Holy Confirmation in Saint Francis Xavier's Church

On 7 June, saterday eve­ning, I visited Saint Francis Xavier's Church ("De Krijt­berg") in Am­ster­dam where holy confirmation was celebrated during the vigil Mass of Pentecost. After Mass I had the opportunity to meet with the "Living stones" and the community of the Jesuit Fathers there.

A full church attended Holy Mass and the celebration of confirmation of seven young people, some of them beco­ming catholics - I baptized one of them - other young people making a deliberate choice to follow Jesus Christ in the Roman Catholic church and to receive the sacra­ment of Confirmation.

Fr. Mark Lindeijer s.j. prepared them for Confirmation. He and Fr. Jan Stuijt s.j., the rector of the church, concelebrated. On that same day Bastiaan van Rooijen s.j. was ordained a deacon in view of his priestly ordination next year. He will be living and wor­king in Am­ster­dam too. 

The Living Stones are an inter­na­tio­nal group of young people who inspired by their catholic faith live together and give guided tours of the church.

Homily

PENTECOST

Bored?

Do you ever feel bored and stuck in a rut? That things, relationships with others, our lives, school, work, our faith, our personal relationship, are always the same, have nothing new to offer, have become boring?
The same thing over and over again, so predictable that it no lon­ger inspires you, the same old pattern, is there really nothing you can do about it?

What to do?

Perhaps you are now thin­king: that can be solved! Just stop it: get another job, quit school, find another wife or hus­band and abandon your faith. Is that the solution when things have become boring, a rut?

But we all know how much grief and pain brea­king up a marriage can cause, and a different job doesn't always solve all the problems you had in your previous job, and if you leave school without a diploma, you'll probably regret it for the rest of your life, and so on.

Careful consi­deration

Sometimes it is really necessary to break with the past and with what we had, but that is something to consi­der very carefully. Because if we give up too quickly or too easily, it becomes more difficult to persevere later on when things get tough. And if we give up too easily, we weaken our inner strength to do what is right and to remain steadfast in doing so.

Discern­ment

Moreover, we can never make good choices when we are feeling down and seeing everything in a negative light, rather than positively.
And the less you pray, the more you will dislike praying. Then your relationship with God will become increa­singly vague and less important, until it disappears. Then you will become an non-believer, but do you think that this will make you a better and happier person, that you will experience more peace as a result? I don't think so! It is better to look for new impulses for your faith life if it has less to offer you.

And of course, everything is very different depen­ding on the situation: if your hus­band is violent, you have to separate for the safety of yourself and your children, for example. And it is different if you end a cour­ting relationship or a friendship than if you decide not to continue a marriage. This means that you always have to consi­der and weigh things arefully before taking an important step. Is this what God wants from me?

Inspiration

But what will defini­tely be necessary, if things have become routine, is that you find new inspiration, new fire in your heart, so that the good and beautiful things in your life shine again. That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

For indeed, for all this we need the Holy Spirit who descended upon Jesus' disciples at Pentecost. We need the light of the Holy Spirit to make good choices, we need the light of the Spirit to persevere and continue, we need the light of the Holy Spirit to live inspired lives.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

When we pray to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to renew the face of the earth, we do not mean that everything must necessarily change, but first and foremost that our hearts may be changed, that we may be able to live and experience our lives with the light of the Holy Spirit.
 And often that is enough: when we are downcast, a little depressed, we do not see everything so rosy, then life is like a grey, dreary day; when we are happy, full of joy, life is like a beautiful day, sunny and warm. When there is joy in our hearts, we can see better, choose better, weigh things up better.
 May that light of the Holy Spirit shine upon our lives.

Pentecost

Tomorrow we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. Before that time, they were closed off, locked up, a little depressed, under the impression of negative things, such as the suffe­ring and death of Jesus. After the descent of the Holy Spirit, they became enthusiastic, they went out and proclaimed without fear.

Prayer

That is why we also want to pray today: Come, Holy Spirit, renew our hearts, enlighten our minds, let Your light shine on our choices and our consi­derations. And when we experience routine, when we find our lives boring and hopeless, give us first and foremost that inspiration, spiritual joy and strength through which we can make good decisions and persevere in what is good, beautiful and true. Come, Holy Spirit, come upon us too!

Dear confirmands, today you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in Holy Confirmation. I hope that you will always pray to the Holy Spirit for inspiration and strength, for wisdom and insight.