"Celebrations"by Bishop William S. Skylstad (From the July 1, 1999 edition of the Inland Register)
This is also the season of our young parishioners receiving first Penance and first Eucharist. As we move into the restoration of the original sequence of the celebration of the sacraments of initiation, the power of our liturgy in the Church becomes even more evident to me. The liturgy itself, the gathering of extended family, and the reception afterwards speak of God’s goodness to us in so many ways. I hope that the memory of such events will continue to be a source of inspiration and gratitude on the spiritual journey for all involved. Spring and summer become a time of frequent celebration of weddings as couples enter into the sacrament of marriage, a lifelong journey of deepening relationship and discovery. The celebration of the sacrament should not just be for a specific day when the wedding takes place, but in a sense a wedding that continues throughout married life. The sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist also call us constantly to affirm their reality in our lives. They are sacraments to be daily lived, not to be celebrated just once or only on Sunday. Marriage should be a dynamic reality lived along with the other sacraments. God’s loving presence touches us constantly as we face life with its joys, dreams, failures, brokenness, and limitations. This June we celebrated ordinations to the priesthood and the diaconate in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes and in Sacred Heart Parish in Brewster. Two priests and 11 deacons will have hands laid upon them and the consecratory prayer prayed over them in this special ritual of the Church. From personal experience, I can tell you how moving and powerful this gathering of the Church is for the one ordained. The Sacrament of Orders is also one to be lived and not just celebrated on one day. We have other celebrations of Sunday Eucharist, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, marriage anniversaries, graduations, and funerals. All of these deal with a broad spectrum of life as we gather in faith community to receive and be reminded of the saving presence of our God. Life without celebration, it seems to me, is a very dull business. Celebration helps to keep us alive, focused, sensitive, mindful, joyful and grateful. Liturgy helps us to live life to the full and to be mindful that we cannot allow ourselves to get caught up in illusions which are contrary to God’s presence or the call of the Gospel. Finally, keeping in mind the importance of celebration in our Church, we should not take these occasions lightly or indifferently. Careful preparation, participation, and living out what we celebrate are tremendously important for the vitality of the Church and for our own well-being. God’s saving presence is especially made clear when those qualities are present in us as a celebrating faith community. In addition, good celebrations transform and change us. We rejoice and thank God. May all of you have a good summer with much peace, joy — and good celebrations!
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This has been an unusual time, with many celebrations of the Sacrament of Confirmation in the diocese. I haven’t kept count, but I have confirmed at least several thousand parishioners since last winter. In some parishes there have been five or six Confirmations, and in others, just a single one. Multiple Confirmations in a single parish are needed because it was impossible to gather all the parents and families into a single celebration.