To be eligible for Confirmation, a candidate must be baptized, and, in general, must have attained the “age of reason” (7 years old). The candidate should participate regularly and actively in the sacramental and liturgical life of his or her parish, and desire to gain a deeper relationship with Christ as His disciple. In the Diocese of Oakland, those being confirmed in youth Confirmation programs should receive the sacrament by the age of 16.

Parent & Family Participation
Parents are essential to the course and depth of their child’s faith formation, as they are the first preachers of the faith to their children by their word and example (cf. Lumen Gentium 11). By asking questions of your son or daughter about what is happening in our Confirmation sessions, looking over any resources and materials they bring home, encouraging them to participate in parish events, and discussing the Confirmation topics regularly at home, our youth will experience that it is not only the Corpus Christi staff and ministry team that care about our Catholic faith, but also you, their role models. Candidates and their families should also attend Mass together on a weekly basis, to continue formation of the faith community. While it is understandable that on rare occasions it may seem impossible to attend any one of the services offered (either Saturday Vigil Mass or any of the Sunday Masses), we expect that serious effort be made by families to fulfill this joyful weekly obligation.

Confirmation Curriculum
The requirements of the Oakland Diocese state that candidates for Confirmation must complete a minimum of 72 hours of engagement. This breaks down to approximately 3.6 hours per month for a two-year program. In order to fulfill these hours, candidates will meet for a set number of sessions (generally scheduled to avoid holiday weekends; please see calendar for more details) from October through May for one hour of formal instruction per meeting; the rest of the hours are taken up in Masses, annual retreats and days of reflection, parish events, and service opportunities.

The curriculum is aimed at forming disciples of Christ who are in a relationship of “communion and intimacy” with Jesus. In order to complete the objectives of the Diocesan Standards for Confirmation, these meetings will incorporate distinct parts of a program in order to cater to different learning styles as well as foster a deeper understanding and love of Jesus Christ and the Catholic faith.

Prayer and Worship
The most important element of any relationship – whether divine or human – is communication, and the most common means of communication with the divine is prayer. Each activity, whether social or instructional, will be led and concluded by an appropriate prayer. Different means of prayer will be explored, from communal to silent, adoration to contrition, so that the candidates will get a taste of the richly varied prayer traditions of our faith.

Catechesis and Evangelization
We will be using various resources which have been designed specifically to engage young Catholics in a meaningful conversation about our faith in preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. A key element of this process is the time of conversation and reflection with an adult mentor – a member of the Corpus Christi parish family – who will engage the candidate in reflecting on the material presented in the formation sessions. This program acknowledges the need for conversation and conversion of heart, mind, and soul, and the role of the parish and its members in the sharing of the faith with others.

Liturgy and the Sacraments
The Liturgy, especially the celebration of the Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian life. An important component of our Confirmation curriculum is designed to encourage our youth to appreciate the richness of our age-old rituals and worship. Candidates are expected to participate in the worship life of the parish. They are expected to sign up for certain liturgical ministries, ranging from being a Minister of the Word (lector), to greeting the parish community before weekend Masses, or serving as ushers. Candidates may sign up for a ministry they are comfortable with, and will receive the appropriate instruction for new ministries they are interested in.