way one day when teaching His disciples.
He said: "If you love me you will keep my commandments" (Jn. 14:15).
Jesus asks me to challenge you today, boys and girls. Are you ready for the
challenge? Are you ready to play an active role in the life of your Parish and
take responsibility for it, in so far as you can? Are you ready to witness to
the love of Jesus in your lives? Are you ready to play your part in changing
this world, in making it a world of peace, love and justice? Are you ready to
prove your love for Jesus by standing up for the truth, by keeping His Word
? Then, in the name of Jesus, I repeat His words: "If anyone loves me he
will keep my word" (Jn. 14:23).
Your motto, girls and boys, for this your Confirmation Day and indeed for the
rest of your life is: "Keep my Word". Be faithful to the Word of Jesus
for that is what He asks of you. As the Holy Father has said to the youth of
the world: "If you are what you should be, you will set the world ablaze"
(World Youth Day, Rome 2000). Set the world ablaze with love, my dear friends,
and know that Jesus walks with you each and every day of your lives, "yes,
to the end of time" (Mt. 28:20).