By Eric Martin
A post-Confirmation program at Mirrabooka Parish is working with youth across the northern suburbs with the aim of creating a supportive healthy environment for young people as they pass through years characterised by many physical, psychological and emotional changes.
The six-year program is based on intuitions of the initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way, Kiko Argüello and aims primarily to accompany young people from the ages of 12 or 13, who have recently celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation.
The young people are helped to live the graces received and to allow the gifts of the Holy Spirit to appear in their life.
Following a simple rhythm based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the program looks at a series of themes in a cycle of four different meetings a month.
Mirrabooka Parish Priest Fr Giosue Marini, said the “results” of the program became clear within a few months of its commencement in 2013.
“The young people attending developed a new-found appreciation of their life, which encouraged them to grow in their journey of understanding who they are, their vocation, and what is the meaning of their life,” Fr Marini said.
“In this world where the small screen can be totally absorbing, the Post-Confirmation Program provides a different catechesis that helps the young person to understand that Christ exists, loves them and has an adventurous path prepared for them,” he said.
“The Christian family, the domestic church… is the primary place where we learn tolove and to be loved.”
“A path that leads to real happiness in doing the will of God.”
The program originally started in the Roman Parishes of Canadian Martyrs and St Francesca Cabrini in 1999. The principal idea is the mentoring of young people by a “sponsor” couple who themselves have had several years of initiation to faith and experience of Jesus Christ in the Neocatechumenal Way. Couples give authentic Christian witness to the young people – examples of faith, hope and love – in groups of about eight, giving the opportunity for each young person to listen and speak at any of the weekly meetings.
“For this reason, the Christian family, the domestic church, is offered as the first point of reference for the young people, so that it may be an effective sign of unity and faithfulness,” Fr Marini said. “It is the primary place where we learn to love and to be loved.”
The Parish Priest and catechists of the sponsors work together with the couple, providing guidance and direction.
“I see that this model of faith formation is needed more than ever,” Fr Marini added.
“The time after Confirmation is a particularly important moment in the life of a young person in the Church. Hence this program can be a beautiful way for a young person to continue on their journey of coming closer to God as they progress towards adulthood.”
Fr Marini also explained that the sponsor couples all follow the Neocatechumenal Way, while the young people are drawn from all across the parish and many ethnic origins.
The experience of the young people is rich, Fr Marini explains, due to the weekly process, which includes questions about the dogmatic, scriptural and moral themes in the Catechism, and how these are reflected in their own lives and the world around them.
They also benefit from a regular opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Fr Marini says that, for the young people from Mirrabooka Parish who have already completed the program, each week helped them conquer the challenges of the world and the crises of youth.
Jeremy de la Fuente, 21, who is currently studying Commerce at Curtin University, said that for him, the Post-Confirmation program had proved to be the bridge between his childhood and adulthood.
As one of the first participants in the program at Mirrabooka Parish, Jeremy commenced the program at the age of 15 and followed through until 18.
“I really appreciated the time with the couple and their family because it meant I could also share my experiences with them, and gain a different perspective,” Jeremy said.
“As I entered high school at the age of 13 and continued to make my way through, I couldn’t see any clear path for who I should be and how I was going to get there.
“The Post-Confirmation program was that bridge that I could lean on, without fear of judgement.
“It was such an amazing time because it was clear that each one of us in the programme had found common ground, while also growing in our faith,” Jeremy explained.
For Jeremy, the conversations and dialogue that took place during his time in the Post-Confirmation program stay with him daily.
“It has helped me to stay grounded, particularly in this world which is so very much consumed by fake news.”
From pages 13 to 15 of Issue 19: ‘Why Believe In God’ of The Record Magazine