Happy Easter! Just a reminder that the Saint Essay is due April 20th. The instructions that were sent March 20th are included below. -Chris
Dear Parents and Candidates for Confirmation,
Hopefully you received my email yesterday. In it, I explained that the remaining Confirmation sessions for Year 1 of Confirmation preparation have been postponed until Year 2. I encourage you to read that email entitled "Parish Faith Formation Updates" if you haven't already. If for some reason you did not receive it, please let me know.
In that email, I promised you a homework assignment. Here it is:
Typically at the beginning of Year 2, I assign the required "Saint Essay". Frankly, with what is going on, this seems to be a great time to assign this essay to the candidates. There is a strong chance they will have some spare time to research and complete the assignment. The instructions are below. As in the past, I will give the candidates one month to complete the assignment.
Please plan to email me the completed essay by Monday, April 20th or sooner.
Also, please use faithformation@holyspiritmims.com to submit your essay.
If you try to submit it by replying to this email, Flocknote will lose your attachment... so please don't do it!
If you have any questions, please let me know!
Thanks, Chris
PS. I don't want to say that it is common, but it is fair to say that it is not uncommon for men to choose St. Sebastian (patron saint of athletes) and ladies to choose St. Cecilia (patron saint of musicians) as their Confirmation Saint. While I don't have any problem whatsoever with your candidate choosing either of these saints, I would ask that you challenge them to look further and dig deeper. To read about many more amazing saints and their lives before making a final decision...
Instructions for the Saint essay
• In the Sacrament of Confirmation, you will choose a name to be confirmed under. Pray about, and select, the saint's name you wish for your Confirmation name. Your Confirmation name is not a legal name. It is a name to signify that the saint is a person whom you will pray to for assistance and try to be like in your own life.
• Please research the saint that you have chosen for your Confirmation name. You may use books, the Bible, and Catholic websites to do your research.
• The objective is not to copy information about the saint. Rather that you learn enough about them to 1) speak to your classmates briefly about them and 2) write the essay outlined below about the saint.
• The essay must be a minimum of two pages – typed in 12 font and double-spaced between paragraphs.
• I will be looking for anyone who plagiarizes their report by cutting and pasting from Internet websites. Please consider the 8th commandment – You shall not steal – and do not plagiarize as you will be asked to rewrite your paper.
Spend some time really considering the following aspects of your saint and include the answers in your essay.
- What are some of the key accomplishments of this person’s life?
- What inspired the saint on their faith journey?
- What work of justice was the saint particularly involved in?
- Tell if your saint is a patron saint of music, doctors, mothers, etc.
- This will be a summary of who your saint is and what they did while on earth.
2) What are some of the characteristics of this person that you admire and would like to have yourself? (ex. Courageous, determined, sympathetic, etc.) Be specific – give examples.
3) If you could talk to this person face to face, what questions would you ask and why?
4) If this person were alive today, what kind of work would they be doing? How could you do something similar?
5) Why is this person a good role model for me? How can you be like the saint in your own life?
3) If you could talk to this person face to face, what questions would you ask and why?
4) If this person were alive today, what kind of work would they be doing? How could you do something similar?
5) Why is this person a good role model for me? How can you be like the saint in your own life?