Congratulations - you are considering beginning the Confirmation Journey!  It is an amazing path and you will never travel it alone.  According to the church you have reached a place in your life where you are able to make many of your own decisions.

You are no longer a member of the church because your parents are members, but because that is what YOU choose to do.  Your parents chose the starting point of this Journey when they brought you to the church for the Sacrament of Baptism then continued that Journey when they guided you along the path to 1st Reconciliation and 1st Holy Communion.  Now you are choosing to continue the Journey by preparing for and receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation.  That's right, YOU have a choice to make!  So you ask, "If it is my choice, why are my parents making me go?"  A very good question that deserves a very good answer. 

Your parents are encouraging you (some a little more forcefully that others) to Confirmation Preparation gatherings because at your Baptism they made a promise to God and the Church that they would bring you up in the Catholic faith.  They became the primary formation providers and the parish provided guidance and assistance in the form of faith formation classes.  Your parents care deeply about you and your faith - they not only care for your physical and emotional needs - they care for your spiritual need too.

Finally, Confirmation is one of the most important statements you will make about your catholic spiritual self.  There is nothing magical about "going through" Confirmation unless YOU have made a personal decision to approach the sacrament with honesty and true faith.  THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION IS NOTHING WITHOUT YOU!  It requires YOUR response.  Your preparation for the sacrament will lead you to the point where you can honestly make that decision.  Remember you will never be alone on the Journey, but the final decision is yours and it must come from the bottom of YOUR heart and soul.

The OLQA Confirmation Program is in a building process. Thanks to many good natured people who chose to step forward with constructive comments, criticisms, and suggestions we have come up with a model that we think will best serve the confirmandi of our parish on their journey.

Our program is different from other parishes - it is different in that we ask young people to take ownership of their faith development in exploring their relationship with Jesus Christ and living that relationship out in their Catholic Faith Community. 
It is different in that we ask young people to be engaged in parish life - all aspects of parish life:  attendance at weekend, weekday and holy day liturgy, participation liturgical ministries, parish ministries, youth ministries, justice and service, spirituality and personal growth opportunities as well as catechesis. 
It is different in that we ask young people to make it real commitment and not just go through the motions - we want young people to make an informed decision in completing their initiation into the Catholic faith. 
It is different in that they can participate and complete the program when they are ready.  We confirm high school age youth who have completed a two year program as set forth in the Diocese of Orange Guidelines for receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation.  They can choose to stretch it out over three or all four years of high school - it is truly their choice.  Confirmation is not a sacrament of convenience it is a sacrament of commitment.

We believe in our young people.

We believe that they hunger for a truth to guide them and truly seek positive ways to live their lives.  We believe working together we can challenge our young people to make their faith real and to be active disciples of Jesus Christ and they will rise and accept that challenge.  We feel called to provide and crate a space here in the Community of Our Lady Queen of Angels where young people can explore, question, and discover the giftedness within themselves and their peers, establish and deepen their relationship with Christ, and connect and bring to life their Catholic identity and faith.

Our wish for each confirmandi is that the journey you are about to embark on be filled with an abundance of God's grace and the love of a supportive faith community.