What kind of person am I? What am I really like? Is there one word that perfectly describes me? Are there perhaps three words? Ten words? How would I describe myself??

I can begin by saying I am a person. I belong to family. In certain ways, I am like other people. In other ways, I am different. Life is the one thing I share with all people.

When I look at life, I see that it is filled with mystery and wonder. Life is filled with decisions. It is filled with beginnings. The mystery of life is that it did not begin with me. The wonder of life is that my life is now. The decisions I make can enrich my life. The beginnings of life are opportunities for me to be more alive.

As I think about my life I see that it is filled with all kinds of moments -- happy moments and sad moments; moments that seem very important and moments that pass without notice.

And so, I ask myself, What is my life all about? What does my life mean to me here and now?

What is important to me? What do I value? If I were asked to choose from the following list of values, the six that are most important to me right now, I would choose:

my parents ___ an education ___ happiness ___ freedom ___ money ___ good looks ___ popularity ___

What other values are important to me?

my family ___ privacy ___ being trusted ___ friends ___ my Church ___ being treated fairly ___ being good at sports ___

If I were to list my values in order of importance, they would appear as follows:

---

 

My values tell me something about myself? and about my life. Looking at the values I have listed, I can say the following about myself and my life:

---

**** Time for Journal Entry **** (Week 1)

Jesus and the fullness of life

Jesus speaks to us about life and its values. In the gospel message, we read these words of Jesus, “I have come in order that they might have life, life in all its fulness?? (John 10:10).

How do I understand those words of? Jesus? Those words can be a summary statement that helps me better understand all the other words and deeds of Jesus recorded in the gospel.

Jesus lived fully by sharing life with others. His life was based on faith in God as a father, and love for others as brothers and sisters. By making life better for others, Jesus showed us a better way to live. When Jesus spoke, He offered hope and encouragement. When He forgave a person, He offered the beginning of a better life. His one great command to His disciples was to love one another.

The Apostles were attracted to Jesus not only by His words, but also by the way He lived His life. With Jesus? death on the cross, the Apostles feared that His life and much of? their lives had ended. They felt emptiness where before they had lived with a fullness of hope.

Then came the resurrection. God raised Jesus from death to a new fullness of life. Jesus became the risen Christ . Now something new could be said about life: Life does not end in death but is brought to fullness through faith in God. Through faith and love, the Apostles would be able to share this life with their risen Lord. Joy filled the Apostles? hearts. They would tell others of Jesus message. The good work Jesus had begun could continue through them. They now knew that Jesus had come so that, indeed, they might live life more fully.

Jesus shares His life with us now so that we may share life with others. The fullness of? life is life based on faith and so filled with love that it overflows and touches the lives of? others.

I must ask myself now and indeed often during the rest of my life whether my ‘ list of? values? is based on faith in Jesus and reflects true love for others.

Helping Others Live Fully

After Jesus had returned to the Father, His Apostles spread the good news that Jesus had told them. They taught people about living a life based on faith and love. They explained what sharing life in the risen Lord meant. Many people accepted that good news and began to live in a new way. Gradually, those believers in Jesus? resurrection formed communities that today we call the Church.

The early Church proclaimed Jesus? resurrection. The resurrection was the chief subject of Paul?s letters to the early Christians.

He wrote these words to the members of the Church he had founded at Corinth, a great city in Greece: ‘‘. . . and if Christ has not been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe” (1 Corinthians 1 5: 14).

Today, the Church continues to proclaim Jesus? resurrection.

The faith and teaching of the Church continues to be centered in the resurrection of Jesus. The Church speaks about our life in Christ. The Church celebrates that life today through the sacraments.

Sharing in New Life with Christ

I share in life with Christ and the Church through the sacraments. I was introduced to life in Christ through Baptism. At my Baptism, I became a member of God?s family. During the baptismal ceremony the priest called me by name and said to me, “the Christian community welcomes you with great joy. In its name I claim you for Christ our Savior by the Sign of the Cross. I now trace the cross on your forehead, and invite your parents (and godparents) to do the same.”

What does it mean to me now to think that I was once welcomed ‘‘with great joy into the Christian community? Do I think of the people of my parish as people who share with me life in Christ?

The decision to share in the life of Christ through Baptism was not mine. My parents decided to have me baptized because they loved me and because they believed in Jesus. They wanted me to grow in the faith that was theirs. During the baptismal
ceremony, my parents and godparents spoke the promises of Baptism for me. Then the priest poured water over my forehead and called me by name as he pronounced the words of Baptism.

He said., “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.??

I did not understand the words of the priest as he anointed my head with chrism and said, ‘‘God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.??

To further show that I was called through Baptism to share in the life of Christ, I was then clothed in a white garment. Again the priest called me by name as he said these words:

“you have become a new creation and have clothed yourself in Christ . See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity. With our family and friends to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven”

Through the Sacrament of Baptism, I was united to a family that shares faith and life in Christ. What do I now think about what was done for me?

At my Baptism I was welcomed into the Christian community. People wanted me to share with them in the life of the risen Lord. How do I now feel about their concern for me?

An Invitation to Grow

Now, my parish church is offering me the Sacrament of Confirmation. In the Sacrament of Confirmation I can affirm my Christian faith. I can publicly declare that I accept my membership in the Church. I can say, “Yes,” I want to grow in the life of Christ. I want to open my mind and heart to growth as a Christian.

What do I think about being able to say for myself what was said for me in the Sacrament of Baptism?

What does growing in the life of Christ mean to me?

What will be expected of me before I publicly affirm my Christian faith in the Sacrament of Confirmation is stated in the Inscription Promise. When I have read the Inscription Promise, I can ask myself whether I want to affirm my Baptism in the Sacrament of Confirmation.

If I decide to become a candidate for the Sacrament of Confirmation, I will be asked to attend several learning sessions. There, I will he helped to understand what the Sacrament of Confirmation is. I will be able to talk about the meaning of that sacrament in my life. I will also he asked to take part in Eucharistic celebrations that will help me better understand what being a member of the Church really means.

What are my thoughts about becoming a candidate for the Sacrament of Confirmation?

Return to Home Page