BEING CONFIRMED entails a vocation of conversion that confirmands must undertake, Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula said during the closing Mass of the 80th anniversary of the Canonical Establishment of the Santisimo Rosario Parish Church on Tuesday, March 21.
Coinciding with the closing celebration was the confirmation of students from the Dominican School of Manila and Juan Luna Elementary School.
In his homily, Advincula urged the confirmands to foster their relationship with God at an early age.
“Confirmation seals us with the Holy Spirit, who gives us his seven gifts, namely, wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord,” he said.
The Manila archbishop said the Sacrament of Confirmation allows the faithful to become “a friend of the Lord.”
“With the help of the Holy Spirit, you will be more loving towards your parents, more caring towards your peers, more diligent in your duties as students, and more helpful to those who are in need. Do not be afraid to be holy; you can become saints,” he said.
Irish cleric Michael O’Doherty, then the archbishop of Manila, established and inaugurated the parish in 1942 at the height of World War II. With reports from Ammiel B. Maestrado
