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well as I record these words were coming
to the very end of a confirmation season
in the LA archdiocese we bishops out
here confirmed during one intense period
just the two months after Easter so I've
been doing a lot of preaching
confirmation so I thought I'd maybe
share some insights from the homily I've
come up with for this year this year I
focused on the name so one of the marks
of confirmations that people take a new
name and it's certainly true biblically
that when someone has a powerful
experience of God they often receive a
new name whether it's Jacob becoming
Israel Simon becoming Peter a Saul
becoming Paul etc so I tell the kids and
I really mean that look you know as you
get confirmed you're having a powerful
experience of God as you receive the
Holy Spirit
so it's appropriate that you receive a
new name I tell them my confirmation
name which is Patrick now I was 11 when
I was confirmed and frankly I don't
remember how I came to that decision to
be called Patrick most likely my Irish
parents strongly suggested to me but
what I find interesting is when I was 11
and I was confirmed the farthest thing
from my mind
was being a priest much less a bishop
much less an evangelist now that's what
Patrick was Patrick was a bishop who
evangelized Ireland when I was 11 I
wanted to be a baseball player I wanted
to be shortstop for the Chicago Cubs but
I tell the kids it's true and weird that
I as it were grown into that name in the
course of my life I became priest
eventually a bishop and a lot of my work
is in evangelization it's as though that
name of Patrick kind of seized me so I
tell them in a way you know you've
chosen the name but much more
significantly that Saint has chosen you
that Saint has chosen you to be drawn
into the power of his or her life and
witness well then I make this remark
that in my three years any way of doing
confirmations out here by far the most
popular name
for the young men is Sebastian or
Sebastian for the Hispanics and that's
true by the way across the Anglo
Hispanic divide Sebastian Sebastian is
the most popular name probably because
he's the patron of both soldiers and
athletes you know so probably the young
athletes like him but I make the point
that look Sebastian was a Roman soldier
in fact pretty high-level Roman soldier
who eventually died for his faith but
when someone became a Roman soldier in
his time they first made this sacred
oath they took an oath to the Emperor to
the Empire etc to the army and that oath
was called in Latin a sacramentum right
so our word sacrament Sacramento in
Spanish comes from that and I tell the
kids look in the course of this ceremony
tonight you're gonna take a sacred oath
you're all gonna stand up I'm gonna lead
you through a series of oaths of
promises do you renounce Satan and all
his works and empty promises I do do you
believe in God do you believe in Jesus
Christ do you believe in the holy spirit
they say I do yes well what that is is a
sacramentum it's a sacred oath on their
own two feet in their own voice they're
telling God and the people there who
they are well then I tell them after the
sacramentum someone like Sebastian
someone becoming a Roman soldier would
have been branded so they took out this
thing they call the character in Latin
which means a brand and they would
tattoo them they brand them either on
the hand they think or on the arm what
was that but a claiming of that person
for Rome and for the army they were they
were branded they were claimed well
confirmation is called in our theology a
character sacrament a character
sacrament like baptism and like Holy
Orders it brands you permanently and I
tell them look a tattoo maybe a lot of
people in the room have tattoos and
they're pretty permanent they last your
whole life but they're just the level of
your skin what I'm talking about is a is
a
tattoo a branding at the level of your
soul so when I put the sign of Christ's
cross on their forehead that's an
external sign of the internal branding
that will claim them forever as a member
of of this great army of Christ now you
know muqaddas Mouton DOS it's a metaphor
I'm not telling them to go out and you
know take up arms but they're like an
army they're like an army that's been
shaped and formed and now sent on
mission to bring the life and work of
Christ to the world ok well the the most
popular name among the young women in my
experience is probably a tie between
Cecelia very popular so the patroness of
musicians that's probably why but I'd
say Cecilia is tied with Teresa Teresa
anyway you've got Teresa of ávila you
have Santa Teresita right you have
tourism to zero the little flower and
then this year very popularly you have
the most recent Teresa namely trace of
Calcutta Mother Teresa
so I say look let's let's reflect on her
a little bit mother Teresa this little
lady barely five feet tall
hears the call within the call to serve
the poorest of the poor and out she goes
into the worst slum in the world which
I've been to I was there filming some
years ago right were her mother houses
and there she was though in the early
days back in the what forties and
fifties without money without
institutional support with nothing she
this little lady walks out into this
slum and begins caring for the sick and
the dying well I say to the con for
Monday
what was her principal this great Teresa
many of you taking her name what's her
principal her principal was don't worry
about doing great things do little
things with great love now I realize
that can sound a bit like a Hallmark
card but it's absolutely bedrock
spiritual truth don't worry about doing
great things in the eyes of the world
you know wealth and power and
achievement and accomplishment in the
eyes of the world that amounts to very
little
rather worry about doing even the
smallest thing with great love because
he love is the divine life the divine
life is not wealth it's not power it's
not privilege or honor those can serve
the divine life but the divine life in
itself is love and so even the smallest
thing in the eyes of the world done with
great love gives you access to God's
life and therefore makes you happy that
was the principle that she lived by I
tell the confirmation kids look when you
make your sacramentum in a few minutes
when you say I renounce Satan and all
his works and empty promises that's
exactly what you're saying is I'm not
gonna worry about wealth pleasure honor
power which are the the great empty
promises I tell them that I just read
this recently Pope Francis refers to the
devil as a con artist which i think is
good you know let's see I got a deal for
you this is really gonna make you happy
but they they reject that and then when
they say I believe rather in God and
Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit in the
church what they're saying is I believe
in this in the power of the divine life
surging through me well then I end with
one more Saint namely my favorite Saint
Thomas Aquinas and at this point I
usually asked one of the servers who are
wearing those little they're called
Vince like little shawls that have the
bishops coat of arms on the back I have
a kid come out and turn around and I
show them the coat of arms which has
that motto that I chose from Aquinas non
knees ETA domine a right when Thomas was
was asked the voice from the cross came
you've written well of me Thomas what
would you have and he said
non knees ETA domine I'll have nothing
except you so I said the kids that's
really what you're saying today when you
take that sacramentum and you reject
Satan and his works you're saying I want
you Lord you're the source of my joy now
to bring that together that's what makes
you a powerful soldier in the army of
Christ if you can find that spiritual
space then you're ready as a confirmed
strengthened member of Christ's mystical
body to do his work in the world
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