Preparation of Young People for Confirmation: A Pauline Perspective

Abstract

Many modern programmes of preparation of young people for confirmation are based on theological models which are correct in theory but ineffective in practice. They often assume that young people come to know the Holy Spirit through catechesis based on Scripture. This article demonstrates that a much better way of preparing young people for confirmation can be found in the genuine letters of Paul the Apostle. He showed that the presence of the Holy Spirit in a human person is not merely a matter of belief, but it can also be experienced in a reliable way, which is not limited to charismatic phenomena. This way is based on the discovery of a number of virtues in young people’s hearts, which are quite unexpected in the context of their human egoism, laziness, etc. For this reason, they must be regarded as the fruit of the Spirit, who broadens human hearts to love and to serve the poor. In this way, young people may also discover Christ – as the one who humbled himself to serve not his social status but people in need.