– Ayrelyn Benas Rivera
On Pentecost Sunday, twenty-seven parishioners of the Pastoral Center for the Filipino Migrants in Macau received the Sacrament of Confirmation at the Macau Cathedral. Aside from the Filipino confirmands, there were also recipients of the sacrament from India, locals from Macau and a number of Portuguese.
Bishop Stephen Lee conferred the sacrament on them at the 5:00 PM Mass concelebrated with Fr Alejandre Vergara and Fr Ryan June Real of the SOLT Fathers, and Fr Aidan Conroy SDB.
Along with the twenty-seven who received the sacrament of Confirmation, there were ten children who received the first communion.
The Sacrament of Confirmation is conferred upon parishioners after proper preparation, usually about a year prior to the celebration of the Pentecost. It is expected that youth entering this program have received the sacraments of Baptism, first Confession and first communion and are actively practicing their faith, and faithful with the Sunday Mass.
The Confirmation program begins with basic Catholic theology and morality. It continues with workshops and focuses on finding and taking responsibility for one’s role in the Catholic community. Prayers, recollections, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and weekly participation in Sunday liturgy are important components of the preparations. The entire program is infused with the love for the Virgin Mary.
After the Mass, the newly-confirmed proceeded with their respective families for the fellowship meal for the Sacrament of Confirmation received.
Fr Leonard Dollentas
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