Five parishes came together at my own parish last night for a Confirmation Mass with Bishop DiLorenzo. The church was packed, and I actually had to park at the Baptist Church next door! I sat at the very back of the church (I am not related to a single person being Confirmed, nor was I sponsoring someone), and even from there I could see the impressive shiner that His Excellency was sporting. ;)
The homily was excellent - the bishop talked much about doing the right thing. He talked about how we expect that other people do the right thing. When he went to the hospital for falling on his face, he was glad the doctor had done the right thing in medical school and not skipped the class on what to do in his situation. When you fly to Hawaii from California, you trust that the person who runs the GPS or who installed the GPS in the satellite did the right thing and paid attention to what was being done because you've got nothing but water all around for 5,000 miles. We, too, must do the right thing.
Then he tied all of this in with how the Holy Spirit, given to them anew in Confirmation, would help them in life to do the right thing. Some gifts will help them to discern what is right, others will help them to know what is right, others will give them the strength to do it when no one else is. It was wonderful, and I am tempted to write to him and ask if he has an outline of the homily so I can use it with my girls when we get more in depth with the Sacraments.
I think, though, one of my favorite parts was when he discussed Fear of the Lord. This is not an irrational or paranoid fear. It is really a fear of losing that unique, one-of-a-kind relationship that we have with the Creator of the Universe. We should all fear that. Which is why it's important to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us so that we may do what is right. After all, Jesus said in the Gospel reading that if you want to be a part of Him, you must keep His commandments.
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