Your Confirmation: Mass, Sacrament, & Faith Journey
This year is my 16th photographing Confirmations, the Mass and Sacrament of the Catholic Church. In this special milestone event, the one who is confirmed grows deeper in their faith journey.
A funny thing happens to me, the photographer, with every event and every Mass I photograph. I never expect it, and I am always surprised. (I am always grateful, too.) I grow deeper in understanding, and I find this humbling.
Often, as photographers who document important family events, we are asked to join in with very intimate moments. We want to keep a respectable distance while capturing emotions. This is your moment. We are simply there to capture and document this one moment in time.
Every Day Is Different. Every Mass Is Different. Every Sacrament Is Different.
One of the quiet truths of faith is this: no two days will ever be the same, even when they look exactly alike. We wake up, move through our routines, and show up to the same places: school, work, grocery store, coffee shop, favorite restaurant, and home. And yet, we carry something with each new day. We carry experience. All the lessons we learn become a part of who we are. The same is true when we walk into a church.
Every Mass is different.
Every sacrament is different.
Not because the Church changes—but because we do.
We bring our whole selves with us: our joys and worries, our gratitude and grief, our questions and hopes. The prayers we recite may be familiar, the readings are a part of the liturgical year, and the rituals of Mass are deeply rooted in Scripture. The actual experience, though, is shaped by who we are at that moment.
Confirmation: A Sacrament Lived One Person at a Time
Confirmation is often described as a sacrament of strengthening, and that strength looks different to everyone. It’s unique to each person because faith itself is so very personal.
After months of preparation, the sacrament itself unfolds in a very deep and connected way. Each candidate steps forward. Each name is spoken aloud. Each person is anointed.
That moment matters.
What surprised (and made an impression on) me at this recent Confirmation Mass, was how Fr. Stephen Howell beckoned each of the candidates forward. He waved them forward. Not just once and sometimes more than twice. What he did in that moment was that he brought them closer into a personal conversation with him. There were words I did not hear and smiles and laughter that I did not expect. To say it was moving does not do the moment justice.
It reminded me that when the bishop looks at a candidate and calls them by name, faith becomes personal to each of us in a new way. We are each called to fulfill our strengths and to use the gifts given to each of us. This is not a group milestone. It is a personal encounter with one person, by one name, in one sacred moment.
Showing Up and Being Present
Confirmation is also not always about being ready or having everything figured out. It is about presence. We are asked to show up as our whole selves. We learn in that moment that we bring confidence, as well as uncertainty, curiosity, and even questions. It is a blessing that meets each person exactly where they are. Showing up matters.
Knowing your Strengths and Following your Curiosity
If Confirmation is that sacrament that strengthens us, it also wakes us up to our who we are and who we want to be. It’s where and when we begin to recognize the gifts of how we show up for ourselves, our friends, our family, and our community. Think about your strengths, your gifts: Compassion. Leadership. Creativity. Patience. Courage. Understanding. Curiosity.
Curiosity plays an important role here. Focus on what is placed on your heart. Begin to ask questions. Curiosity is often how faith grows. Follow that. Those ideas you are coming up with are not random.
Why Every Sacrament Is Different
Every day is different.
Every Mass is different.
Every sacrament is different.
Not because any of these elements have changed, but we are met, exactly where we are and with what we need in the moment. Faith is not static. It is lived, personal, and evolving every day. That is the gift of this sacrament. What an honor to capture this moment.