Text courtesy of Margie Mackey; photos courtesy of Claire Phillips
On the evening of June 11, 2019, His Excellency Most Reverend David Monroe, Bishop Emeritus of Kamloops, conferred the sacrament of Confirmation in the Extraordinary Form on 17 young people at Holy Family Parish, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The ceremony opened with the traditional motet Ecce Sacerdos Magnus as the bishop entered the church and proceeded to the sanctuary. Bishop Monroe was assisted by Holy Family parish priest Fr. Daniel Geddes, FSSP, and Mr. Matthew Palmer, who had instructed the confirmands in preparation for receiving the sacrament.
In his sermon, His Excellency said that, although questions are often asked of the confirmands before the sacrament is conferred, he would not be doing that. Instead, he spoke of the value of questions, giving examples of several questions asked both by and of Our Lord. He stressed the importance of the question Jesus asked Peter three times after His resurrection, echoing the triple denial of Peter during Our Lord’s Passion: “Peter, do you love me?” That is the key question He asks each of us, because an affirmative answer leads one to live according to all of His teachings, to be a living witness to the teachings of the Catholic Faith.
The young people were confirmed with the ancient formula:
Signo te signo crucis et confirmo te chrismate salutis. In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. (I sign thee with the sign of the Cross, and I confirm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost).
The ceremony closed with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction, followed by a lovely and well-attended reception in the parish hall.
