I remember when I was confirmed as a boy. I remember it not because I was filled with the Holy Spirit... excited to embark on a new relationship with Jesus Christ. No. I remember it because I was rocking a new light blue, three piece suit with some sweet white, shiny, leather shoes.
I looked good!
I was thinking back to that day because Matthew was confirmed last night.
The bishop, a very tall man with what appeared to be hands the size of oven mitts, came out from Washington D.C. to confirm my oldest son. While he was here, he confirmed a bunch of other kids too, but I'm pretty sure he was there mainly to confirm Matthew.
The kids have been taking CCD classes for eight years in preparation for tonight's festivities. I am not really sure that anyone really knows what CCD stands for. I used to have a football coach that used to always yell at us that we had to have CCD!!! But I don't think that the Matthew and his gang were taking Courage, Confidence and Desire classes.
Or maybe they were.
Anyway, every Saturday morning (elementary classes) or Tuesday evening (middle school), Matthew would leave his basketball/baseball practices and head off to the church. When Matthew would have games on Tuesdays or Saturdays, it would spark some heated discussions between Cheryl and me.
He should go to his CCD class... it is more important that he do that than play in some silly game. There will be another game in two days.
The games are not silly. You practice all week so you can play in the game. Imagine if you studied for a test you never took. Besides, there will be another CCD class next week, and the week after that, and the week after that.
He will set his priorities based on our priorities. He should go to CCD.
He has made a commitment to his teammates. He should go to his game.
Look Cheryl... he has made a commitment to the Lord. I am putting my foot down... he is not going to his game; he is going to CCD. That is that!
Eventually, Cheryl came to see it my way!
That's my story and I am sticking to it!
If you have ever been to a Catholic confirmation Mass, you know that the Bishop asks the Confirmandi questions to give them a chance to demonstrate that they are, in fact, ready to be confirmed. I am not really sure what would happen if a kid blanked on one of the answers. I mean, if I were watching Matthew get confirmed and he failed to correctly answer Name one of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and was then humiliatingly asked to leave the church... I would be bummed.
Anyway, tonight was no different. The Bishop asked for volunteers... four boys and four girls to stand up and "take one for the team." The first kid to stand was a young man and then the girls rose in rapid succession. Then two more boys... but no Matthew. I whispered to Cheryl that Matthew was a coward.
And then he stood up. Oh no, so did some other kid who was sitting in front of Matthew. So there were five boys standing and Matthew looked like one of the idiots that couldn't count to four.
Neither boy relinquished his spot. I suppose I should have been proud, but then I thought that this was an unmitigated disaster. I whispered to Cheryl that sometimes being a coward is not a bad thing. Matthew should have just stayed down and played dead like he originally planned.
The Bishop, a forgiving man, (I mean what would you expect from a Bishop) just ignored the whole number debacle and pressed on with his homily, insisting that five and four was just fine. In the course of his talk, he would ask a question, and if he called on you and you answered it correctly, you could sit down.
I had flashbacks of law school.
I hated law school and the whole Socratic teaching method. The only time I ever got an answer correct was when I said, I would like to pass! and my professor thought that I had said, it would affect the taxes!
I was nervous for Matthew.
I was sure that he was going to be the last man standing and the Bishop would just keep firing question after question until he got one right. Then everyone in the church would get upset because they had to wait and wait and wait for Matthew to answer one correctly.
Fortunately, the Bishop asked Matthew what each student would have spread across their forehead as they were confirmed and Matthew confidently choked out: Chrism!
Phew, glad that was over... I never had a doubt!
On a side note, you should have seen the amount of chrism this huge Bishop could spread all over a forehead with his generous hands.
As the sacrament progressed, we came to the part of the Mass called the Prayer of the Faithful. Right before the Prayer of the Faithful, I saw our parish priest whisper to one of the altar servers, Go get Matthew!
Wait, was chrism wrong? Were they going to go to the booth and look at a replay?
The altar server went and accompanied Matthew to the altar, where he stepped up to the mike and flawlessly read the Prayer of the Faithful. Perfect pace... not too fast. Clearly spoken without a single stumble. Perfect tone that everyone could hear. In fact, all of the readers did beautifully. I was impressed.
Maybe CCD does stand for Courage, Confidence and Desire.
One of the prayers that Matthew read was for those in our lives that have departed. This got me thinking about my father. I miss him, and although I am a fifty-year-old man, one of the things I miss the most about my dad is his telling me how proud he is of me and of my family. I thought to myself that at that very moment, my dad would have been proud of me, er uh... I mean Matthew. Don't tell Cheryl, but it brought tears to my eyes. I don't think she noticed.
At that very moment, I decided that I would be sure to tell Matthew how proud I am of him. Not because he knew the answer to the Bishop's question or because of his flawless performance while reading the Prayer of the Faithful. Those things were great... but I am most proud of the young man he has become... and that he really does receive the Holy Spirit,,, and that he does have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
I think that Matthew knows how I feel.
I tease him a bunch, but I have told him, Whenever I tell you that you are a knucklehead... or that you may never... ever... get a date... just translate that into: I love you! But just in case Matthew isn't sure how I feel, he can read this week's Funny Guy Friday.
He may not know how to count to four... but I know he can read!
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