On April 17, 2009, Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Raleigh, NC visited Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Dunn to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on twenty-one candidates in the Extraordinary Form.
While the bishop has been extremely supportive of the Usus Antiquior since his installation in 2006, this was (to my knowledge) his first public conferral of a sacrament in the Extraordinary Form.
The following photos of the ceremony were taken by Nick Aul, the TLM sacristan at Sacred Heart.
Our Grand Knight salutes the bishop as he processes to the front of the church:
Vested in a cope given to him by the people of Sacred Heart Parish and mitre bearing the emblem of the Diocese of Raleigh, the bishop processes to the Altar:
The bishop addresses the candidates, and instructs them on their obligation to teach, defend, and the eventuality that they will suffer persecution for the Catholic Faith:
With his hands imposed over the candidates for Confirmation, the bishop asks God to send the sevenfold Gifts of the Holy Spirit upon them: "The Spirit of wisdom and understanding; the Spirit of counsel and fortitude; the Spirit of knowledge and piety. Fill them with the spirit of Thy holy fear, and sign them with the sign of the cross of Christ in mercy unto eternal life."
The bishop takes his crosier and mitre once again:
The bishop anoints each candidate's forehead with chrism, saying in Latin: "I sign thee with the sign of the Cross, and I confirm thee with the chrism of salvation; in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost:
The bishop then gives each candidate a gentle (leviter) strike on the cheek, symbolizing that the confirmed Catholic is now a soldier for Christ and must endure the suffering and persecution that comes from conflict with the world:
Confirmation sponsors place their right hands on the shoulders of those being confirmed, and take responsibility for their spiritual development:
After all candidates have been confirmed, the bishop turns to the altar and prays in Latin: "O God, who didst give Thy Holy Spirit to Thine Apostles, and hast willed that through them and their successors the same gift should be delivered to all the faithful: look graciously on the service we humbly render to Thee; and grant that the same Spirit coming down upon those whose foreheads we have anointed with the holy Chrism, and signed with the sign of the holy cross, may by His gracious indwelling make them a temple of His glory...."
A special blessing is given to the newly confirmed: "May the Lord bless thee out of Sion, that thou mayest see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of thy life, and have life everlasting. Amen."
The bishop instructs the sponsors on their duties to their new spiritual children:
The Confirmation ceremony was followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, a litany of prayer for priests and more vocations, and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Father Paul Parkerson exposes the Blessed Sacrament:
O Salutaris Hostia...
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament:
The Divine Praises:
The bishop greets the faithful at the reception...
...and blesses their Confirmation gifts:
Thank you, Bishop Burbidge!
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19 comments:
AD MULTOS ANNOS!
Beautiful
My heart rejoices!
Father George
Quelle magnifique celebration!
Laurence
Many years! to the confirmands, Bishop Burbidge, and yourself, Philip.
Not to rain on anyone's parade, but it is unfortunate that these young people, and so many others over the centuries, were not confirmed/chrismated and given first holy communion at the time of the their baptism. The Latin Rite of the Roman Church would do well, very well indeed, to return to the ancient order of initiation.
We have much in NC to be thankful for!
This is excellent! I've linked to your post from my blog.
Ahhh - so THESE are the photos whose taking blocked my view of part of the proceedings! LOL - I was up in the choir loft with the schola, you see.
It was one of the most moving Celebrations of this Sacrament I've ever witnessed. More and more, as I experience the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, I'm confronted with the Other-ness of Almighty God.
Philip, it was a joy to meet you in person after knowing of you via internet for a number of months. Thanks for this commemoration.
And God bless you!
Fr. Greg - There was one adult among the confirmandi, and I have been sad that he was not able to receive his First Holy Communion until another Liturgy. Thanks for your observation and the instruction of it.
Deo Gratias
Excellent. I pray that Bishop Burbidge will now, himself, offer the Mass of all times publicly, as well as all the other sacraments according to the ancient rites. For his own sake and that of his flock. And may he decline further false ecumenical "understandings" with the Lutheran "bishop" of North Carolina, and join his brother bishops in the Southeast in denying Our Lord's Most Holy Body and Blood to "Catholic" politicians who support legalized infanticide. Then Catholics in Raleigh will have a bishop of whom we may be truly proud!
The pictures are beautiful!! It looks like it was a wonderful evening. I wish I could have come. The bishop is awesome :)
I pray that the same Spirit may touch the heart, soul and mind of Fr. Jenkins, President of Notre Dame University so that he will seriously consider revocation of his invitation to the clandestine Moslem, Barak Obama, to speak at the commencement exercises on May 17th.
What symbol of the faith will Obama's staff request removal of prior to his address at Notre Dame,as it did at Georgetown University?
Wonderful to see this!
Let us hope and pray that Bishop Burbidge confirms many in the Traditional Mass of the Ages, on a regular basis in North Carolina and let us pray that this is not a one or two time deal.
We pray that this happens in many Raleigh parishes and that His Excellency learns and offers the Gregorian Rite in the Diocesan Cathedral every Sunday as an excellent example for the "Alter Christus" of the diocese.
Long may His Grace sanctify and shepherd his flock!
It was a glorious event! The Most Reverend Bishop is to be commended for the exemplary humility he demonstrated by not simply supporting the crucial work being done by so many good people in that Parish, but, more importantly, by actually taking ecclesiastical ownership of the Traditional movement in the Diocese of Raleigh. Bishop Burbidge, by his actions as well as his words, shows time and time again, that he is a true shepherd and churchman.
Thank you your Grace BURBIDGE.
American and the Catholic Church need this kind of Bishops to bring back the lost Faith among Faithful.
DEO GRATIAS.
P.J.David
Chennai,India
Oi. Parabéns pelo excelente blog. Gostaria de lhe convidar para visitar meu blog e conhecer um pouco a respeito do Brasil. Abração
Beatiful pictures
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