Sacrament of Confirmation
Australian Jesuit Fr Richard Leonard, author of Hatch, Match & Dispatch: A Catholic Guide to Sacraments, speaks to Pat Coyle of Irish Jesuit Communications on the sacrament of Confirmation. He continues his podcast series by presenting the gifts of the Spirit in modern and accessible language. He explains Jesus’ law of love and refers to St Paul on what it means to be confirmed in the Holy Spirit.
In his usual entertaining style, Fr Leonard draws from his own childhood and Church teaching to explain the meaning of Confirmation. Referring to the descent of the Holy Spirit during Pentecost, he points out that it is just as much the gift of listening as it is the gift of speaking. He says that listening is very important for the Church right now especially in relation to dealing with clerical sex abuse.
Speaking with Pat Coyle, Fr Leonard emphasises the gift of prudence where we can compassionately judge, for example, we can ask ourselves “what is like being a refugee right now?” He suggests that ‘fear of the Lord’ be renamed to ‘reverence before God’ that is connected with a respect for the divine as well as a sense of awe and wonder.
Listen to the podcast interview above.