“…the whole of Christian life is a journey…something beautiful — in the company of Jesus.”

-Pope Benedict XVI

What’s in my binder?

  • Daily Examen

    GIVE IT A TRY
    If you have been looking for a way to grow in pray here is one of the quickest and easiest ways to incorporate prayer into your daily life. The examen comes from the Jesuit tradition started by St. Ignatius of Loyola, but is now practiced all over the world as a way to pray, take stock, and practice gratitude towards God.

  • Sponsor Form

    DUE ON JUNE 1
    Please read the letter in full and give it to your sponsor. If you need a digital copy, let us know. St. Maximilian Kolbe parishioners MAY NOT just drop off the letter to be signed. They must meet with one of our priests in person either by appointment or after a Mass. Please contact me if you have any questions.

  • Tips for your sponsor


    You can choose to give this sheet to your sponsor along with the Sponsor Form. Whoever you choose to be your Sponsor should be someone you are comfortable discussing and practicing the faith with.

  • Choosing A Name

    DUE ON SEPTEMBER 30
    As Catholics, we firmly believe that there are those who have lived according to Christ’s teachings and upon their death received the crown of eternal life. They are the saints known and unknown. You get to choose a Catholic saint whose life inspires you in your faith journey. If you already have a saint’s name, you may choose to use that name.

  • Letter of Intent to Bishop Hying

    DUE ON SEPTEMBER 30
    As this process continues, you will eventually share your intent to be confirmed with The Bishop. Bishop Hying reads EVERY SINGLE WORD and desires to read about your thoughts, your faith journey, and anything else you desire to share with Him. Please, type your letter on a document, then PRINT and SIGN with an actual pen. DO NOT FOLD the letter.

  • Dress Code for Confirmation

    CONFIRMATION WILL BE NOVEMBER 8TH at 7 PM at ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
    The dress code for everyone at Confirmation Mass is Sunday best. Ladies may where dresses, skirts, or pants. They do not need to be tight, and they should not be shorter than where your fingertips fall. Gentlemen may wear a suit though that is not required. A collard shirt and tie or nice sweater will do the trick. NO SHORTS, NO SPAGHETTI STRAPS, NO SNEAKERS.

  • Other Resources


    There are other resource in your binder that hopefully help you to learn a little more about the faith or pray a little more. Each class, you should receive at least one new thing in your binder that helps you to interact with the class.

  • Mass Journal

    Your Mass Journal is not in your binder but will come to you in the mail sometime soon. Please use this journal as a way to hold yourself accountable and to give our Team a good feel for where you are in your journey of faith. Our main goal is to walk with you and support you. Remember: practice gets us to the high bar that we want to reach. Practice does not make perfect but in most cases it gets you pretty darn close.

Session 1

Our main goal is to foster a relationship with Jesus Christ

This class seeks to give you the tools to learn about and discuss your faith with your parents, sponsors, and peers. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says in paragraph 1285 “...by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.”

The Five Precepts: The Bare Minimum of a Life in Christ

Please MEMORIZE and begin practicing the Five Precepts in your life as you prepare for Confirmation. They are:

  1. You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor.

  2. You shall confess your sins at least once a year.

  3. You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.

  4. You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church.

  5. You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church.

The Ten Commandments

Please memorize the Ten Commandments. God revealed his law to his Prophet Moses for the people Israel. They are not to lord over us with rules but to teach us how to love God and neighbor. Jesus in his ministry expands on these by teaching us how to live them out as laws of love. He gives us the two great commandments as a guide. “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22:37-40.

The Ten Commandments

  1. I am the LORD your God. You shall not have strange gods before me. 

  2. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. 

  3. Remember to keep holy the LORD’s Day. 

  4. Honor your father and your mother. 

  5. You shall not kill.

  6. You shall not commit adultery

  7. You shall not steal.

  8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

  9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. 

  10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

Session 2

Kerygma: The Good News

  • Creation

    “God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created Man to make him share in his own blessed life.” CCC 1

    image from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_of_Adam

  • The Fall

    “Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command.”
    CCC 397

    image from: https://www.michelangelo.org/the-fall-of-man.jsp

  • Redemption

    “The Paschal Mystery of Christ’s cross and Resurrection stands at the center of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world.” CCC 571

    image from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet%C3%A0_%28Michelangelo%29

  • Response

    “ The Church is both the means and the goal of God’s plan: prefigured in creation, prepared for in the Old Covenant, founded by the words and actions of Jesus Christ, fulfilled by his redeeming cross and his Resurrection, the Church has been manifested as the mystery of salvation by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” CCC 778

Video on Salvation History

Session 3

Sacraments

CCC 1115 “ Jesus’ words and actions during his hidden life and public ministry were already salvific, for they anticipated the power of his Paschal mystery. They announced and prepared what he was going to give the Church when all was accomplished. The mysteries of Christ’s life are the foundations of what he would henceforth dispense in the sacraments, through the ministers of his Church, for “what was visible in our Savior has passed over into his mysteries.”

Do you reject Satan?

The Temptation of Jesus.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.  He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.  The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written:

‘One does not live by bread alone,    but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:

‘He will command his angels concerning you’    and ‘with their hands they will support you,lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’” Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,  and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written:

‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship    and him alone shall you serve.’”

Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him. -Matthew 4:1-11

“He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” - John 8:44

Review Questions

  1. What is the Good News?
    Review the Kerygma and the Story of Salvation History Video

  2. What are five minimum ways to live out my Catholic Faith?
    Memorize the Five Precepts of the Church

  3. How do I live out the Five Precepts in my Daily life?
    Brainstorm one or two examples for each Precept

  4. What are the Ten Commandments in Order?
    Memorize the Commandments

  5. Which Commandments pertains to loving God? Which of the commandments pertain to loving Neighbor?
    Review the Ten Commandments, Use Matthew 22:37-40 to help you

  6. What is the Church’s response to God’s saving plan of loving goodness?
    Review the Are Sacraments Just Cultural Traditions Video

  7. Who is Satan? What are his attributes? Why do we as Catholics reject Satan?
    Read John 8:44 and The Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4: 1-11)