Confirmation retreat offers focus

By KENNY KEANE, Globe staff reporter
Posted February 27, 2003

For the Holy Family Cluster in Sioux City, which includes Cathedral of the Epiphany, St. Boniface Church and St.  Joseph Church, confirmation preparation is a yearlong process.

The course of readiness for the sacrament begins in the fall of the candidates' sophomore year and concludes with the actual confirmation in the fall of their junior year. This process includes three retreats and three mentor encounters.

This year's candidates had their first retreat in October, with the first mentor encounter a month later. Mostly recently, on Feb. 23, they gathered in the St. Joseph School gym for their second retreat.

"The first retreat always focuses on God the Father and how we are created in the image and likeness of God," said the pastor of St. Boniface, Father Kevin Richter, who helps facilitate the retreats. "The second retreat focuses on Jesus and the call to discipleship. There is a sense of vocation and calling and living that with courage. So the real focus of the second retreat is courage."

According to Kathryn Keane, Director of Religious Education (DRE) for the Holy Family Cluster who works with Father Richter at the retreats, the main thing she hopes the candidates got out of the retreat was that they have the courage to continue their confirmation preparation.

"I hope they had a chance to really visit with their mentors and talk about Jesus in their life and how they can start seeing the transformation that they need to take during confirmation," she said. "Also, the other thing that we talked about that hopefully they're looking at is are they going with God, or are they going away from God? We got them thinking about the direction they're heading."

Father Richter said the thing that really ties all three retreats together is the image of masks that the students create.

"In the first retreat they make the masks, and it's that whole sense of being shaped and molded by God," he said. "Either we can live out that and let the fullness of who God would have us be come out, or we can hid behind the masks.

"Then the second retreat has the same kind of thing. Either we can still hide, or as they did at the second retreat when they painted their masks, we can let our true colors come out. The individuality of the mask begins to be revealed. Then during the third retreat, we take the masks again, and that's when they'll add feathers, beads and that kind of stuff to them."

Another symbol used during the second retreat was the image of three concentric levels of courage in the form of circles. The outer circle represented physical courage, the next circle within that stood for emotional courage and the innermost circle or core symbolized spiritual courage.

After discussing the first two circles and coming up with examples for them, Father Richter explained to them that the spiritual level is a response of courage due to their faith and what they believe is good and right and what God is calling them to do even if they don't feel like doing it.

Ashton Pullis, a sophomore parishioner from St. Boniface, said he found the most recent retreat to be very interesting, particularly working on his mask.

"It gave a better understanding of what goes on around you," he said. "I think the masks bring out what your personal abilities are and what you think of yourself."

Another St. Boniface sophomore, Katie Blair, said she especially enjoys the fact that many activities are offered during their retreats.

"One of my friends goes to a different one, and she said they just sat there and had to listen to people talk the whole time, which she said got kind of boring," Blair said. "I like how we mix different activities. I like how we combined the three retreats and do the painting of the masks and forming the masks."

The next step in preparing for confirmation will take place this spring either in May or June when the group will gather at Trinity Heights in Sioux City for their second mentor encounter. Kevin Vickery, superintendent of diocesan Catholic schools, assists Keane with these encounters. Then they will have their third retreat in October, followed by their final mentor encounter before finally being confirmed in December.

"I hope they'll get more of a sense that they do have a call," Father Richter said. "So often we can take the term vocation and think just in terms of priesthood or religious life, but we are trying to give them a sense that all of us have a call. We are called to respond to God who is in us."