Welcome to Confirmation at the Apple Valley Catholic Community, where our mission is to “form loving disciples who will change the world.” Over the course of preparing for Confirmation, we will journey together and explore and enrich our faith by following Christ and being open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The Sacrament of Confirmation is not just a catechetical program where we pass on knowledge to young Catholics. It is a process where teens experience and encounter God in their lives through the signs, symbols, rituals, and sacraments of the Church. The Sacrament of Confirmation is an extension of our baptism and first communion, where we realize the gifts that the Holy Spirit has instilled in us and we go forth and use those gifts for the glory of God, however, we may be called to that.

The first thing to know about being prepared for a sacrament is that there is no test you must pass.  No heroic deed you must perform.  All sacraments are gifts of God’s grace and are freely given, not earned.  Did you read that last part?  A gift of God’s grace freely given?  This isn’t something we are forced to do…this is something we GET to do…it is a joy to receive a sacrament!  Receiving a gift from God though is something that requires some understanding and preparation, so while there is no test, there are elements we ask all candidates for Confirmation to participate in as a way to prepare for and understand Confirmation.

Confirmation Preparation specifically, includes the following four elements:

1. Prayer and Worship: participating in the prayer life of the Church.
Candidates will have opportunities to pray in ways that are both familiar and new to them.  In a world that can be noisy and distracting, stressful and confusing, learning to pray and being able to turn to God in prayer is a gift that will serve our young people forever.  Additionally, our candidates will have an opportunity to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ through communal prayer and liturgical experiences.  Prayer experiences may include praying the Rosary together, participating in Taize prayer, or praying the Stations of the Cross together.  Liturgical experiences include attending Mass together and helping with our Children’s Liturgy of the Word program.

2. Catechesis: continuing our learning.
First, we believe that learning comes from asking questions and we begin all young people with Teen Alpha.  The Teen Alpha course can be taken intensively over five days in the summer or over an 11-week period in the fall or winter.  The summer course is in person and the 11-week course is offered as a hybrid program with 4 meetings taking place in person and the rest over Zoom.  It is strongly recommended that Teen Alpha be taken in 9^th grade.  Our Confirmation resource is LifeTeen’s Purpose course.  We cover the entire course over 9^th and 10^th grade. 

3. Community Life: belonging to the Catholic Church at large and the Apple Valley Catholic Community, specifically.  Creating an environment that nurtures meaningful relationships among youth and between youth and adults characterized by Gospel values (eg. acceptance of all people, trust, respect, cooperation, honesty, taking responsibility, willingness to serve): helping young people to feel that they are an important part of the Church community; providing opportunities for social interaction and meaningful participation in the life of the Church and the civic community. The ministry of community life is not only what we do (activity), but who we are (identity) and how we interact (relationships).

4. Service and Justice: witnessing Christ’s life of service.
Guiding young people in the development of a social consciousness and a commitment to a life of justice and service grounded in their faith in Jesus Christ, in the scriptures and in Catholic social teaching; empowering young people (and their families) to work for justice by concrete efforts to address the causes of human suffering, to serve those in need, to pursue peace, and to defend the life, dignity, and rights of all people; infusing the concepts of justice and peace into all Youth Ministry efforts.