Both liturgical celebrations bring hope after all the restrictions due to the pandemic. The main channel for evangelization in the parish is catechesis in all its levels.

Confirmations

After faithfully signing on for virtual catechetical formation during the past months, a group of 49 adults were confirmed on Friday the 19^th.

“There was an atmosphere of holiness and great joy as all the present felt the Holy Spirit satisfying our hearts with what we were living”, said one of the participants.

Bishop emeritus of Alajuela and Augustinian Recollect, Angel San Casimiro, started his homily saying:

“After almost two years conditioned by the pandemic, our Lord grants us see this beautiful scene with all of us gathered in this church which is our home to celebrate our faith and renovate our baptismal promises to be true Catholics”.

These words are a sign of hope in such difficult times; we must bring something positive out of all this.

The pastor, Bernardo Cerda, Augustinian Recollect, said:

“We need to renew our being God’s loving children through the sacraments of initiation. We need to welcome Christian values within the family, especially knowing that our frailty and weakness demand the Eucharist to reassure our Catholic faith”.  

Within the sacraments of initiation, if baptism is the door to enter the Lord’s Church, confirmation integrates us within our family of faith and reaffirms our desire to continue growing in the faith we received through baptism.  

This is what a catechist shared:

“It’s an awesome life experience listening to family members’ comments and seeing mothers caring for their babies as they put all their effort in trying to learn more about the Lord’s message through the virtual classes. We also strengthened each other with our virtual encounters, that is why we truly looked forward to our weekly class. I see that it is not us who look for God; God is the one who calls us and we respond. (Marcelo and Ana Marcela).

First Communions

Ninety-nine young children who did their first communion in company of their parents and siblings heard a message of encouragement to continue in their Christian formation, and to keep their faith alive and strong through the custom of coming to confession regularly and receiving the Christ in the Eucharist weekly.

The students from our Recollect Seminary of Pozos de Santa Ana, Costa Rica shared the story of their calling in this celebration.