Alpha not Omega

(Fr. Tom’s “Courier” Newspaper Articles)

In the past few weeks 138 children from Shannon were confirmed.  As parents watched their sons and daughters reach this milestone in their path to adulthood they may have had many mixed emotions:

Sadness – to see them grow up so quickly.
Pride – at how well they are doing.
Anxiety – about the difficult teenage years around the corner with all the dangers and temptations of alcohol, drugs, violence and teenage pregnancy.
Hope – that they will grow up to be happy, kind and committed Christians who will realise the full potential of the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit such as courage, kindness, respect, wisdom, self-control, joy, loyalty, patience and the ability to know and do the right thing.

They will need these graces of their Confirmation Day to help them live up to the dream both their parents and God have for them.  Therefore, it is time to say that the Confirmation journey has indeed not ended, it has just begun.
For many of the children confirmed this year throughout the diocese and indeed throughout Ireland, Confirmation will, on the other hand, mark the end of the practice of their faith.  Some may return to it later in life, many may not.

Something is seriously wrong.  We can pretend to ourselves it is not happening and delude ourselves into thinking all is well or alternatively we can face this problem honestly and try to do something about it.
We must begin by asking the painful question – why are many of our children are voting with their feet and walking away?
We must explore the deeper question of how does our Church need to change, so that we can offer the love of Christ in a way that satisfies the hunger for meaning, that thirst for the infinite we all have in our lives.  Archbishop Martin in his widely publicised talk last week raised this issue.

This is all part of a larger worldwide problem.  There will be no easy answers, but we cannot put our heads in the sand; they must be faced.
No matter what challenges or trials come our way, we have a wonderful message as a Christian people, a message worth sharing, and a message that brings light to a darkened world.
If we fail to live by the light of its hope, then the Christian message has lost its meaning for us and we have no option but to look elsewhere to give purpose to our existence.