These days much of our mail arrives via email.  On the whole I find this a good thing.  It is immediate and convenient and I guess it must save a lot of paper too!   However, every now and then a surprise letter or bundle of letters arrives in the letter box.  And sometimes these can be full of surprises.  I received such a bundle of letters during the week.  They were written by the year six students who were preparing for Confirmation.   I thought I would share with you some of the things they had to tell me.  Here are some extracts from their letters.

Dear Father Brendan
I am ready to receive my Confirmation.  What has prompted me to be initiated into the Catholic Church is mainly that I feel it will bring me closer to God, deepen my faith, and help me to be a better person.  I hope that by being confirmed, my faith will grow stronger and I will be able to connect more with God and the Holy Spirit. Out of the seven fruits of the Holy Spirit, I thought the fruit relating to me most was patience, and that is partly why I chose Saint Monica as my saint for Confirmation.
Jessica

Dear Father Brendan
I just wanted to say thank you for giving us all the opportunity to get our Confirmation and we all appreciate this special time to get closer to God.  I am really looking forward to my family and friends having this opportunity to see me get confirmed.  I would like to be confirmed because it makes me feel closer to God and allows me to form a greater and stronger relationship with my friends, family and community.  I am at an age when I can promote my faith and virtues and to carry these strengths for many years.
Charlotte

Dear Father Brendan
I want to be confirmed so that I can complete my sacraments and stay a Catholic and get closer to the church.  My family has raised me to be part of the Catholic community and I hope I can understand more about it.  My chosen saint is St Gertrude of Nivelles she most claims her association with cats from her feline predatory instinct to catch and chase away rodents.  In her time in her city, St Gertrude was called quite a lot by the people in her town to get rid of illness and rodents. Her job was to chase away anything disease related.  I chose this saint’s name because I did not think many people would choose her because she is not well known and I love what she did to help her town people.  Nothing says exactly what her gifts are but I think I would like to say that in my opinion she had the fruits of love and generosity.
Annabelle

Dear Father Brendan
I would like to be confirmed because I think it is an important aspect to the Church and also reminds me that God is in our everyday lives.  The people who have prompted me to be initiated into the Catholic church would be my parents, as they are Catholic.  Some of the gifts and talents I can offer to the community are: I am kind and caring friend.  I am reverent and respectful, and I also show great courage.  My hopes and expectations for when I get confirmed is to be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
Matilda

Dear Father Brendan
I would like to be confirmed to do my Confirmation because I would like to renew my vows as a committed member of God’s family.  Ever since I was a little kid I have always been listening to God’s prayers, going to Masses and attending a Catholic school.  I hope that I can continue to learn about the Catholic faith and get comfort from God’s words.
Milla

Dear Father Brendan
I am so pleased to be receiving the sacrament of Confirmation.  I would like to receive this sacrament to confer the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord, upon me.  After being initiated into the Catholic Church I would become a member of the community of believers.  Although I do already believe in Jesus and God, receiving the sacrament would push my beliefs further and bring me much closer to Jesus and God.
Anki

I was delighted to read the many letters from our years six students and I was inspired by their stories of faith, the research that they had done into the lives of the faith and their willingness to put themselves forward wholeheartedly for confirmation.  I hope that you too, are touched by these letters.

By Fr Brendan Reed