H. Confirmation in English community Hilversum

Saturday afternoon we celebrated Holy Mass and Confirmation in Saint Vitus church in Hilversum. 11 candidates from the ENglish spea­king community received the sacra­ment of the Holy Spirit.

A present

Fr. Jules Dresmé and Fr. Juan Andrés Correa del Rio concelebrated, deacon Evert Florijn assisted in this holy Mass. It was a beautiful ceremony, well prepared in Saint Vitus church where I received the epis­co­pal ordination, thirteen and a half years ago. At the end of the holy Mass there was a present for those who had given their time and efforts as a cate­chist, as a photographer, as conductor of the choir etc. And of course we should not forget the priests who did their best to prepare these candidates for confirmation.

Universality

Though English spea­king, they came from different cultures and backgrounds: Poland, Italy, India, Spain, South Africa etc. They represented the universal church and somehow the miracle of Pentecost, where people of different langueages were united and could understand each other.

Congratulations to the young people who received confirmation, tho their families and the parish community!

Homily

Under Gods protection

HILVERSUM MAY 31 2025 CONFIRMATION SAINT VITUS

Dear brothers and sisters, dear candidates for Confirmation,

Pentecost

Next week we celebrate on Pentecost the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, but today already we celebrate the Sacra­ment of Confirmation, which is the Sacra­ment through which the Holy Spirit descends upon you as He did then upon the Apostles.
Therefore, we are very happy to be able to celebrate this Mass and Confirmation today.

The signs of Pentecost

The Apostles received many signs by which they could see that the Holy Spirit was coming upon them. They heard a noise like a gust of wind rushing through the house where they were gathered; they saw something like tongues of fire and began to speak in all kinds of foreign languages.

And now...?

Perhaps you, dear candidates, would like and think it would be good if these things also happened here in this church, but I think that Holy Confirmation here will be a little more quiet. Because the Apostles were still at the begin­ning of Christianity, there were no other people who believed in Jesus, and they were still very afraid because Jesus had been crucified, it is understandable that God wanted to perform a special miracle for them. But you have your parents, the parishioners, and perhaps other people who can pass on the faith to you and support you on that path. I thank them for doing so!

He prayed for you

And of course you heard today in the Gospel that Jesus was praying for you on the last eve­ning before His passion, at the Last Supper. He prayed that the love of God will be in you. That is the holy Spirit. The holy Spirit is God living iin your heart because God loves you and He wants to make you strong like Saint Stephen and other first christians were strong, when he was persecuted.

The help of your dear ones

You will continue to need the help of your parents and other good people to live inspired by the holy Spirit. I hope they will show you how beautiful it is to believe in Jesus and to pray and walk through life accor­ding to God's plans with the help of the Holy Spirit.
During the rite of confirmation, I will place my hand on your head. With that, God says to you: ‘I protect you, I am always with you.’ And I will anoint your forehead with holy oil, the chrism.

Comple­tely protected?

This is a sign through which the power and love of the Holy Spirit enters you.
Will your life be comple­tely different now? Can you now say: today I have received the Holy Spirit, now no harm will come to me, now I am comple­tely protected? Yes and no.
Yes, you are comple­tely protected, God is always with you, He will help you because He loves you very much. But this is not something that happens automatically, as if you now have a protective cloak that prevents evil from touching you. No, God created you with a beautiful mind, with free will and with all kinds of feelings and emotions. Sometimes you are happy, sometimes you are bored, sometimes you are sad, sometimes you are full of hope. When you are depressed and sad, you often don't have good thoughts, but when you are happy and cheerful, you can make beautiful plans.

Ask for guidance

That is why it is very important to pray and ask God to guide you by the Holy Spirit, so that you do not do your own will and follow your own thoughts, but God's will. Sometimes you have to be patient and wait and pray for the Holy Spirit to come and help you. Joy in your heart, real joy, is a sign that the holy Spirit is wor­king in you.

The butterfly

A boy and a girl were tal­king to each other. They were unhappy because they wanted to be able to buy beautiful and expensive things and be rich, but they were poor. One day they met an old monk. The monk took them to a grassy field. There was a boy run­ning around, about four years old. He was trying to catch a beautiful butterfly, but he couldn't. Finally, the exhausted boy fell down on the grass. But as he lay there, dead tired, the butterfly came flying back and landed on the boy's stomach. ‘Do you see that?’ said the monk to the boy and girl, ‘We often chase after our “butterflies”: we want this and that and the other, but in doing so we only make ourselves restless and tired, whereas God will give you what you need in his own time, and all you need to do is open yourselves and receive God's gifts.’

Open yourself!

Dear candidates, today you are recei­ving the Holy Spirit. We see no fire and hear no storm, but the Spirit of God enters you and will help and strengthen you to the extent that you open yourselves to his gifts.
Let us pray: Come, Holy Spirit, dwell in me, enlighten my heart, enlighten my spirit, so that I may follow a beautiful path, the vocation you have in mind for me.