By Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News
A few short days after celebration of Easter, Bishop Mark Hagemoen started confirmation season, celebrating the sacrament with youth in parishes across the diocese.
Bishop Hagemoen addresses youth at St. Patrick Parish in Saskatoon April 2. (Submitted photo courtesy of Grace Heilman)
Starting at St. Patrick Parish in Saskatoon April 2 during the Easter Octave, the confirmation schedule will continue until the end of June 2024.
During the celebration of confirmation on Divine Mercy Sunday at St. Augustine Parish in Saskatoon, the bishop stressed that the sacrament is “a big deal,” telling the young candidates “this is the beginning of a deepening intimacy with the Lord.”
In his homily, he affirmed “your confirmation isn’t just about what you will do for others — it is about the ongoing action of God in your own heart and soul, through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Reflecting on the Exodus, when God brought the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, he noted that the challenges of freedom encountered in the wilderness led some to long to return to slavery — “they weren’t just leaving oppression from the outside, they were leaving their slavery from within, the oppression inside.”
“It is not until Jesus suffers, dies, and rises, that what began with Moses is complete, and not it begins anew for the whole Church and the whole world,” he said. “All of this is because of the great love and mercy of God — and that love and mercy calls you and is with you, no matter what…. that is the source of our hope.”
Bishop Mark Hagemoen with confirmands from St. Peter the Apostle Parish and St. Michael Parish in Saskatoon. (Photo courtesy of Monica Aspiazu)
Confirmation was celebrated at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Outlook, SK. (Photo courtesy of the Clark family)
Bishop Mark Hagemoen confirms a candidate at St. Pater the Apostle Parish in Saskatoon on April 11, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Monica Aspiazu)
Youth at St. Patrick Parish in Saskatoon received the sacrament of confirmation April 2, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Grace Heilman)
Bishop Hagemoen confirms a candidate at St. Patrick Parish in Saskatoon as pastor Fr. David Tumback looks on. (Photo courtesy of Grace Heilman)
Confirmands bring up the gifts at St. Patrick Parish, Saskatoon April 2. (Photo courtesy of Grace Heilman)
Confirmands led the prayers of the faithful at St. Patrick Parish in Saskatoon April 2. (Photo submitted by Grace Heilman)
Bishop Mark Hagemoen and pastor Fr. Darryl Millette at the Confirmation Mass held April 7 at St. Augustine Parish in Saskatoon. (Screen capture image from live-stream on saskatoonmass.com – LINK to Video)
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Kiply Lukan Yaworski is the communications coordinator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon – rcdos.ca