Confirmation Program Summary:
Because of the demographics of our students – 95% or more are in Catholic High School – we put together a program that aims to help the students thinks more deeply about “life’s big questions” like: what is the meaning of my life, what does it mean to have a mission, who is Christ for me, what difference does my faith make, how can I make sense of suffering?
The structure of the class is as follows: We briefly go over Catholic doctrine – using Kahoot – and touch on anything that the group as a whole struggles with. We have small group time with “fun” questions related to the class topic. We then watch 30-50 minute clips of a secular (usually 90s!) movie that we have chosen to tie to the faith. After that, we have a brief explanation of why we chose that movie and the faith connection, and then personal reflection time followed by another round of small group sharing, this time with the questions they personally reflected on. Each class, they get a handout with a scripture passage, Catechism quote and quote from a Pope or Saint… all connected to the movie theme.
Each CLASS has a required online assignment, usually just an additional reflection question to help them go deeper, sometimes a Youtube video to watch. An additional assignment is required for those who miss class.
Class Handouts: Click here
Movies & Clips:
As of right now, here are the movies + handout: Password is: smaconfirmation (no caps, no spaces)
- 1st Class: Matrix (cannot post clips online, teens who miss watch the summary)
- 2nd Class: Lord of the Rings
- 3rd Class: Signs
- 4th Class: Lion King (cannot post clips online, teens who miss watch the summary)
- 5th Class: The Giver
- 6th Class: I Lived on Parker Ave
- 7th Class: Warrior
- 8th Class: Saving Private Ryan
- 9th Class: Superman (New class, haven’t developed yet)
Retreat:
We have the retreat at SMA from 9-3. We start with Mass and then either watch the Bishop Barron Confirmation video (Word on Fire subscription) or have someone give a talk specifically about the Sacrament of Confirmation. This year, we will have each small group present on one Gift of the Holy Spirit, based on examples we gave them (here). Over lunch, we have them present movie trailers of a movie they would add to the program if they could. The afternoon is spent in a “prayer workshop” where they rotate between stations: Lectio Divina, Visio Divina, praying with the saints, praying with the Psalms, Using an app for prayer, Using our imagination in prayer, Praying for others… we end with Adoration (with some time of silence and some time of worship) and Confession. Click HERE for our Prayer Workshop PDF.
SMA Confirmation 