Students Learn about the Importance

of Attending Mass

St. John Church, Cromwell, Connecticut

Currently at the Conventual Franciscan St. John Church in Cromwell, Connecticut, ninth and tenth grade students are preparing to receive the sacrament of Confirmation. Their preparation for this sacrament includes attending Mass, which the students have to certify by filling out a Mass Commitment Card. When the collection basket is passed around during Mass, the students are to drop their commitment cards into it.

Friar Raymond Borkowski

Students who attend Mass elsewhere need to sign a copy of the other church’s bulletin and then drop if off at St. John Church.

Friar Raymond Borkowski is the pastor at St. John Church. Not surprisingly, he does not take the Sacrament of Confirmation or any other lightly. The card requirement for the young men and women getting ready for Confirmation is meant to instill in them a sense that attending Mass is important. If one has been raised in a Catholic household, attending Mass and celebrating our various holy days can become a matter simply of culture instead of faith. This in turn can sadly lead to a life where one does not attend Mass at all.

The Sacrament of Confirmation

Attending Mass, however, is vital for the soul.  A priest’s pastoral guidance connects us to the bigger picture. Life is not just a routine; it’s about feeling God’s love, doing good, serving others, and understanding that death is not the end of life but instead its continuation.

(Sources of related photos on homepage and webpage: www.saintjohn-cromwell.org and www.crossroadsinitiative.com.)