On Saturday 11th April 2026, Father Anthony SDB and Michelle Friend our Youth Leader together with our Confirmation Candidates and Catechists shared another special day of reflection together, in preparation for our fast-approaching Confirmation Day on Saturday, 25th April in Portsmouth at St. John’s Cathedral.
Session One
We explored how ‘God Is With Us’ through the visible and tangible signs of the sacraments: water; oil; bread; wine. We studied how the sacraments act ‘ex opera operator’ (CCC 1127-28) with their power coming from Christ.
We learnt that the Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, and so we as humans may not fully understand the power and mystery of the Eucharist: the chemistry of the Eucharist may not alter but as Catholics we believe that after the priest blesses the host and wine and recites the prayer of Transubstantiation, we receive Jesus’s Body and Blood. This led us to reflect upon this very special biblical revelation:
“I Am Who I Am…this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations”
Exodus 3:14
(God reveals his name to Moses).
We reflected upon where we had met this number (3:14) before led by Father Anthony, and why Pi is the most special and beautiful number!
By the end of our first session, we had a better understanding of why priests may have chosen to run into a burning church in St. Philip Nero parish in New York in 1912 to save not the art nor statues of Saints, but the Blessed Eucharist from being incinerated. We also explored other martyrs and heroes of the Eucharist including St. Tarcisius in the Roman Empire (AD 275), St. Clare of Assisi in Italy (1224) and St. Edmund Campion in England (1581).
We enjoyed some time sharing and discussing how we experienced our own family meals and the incredible value of these shared moments with our loved ones, drawing the important parallel with Jesus gathering his disciples together to share in his very special Last Supper on Maundy Thursday before he has to part from them to fulfil his gift to humanity of eternity in his father’s Kingdom.
Session Two
This session allowed us to explore ‘The Story of the Eucharist’ in greater depth as we were challenged to consider some moments in the Bible across the New and Old Testaments where God foreshadows the gift of the Eucharist. For example, we discussed the symbolism of food and communion with Jesus Christ by revisiting the story of Adam and Eve who access the fruit of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, sharing in this food that offers them communion with God. We now understand better the significance of them losing this food and communion and eternal life with God when they are tempted to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, resulting in their (and thus our) Original Sin which leads to their banishment from the Garden of Eden. This is one signpost of many that leads us to the Eucharist celebrated for the first time in the Last Supper and at Holy Communion in our Mass. This deepened our understanding of the importance of the sacraments of Baptism and our First Holy Communion as we prepare to independently stand up and choose our faith and our communion with God for ourselves in Confirmation.
Final Session
We focused on how as individuals who are choosing to be Confirmed, we have the support and guidance of Christ through the Eucharist which becomes our sustaining ‘Bread For The Journey’.
From the Israelites who received manna from heaven for their journey out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land, to our celebration of Mass in our local parish, we discussed the importance of coming together at Mass to bear public witness that we belong to Jesus and to his Body, the Church and we choose to let our faith shine forth to our neighbours alongside our hopes for salvation.
We learnt that the Catechism encourages us to actively participate: in music, reading from the Scriptures, serving at the altar, Eucharistic Ministry and we put these elements into practice at our 5.30pm Youth Mass, trying to proactively participate as much as possible.
We now have a deeper understanding of how the Mass allows us to encounter God in Scripture – through the Liturgy of the Word. This session helped us to understand better that when we say the Creed in Mass and the Prayers of the Faithful, these actions help us to bear witness to our faith.
We revisited the story of Emmaus and its significance to the Liturgy of the Eucharist: the climax of the Liturgy is when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion and the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the Death and the Resurrection are present for us and we are given a foretaste of Heaven. This is why we follow rules for receiving the Eucharist:
- Never receive the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin (invitation to Confession for cleansing)
- Fast from food and drink (except water or medicine) for at least one hour before receiving
- Receive the Eucharist at least once a year.
By the end of the day, our minds had been sharpened with knowledge and understanding of this special gift of Christ we are choosing to commit too.
Eucharistic Adoration: “I look at Jesus and Jesus looks at me.”
We enjoyed a special silent hour in Eucharistic Adoration, with an opportunity for Confession as we prepared for our Youth Mass, where after lots of buzz and discussion we had the opportunity to sit in quiet contemplation of our hearts and faith journey with Jesus. For me, this was the most special way to end a rewarding Retreat day and to prepare for our journey to Portsmouth Cathedral and our Confirmation Day.
Youth Mass
After Eucharistic Adoration, our young people were a credit to themselves and their families and fully participated in all aspects of the Mass.
We had wonderfully friendly Welcomers, articulate Readers, diligent and polite Collectors, careful and respectful Servers and able and joyful Singers: thank you so much, Confirmation candidates, for investing yourselves fully and with good grace.
As we start to reflect upon our Confirmation journey, it was really evident on this second Retreat Day that our young people have bonded so well together as a young community. It has been a privilege to witness the intelligent questions, the kindnesses given, the deepening of friendships during a journey that has not been without its challenges.
Faith discussions and catechism aside, in true Salesian spirit of Saint John Bosco, we Catechists all noticed an amplified sense of joy and fun in our ‘playground’ of table tennis, table football, darts and pool with our brilliant new Sean Devereux Youth Club resources that Father has kindly invested in for us. We were equally grateful for the copious snacks and drinks and pizza lunch provided throughout our day.
Huge gratitude on everyone’s behalf to Father Anthony and Michelle Friend for organising our Retreat Day and leading us, to my fellow Catechists for their good company and hard work and time, but most especially thank you to our young people and their families for prioritising this special formation in the Easter school holidays!
We are thoroughly ready for our Confirmation and may we wish all our candidates and their families a very special and joyous Confirmation Day!
God Bless.
Nicole Kirby
(Confirmation Catechist)
