Dawn Ponnet

The Rituals for Candidates throughout their Confirmation Preparation

April 19, 2021 by Dawn Ponnet

As the candidates prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation, they will celebrate 3 special rites with their sponsors and the larger community at Sunday Eucharist. During the Easter season of their second year, the candidates will ask for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation. We will post dates as we are able to conduct the Rites.

Tentative Year One—Sunday, November 11, 2021 @ 5:30 PM Mass: Welcome to the Preparation for Confirmation The Rite of Welcome allows the candidate to bond with their sponsor and allows the community of faith to bless these teens as they embark on this journey of faith.

Tentative Year Two— Sunday, September 19, 2021 @ 5:30 Mass: Blessing for the Journey toward Confirmation During the Commitment to the Journey, which marks the half way point, the community is invited to continue to shower the young church with blessings. The candidates are asked to persevere in their journey to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. The sponsors, once again, pledge their support with their words and actions.

Tentative Year 2: January 30, 2022 @ 5:30 Mass: Prayer and Blessing for Proximate Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation The Ritual of Affirmation, for both Candidate and their Sponsor reminds them and the community to reflect on their lives and strive to prefect their lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.

To be announced Year Two— The Sacrament of Confirmation Confirmation imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, the “character,” which is the sign that Jesus Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of his Spirit by clothing him with power from on high so that he may be his witness. We usually learn the date in the fall.

Family Reconciliation Service: in the Church the Sunday before Confirmation
Rehearsal for candidates and sponsors: in the Church the Tuesday before Confirmation
Confirmation, sometime during the Easter Season (April 12-June 8) in the Church, Candidates and sponsors meet in Connolly Parish Hall at 6:00pm for photos and other preparations. The event will be livestreamed our Holy Family’s web site.

Parent Involvement

April 19, 2021 by Dawn Ponnet

We believe making disciples is the primary function of the Confirmation Preparation. A few years ago a group of committed parents, catechists and youth ministry people gathered to make plans for a meaningful and enriching confirmation preparation. Over and over again we read, discussed and discovered; if you want teen disciples –work with the teens AND their families. Discipleship begins at home.

Faith formation is part of what we do as Catholic families of faith. We ask Parents to attend 4 of the Adult Faith Formation sessions.

Parents who would like their teens to prepare for the sacrament of confirmation make a commitment to their teen, to the parish community and to themselves to be a part of this preparation period. This includes:

Keeping your teen and all those preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation in prayer
Attending twelve sessions (six each year)
Helping your teen participate in a liturgical ministry
Volunteering- if you could assist as a group leader please.

Please contact Sally Cunningham Youth Ministry scunningham@holyfamily.org.

How to Choose a Sponsor

October 19, 2020 by Dawn Ponnet

For Confirmation Candidates:

Confirmation can be a great experience, and hopefully you’ve thought a lot about what this sacrament means, and how the Holy Spirit will affect your life. You’ll be required to have a sponsor—someone who will guide you and share the story of faith with you. A good sponsor will make this process a little easier and even more fun.

If all has gone as planned, the best person will be one of your baptismal godparents. The Catechism (#1311) and Canon Law (#892-893) both tell us that you need a sponsor. Having godparents helps us to see how Baptism and Confirmation are connected. In some cases, candidates no longer know their godparents. Maybe they just live too far away. You might need to choose a new sponsor.

Some advice to the candidates: You’re looking for someone you trust, whose faith you admire and who will be there for you. The requirements are:

He/she must be a confirmed Catholic
At least 16 years old
Practicing members of the Church
Not your parents

This means you can choose a relative, friend or someone from your parish as your sponsor.

Confirmation Sponsor Commitment Form

Candidates and Sponsors at the Celebration of Confirmation

Understanding our Confirmation Process

September 19, 2020 by Dawn Ponnet

Every time Msgr. Connolly celebrates a First Eucharist Celebration, as a part of his reflection, he shares the importance of parents, sharing faith with their children. He remembers learning all of his prayers from his parents not from the catechist, nor the priests of the parish.

As a child I could not wait to learn more about God and the Church. My mom was always trying to get me enrolled in some kind of catechism class. So as a very small child I went to Catholic pre-school. The parish where my family worshiped did not have a Catholic School so I went to a public school and CCD classes throughout my childhood and teen age years. Throughout my life I always enjoyed my religious education and could not wait for the next session. But my most fond remembrances of my faith formation, are my mom teaching me my prayers, helping me learn the English responses at Mass (yes I’m that old!). I also cherish the deep conversations I had with my dad as I tried to make the faith my own. I caught the faith my parents lived and prayed.

As a Catechist, I want good formation, and I want our families to be able to embrace time with their children and teens. Recent studies have shown that teens are more likely to be connected to their faith if they live in a home where faith is practiced. It is on these premises that the Confirmation Visioning Team changed our approach to include Family Formation in our Confirmation Process. Confirmation is not about what we can make the teens learn, it is about discovering faith, sharing faith with others, and fostering households of faith. Our hope is for parents to become so strong in their own faith and knowledge that they naturally share their faith with their children and bring faith into their family’s everyday moments.

View an interesting video on the domestic church.

The challenge we present to our households of faith is to live the faith, even behind closed doors at home, day in and day out, in a dynamic way so that their children and teens will “catch it” from their families, as well as from their sponsors and from this community of faith. In addition, these few sessions will support their efforts and further equip them as parents/guardians to pass on the faith in the most effective way possible.

Our formation for confirmation will include six sessions each year for candidates and their parents and if possible their sponsor. We will gather for 90 minutes at 3:45 pm on Sundays or at 7pm on Tuesdays. Parents and/or Sponsors will meet in the St. Joseph Center while the candidates gather in the Eden Center. Each group will have a one hour catechetical session followed by a thirty minute prayer service allowing candidates and their families to pray and reflect together.

Worship: The Source and Summit of our Catholic Lives (Make Our Mass Great! Help Where You Can!)

September 19, 2020 by Dawn Ponnet

Being involved in the Mass as a liturgical minister not only allows each candidate to actively participate in the celebration by sharing their gifts, but it enriches the experience of the Mass for the entire community. Each candidate will be involved in a Liturgical Ministry. There are many ways to participate, including being an altar server, usher, greeter, lector, choir member. You may also choose to be involved in video ministry or to be a part of the 5:30 Mass Liturgy Committee. (Some of these opportunities may be limited due to COVID.)

Opportunities for involvement in one of the Liturgical Ministries

5:30 Choir. Tony Chang is the director and his email is hfyouthchoir@gmail.com.

Mass Greeter, Holy Family is a place where all are welcome. Greeters are committed to making these words a reality for all who come to liturgies and special events at Holy Family, whether that person is a long-time parishioner, is a newcomer, or is visiting our parish for the first time. Although we would like all our teens to be greeters at the 5:30 Mass, so elect to serve at one of the other Masses. The greeters stay after Mass to help, for about five minutes, to tidy the church.

5:30 Mass Lector, The mission of the Holy Family Lector Ministry is to rouse the faith of the assembly and inspire them to discipleship by proclaiming the Word of the Lord with clarity and conviction. Lectors make a truly satisfying and meaningful contribution to Eucharistic celebrations at Holy Family. After a 90 minute training sessions Lectors are scheduled. Lectors come 15 minutes before Mass to be coached on the readings they will be proclaiming.

5:30 Mass Liturgy Committee, Our Liturgy Committee meets once a month on the first Monday (or on holiday conflicting months, on the second) of the Month at 5:30 pm in Eden. During this 90-minute meeting, we make plans for each of the 5:30 masses to make the celebrations especially engaging for our young church.

5:30 Mass Technology, The technology team come to the choir loft 15 minutes before Mass. Following “The Twenty,” teens manage ProPresenter throughout mass, the application that act as a worship aid, projecting the lyrics to the songs used at 5:30 mass.

5:30 Mass Usher, The Usher Ministry serves the worshiping assembly by providing a welcoming, hospitable atmosphere and assuring the orderly progress of the liturgy. Ushers help people sit together, if someone is sick or needs emergency care, they can count on the ushers to help quickly and with professional care. Ushers take up the collection and manage the Gift Bearers for the Preparation of the Gifts. They manage the flow of the Communion procession.

Video Ministry, To join this ministry one needs to come to video ministry any Sunday and get some hands-on training. After one or two brief sessions, you will be assigned to one of the four teams that serves the 9:30, 11:15 or 5:30 Masses. Please contact Dawn Ponnet, dponnet@holyfamily.org if you are interested

To Sign up for one of Liturgical Ministry