By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
In recent weeks, Bishop Enrique Delgado and I have been busy visiting parishes and administering the sacrament of Confirmation. The gifts of the Holy Spirit given to us in the sacrament of Confirmation are meant to equip us to be witnesses to Jesus Christ, crucified but risen from the dead.
To fulfill this mission as Catholic Christians in the world, we commit ourselves to advance the work of Jesus Christ and his Church in the world, so that all will know of God’s love for them and his will that all may be saved through faith in Jesus Christ. Created in the image and likeness of God, we discover our inherent dignity as human beings in our call to be a gift to others.
In many parishes, as part of their preparation for the sacrament, many of our young candidates commit themselves to various service projects. Such projects are “teachable” moments that can help these young people understand that our faith commits us to solidarity, as both a virtue and a moral obligation, and that we, as individuals and confirmed Catholics, are responsible for the common good and well-being of others. In other words, there must be a necessary connection between our professing faith and our living the faith in daily life.
This year, as an additional “service project,” I have asked our confirmation candidates to contribute to a special “Solidarity fund” with the Church in Haiti through a special collection taken up during the Confirmation Mass. Because of the continuing gang violence in Haiti, some 5.4 million Haitians face "high levels of acute food insecurity" due to the armed gang violence, with thousands experiencing "catastrophic levels of hunger and a collapse of their livelihoods.” Long-standing violence continues to further destabilize that nation. On March 31, two nuns, Sister Evanette Onezaire and Sister Jeanne Voltaire of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, were murdered in Mirebalais by armed gangs.
The Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Max Mésidor, said the nation's entrenched violence is constraining the Church's ability to serve. “Twenty-eight parishes in the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince are closed, while around 40 are operating at minimum levels because the neighborhoods are controlled by gangs," the archbishop said. "The priests have been forced to flee, finding refuge with their families or with other clerics. They need help. The archdiocese is also in difficulty."
The crisis in Haiti requires "concrete gestures of solidarity”. The contributions of our confirmands may literally be a drop in the bucket given the need. Their contributions are nevertheless “concrete gestures of solidarity” that reassure the Haitian Church and its people that they are not abandoned in this time of extreme suffering.
As confirmed Catholics, we all should be committed to a greater stewardship of our Time, Talent and Treasure for by giving faithfully and joyfully, we can open a channel for the Holy Spirit to work in and through our lives through the practice of what the Catechism calls the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
Our Communion in the Body and Blood of Christ reminds us that our commitment as Catholics to work for peace and justice in the world is not born of some ideology or political platform; rather, it is born of a person, Jesus Christ. And therefore, our solidarity with those in need is a call to a commitment expressed in allegiance not to lofty propositions but to concrete persons in whom we are to see the face of Christ.
