Slide 1

“FAITH in the LORD JESUS

CHRIST prepares you
for whatever LIFE brings”

Year 6 Parent Workshop

The Sacrament of Confirmation
Slide 2
We pray..
Loving God,
You are the giver of all we possess,
the source of all of our blessings.
We thank and praise you.
Thank you for the gift of our children.
Help us to set boundaries for them,
and yet encourage them to explore.
Give us the strength and courage to treat
each day as a fresh start.
May our children come to know you,
the one true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
May your Holy Spirit help them to grow
in faith, hope, and love,
so they may know peace, truth, and goodness.
May their ears hear your voice.
May their eyes see your presence in all things.
May their lips proclaim your word.
May their hearts be your dwelling place.
May their hands do works of charity.
May their feet walk in the way of Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord.
Amen.
Slide 3

Wonder Questions
• What does my faith mean to me?
• How does the Holy Spirit
strengthen me to do good?
• How can I continue to be
nourished by the Holy Spirit?
• What can I do in my life to live
out Jesus’ teachings?

These are some of the questions your children will ask you in class. As a parent, it is
important that you model your own faith to your children. Just take a moment to reflect and
think about how you would answer these questions.
Slide 4

Brainstorm

What do you want your child to get out

of this Unit of Work on the Sacrament of
Confirmation?

Parents brainstorm what they want their child to get out of this Unit of Work.
To do this, they either scan the QR code or type in the URL onto their phones/laptops to
access the AnswerGarden page.
Slide 5

What do I want your children to get out of

this unit of work?
• To build strong Christian morals and values
• To have the strength and knowledge to overcome challenges
• To be able to overcome personal weaknesses and failings
• To have courage even when in pain
• To understand the meaning behind the sacrament of Confirmation
and the various parts of the ritual
• To be a person who seeks justice and wants to make the world a
better place
• To know how to celebrate and embrace God in their lives
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Overview of the Unit of the Work

• Inner strength is an admirable quality – it empowers people to do good
• However, people are vulnerable to adversities in life, human
weaknesses and social and peer pressures
• God sent Jesus to provide humanity with the gift of the Holy Spirit to
nourish one’s inner strength
• Today, people receive the gift of the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament
of Confirmation
• Students will explore how Jesus and His followers embraced the gift of
the Holy Spirit to do heroic acts and how they can do the same through
living out the Beatitudes
Slide 7

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

• Wisdom • Reverence
• Understanding • Wonder and
• Right Judgment Awe
• Courage
• Knowledge

In class, the students will learn about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Think about which one reminds you of your
child.
Wisdom – values the things of God and see the world through His perspective
Understanding – Understand God’s values and teachings presented through scripture readings, prayers and the
sacraments.
Counsel (or right judgment) – knowing the right thing to do even in difficult situations
Courage- having the strength to do what is right by God even in difficult times
Knowledge – Understanding of God’s purpose for life on earth and how we should respond
Reverence - to obey and serve God out of love and devotion
Wonder and Awe- remember God’s greatness. The love we have for God leads us to fear letting him down and
hindering our relationship with Him
Slide 8

These gifts are strengthened by the Beatitudes

Blessed are..
• the poor in spirit
• those who mourn
• the meek
• those who hunger and
thirst for justice
• the merciful
• the pure in heart
• the peacemakers
• those who are persecuted
for the sake of justice
• you when people ridicule,
persecute and speak all
kinds of evil against you
falsely for my sake

The gifts are strengthened by the Beatitudes. Think about how you can model these in your
own lives.
- Can be more easily understood if you change the word ‘Blessed’ to ‘Happy’
Blessed are the poor in spirit – appreciate the need for God in out lives – value this over
materialistic means of happiness
Blessed are those who mourn – people who are sad because of the sin and evil present in
society and the wider world. Shown when people give into temptation, reject Christian life
and teachings, see the effects of human wrongdoing (e.g. homelessness, crime etc) and are
are selfish, unjust, lack compassion and mercy and indifferent to those in need.
Blessed are the meek – gentle and slow to express anger and if they do express anger they
do so in a positive way- don’t oppress others or take advantage of them, or seek revenge or
behave violently.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice- want everyone to have the basic God-
given rights – e.g. making sure that those who are disadvantaged are given the basic
necessities of life by governments and volunteer organisations
Blessed are the merciful – to be forgiving, kind, slow to criticise and never take revenge
Blessed are the pure in heart – God comes first and foremost – leads people to be sincere,
honest and always have good intentions
Blessed are the peacemakers – try to understand another’s point of view even if you
perceive them as your enemy – listen to people so they have a positive rather than a
destructive way of expressing their anger, frustration and hurt
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of justice – those willing to take risks for
the sake of justice –stand up even when faced with peer pressure, social rejection and
ridicule
Blessed are you when people ridicule, persecute and speak all kinds of evil against you
falsely for my sake – people can experience this criticism and ridicule through peers as well
as the media- grow closer to God
Slide 9

The Role of the Parent

• Primary religious educators – children follow your example
• Take the time to talk to your children about your own faith
• Seek to grow in your own faith and develop an understanding
of the sacraments
• Support your child to pray, believe, experience the parish
community and live as a Christian
• Provide your child with the opportunity to belong to a parish
community and attend mass on Sunday
• Present your child to receive the sacraments of initiation and
the sacrament of Penance
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What can you do to nurture your child’s faith before they

receive the Sacrament of Confirmation?
• Encourage them to reflect on times they have experienced inner
strength to do good
• Wonder with them about God
• Invite your child to share with you examples of Christian heroes
they have learned about in class
• Share with them your own memories, photos, certificates from your
own or family/friend’s Confirmation
• Share Gospel stories about Jesus revealing heroic, inner spiritual
strength

Wonder with them about God- who created within each person a soul which can strengthen
them to do what is good
Invite your child to share with you examples of Christian heroes they have learned about in
class who were strengthened by the Spirit to show heroic love – such as the person whose
name they have chosen as their Confirmation name
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The Role of the School

• To provide students with the knowledge and understanding of the
Catholic faith, including knowledge about the sacraments
• Teach the mandated religious education program relating to the
sacraments
• Provide opportunities for catechesis
• Create an environment that witnesses to and teaches gospel values to
the students and their parents
• Respect the primary role of parents in the faith education of their
children
• Support parents in that role and inform them about the processes of
sacrament preparation and celebration

To provide students with the knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith, including knowledge about the
sacraments – this includes the Sacraments
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The Role of the Parish

• To ensure that this ministry and follows the Archdiocese's
policies and pastoral practices
• To ensure that the students are prepared for confirmation
• To ensures that appropriate ongoing catechesis is available for
all children when the sacramental process has been completed
• To call parents, school and catechists to work harmoniously
together
Slide 13

Shared Vision
Parents

Parish School

The school, parents and the parish have to work together to positively develop the child’s
faith. Need to be delivering the same message= shared vision. This is why it was so
important for me to hear about what you want your child to get out of this program.
Slide 14

Expectations for Candidates

1. Students actively participate in RE lessons and demonstrate a desire to learn.
2. Students choose a Saint whose life means something to them. They must be able to:
• Recall basic details of their chosen Saint
• Identify what they admire about their Saint
• Recognise how they hope to imitate the Saint in their own Christian life
• Suggest times in their life when they could pray to their Saint for help and guidance
3. That they attend mass on a regular basis
4. Wear appropriate clothes to the Confirmation mass
• Formal attire
• Nothing too tight or too short
Slide 15

Important Dates
• Retreat: 11th September
• Permission Slips due by: 7th September
• Confirmation Mass: 14th September
at St Paul’s Parish Church in Mt
Lawley
• Photographer from 5:30pm
• Arrival time – 5 45pm
• Mass commences 6:30pm
• Mass expected to conclude at 7:45pm

At the Retreat, students will have time to reflect on themselves and identify ways they can
do good in order to become closer to God
The retreat will include them making a Confirmation Sash and going into the fruits and gifts
of the Holy Spirit in more detail
They will also have a guest speaker present about their own faith journey
Slide 16

Any Questions?

• Contact details
• Available via email 7:45am-
4:30pm to arrange an
appointment
• ciara.murphy1@my.nd.edu.a
u

Any questions from today’s session?

Feel free to contact me via email to arrange an appointment if you have any further
questions or wish to voice any concerns.
Slide 17

One last task..

• Fill out an online form that

asks you:
“Which gift of the Holy Spirit
do you think stands out in your
child and why?”
• After you submit this form,
you will be redirected to a
feedback page.

An online form will be emailed to you. Follow the link and answer the question: which gift of
the Holy Spirit do you think stands out in your child and why? This will be used on our
Confirmation retreat!
After you submit this form, you will be redirected to a brief feedback survey on today’s
session.