By: Julie Ann Loong for the North Star
The Most Reverend Bishop Ryan P. Jimenez, D.D. presided over the San Roque Parish Confirmation Mass last Saturday, June 16, 2018. The parish priest, Father Allan Cabatian, O.A.R and Father Neil Bullos, O.A.R were also present during the mass.
A total of six candidates for confirmation were the last of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa to undergo the sacrament this year.
The four young women and two young men, dressed in white from head to toe, were Yalina “Agnes” Bai, Donna “Raquel” Galvez, Deann “Claire” Guiao, Clayton “Augustine” Kaipat, Joanne “Monica” Ragasa, and Anthony “Roque” Reyes Jr. Each student was assigned a respective saint to be named after, and were required to research the saint to know them better. By learning more about the faithful lives of their assigned saints, the students would be able to feel more connected with them while praying for their intercessions.
Their teacher Ms. Olive Aninon, Father Allan, and Bishop Ryan’s homily which even quoted Pope Francis, made sure to emphasize that the students’ confirmation didn’t mean that it was the end of their activeness in the church.
“Today, you have completed your Confirmation Program. This celebration completes the Sacraments of Initiation; however, the learning does not end today. It is a continuing process to know about Christ, the sacred scriptures, and the church. When I celebrated last year’s confirmation here in San Roque, I used Pope Francis’s words when he said that, ‘the sacrament of confirmation is not the sacrament of goodbye.’ You will come back to church, not only when you will be getting married. It is important that our faith formation continues.”
Being a soldier of Christ was an important subject that Confirmation teachers had to focus on during classes, so when Bishop Ryan asked, “What does it mean to be a soldier of Christ?”, a student was quick to respond.
Anthony “Roque” Reyes Jr. answered, “It means to defend your faith wherever you go. To defend and keep your faith.” His response evoked a round of applause.
Ms. Olive noted that because it was such a small class, she was able to have very personal and individual instruction.
“Our class lessons concentrated mainly on the service that the youth could provide after confirmation. It has been a problem that after the sacrament, it is almost like a goodbye. At the end of their class, I challenged them to come back and join the Youth Ministry or become a CCD assistant teacher. I look forward to being San Roque’s confirmation teacher again next year. It will be more challenging because there are going to be more students, but all of them are promising especially because they’ve been active in the church.”
Father Allan had a few words to describe the students’ journey and what his expectations were.
“The confirmands from San Roque received the catechetical preparation and are at the same time involved with the life of the Church, so it has been a long, two-year journey. It has been very fruitful because they have become more familiar with their faith and also familiar with the life of the Church. Confirmation is a sacrament that empowers young people’s faith in God so that they may become proclaimers of the Good News and defenders of the faith. I postponed the celebration until now because I really wanted the students to be ready. I expect that after this confirmation, they will be coming more often to our church services and become more ready to share our Catholic faith and the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ to others. The sacrament of confirmation is not a graduation from our Catholic life. It is a new beginning. A new journey”
Joanne “Monica” Ragasa said, “I’m very excited because I have received the gifts Holy Spirit and these are very beautiful things to receive. Saint Monica was the saint assigned to me. She is the patron saint of the victims of adultery and other troubles in the family life.”
When asked about her future plans as a parishioner of San Roque, she responded,” I will still be coming to church and remain as an active member.”
Anthony “Roque”, who proclaimed the second reading, also gave the closing remarks.
“Although we are a small group, we must make many sacrifices for our faith.”
We congratulate all the 2018 First Holy communicants and confirmands of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, and pray that you will continue to be guided by the Holy Spirit.
