To the Band of Brothers: February 9, 2021

Good morning!

I know it’s Tuesday and you didn’t hear from me yesterday, but the weekend was packed with activities and Sunday… well, Sunday was the Super Bowl. I was so entranced by the greatness of quarterback Tom Brady and his ability to defy sports logic that I simply went to bed contemplating the magic. If there were any doubters, let that doubt be put to rest. Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in the history of the National Football League (The G.O.A.T.). By the way, this is coming from one of the biggest Dan Marino fans out there. It is what it is. 

I did want to mention that on Saturday, we had our own little Super Bowl on campus. Not football, but a Super Bowl of sacraments. Over 175 members of the class of 2025, along with one of our seniors, were confirmed by Bishop Fernando Isern. Confirmations are super, but what made this event even super-er was that, in addition, we had two of our students received in the Church, one baptized, and three receive their first communion. It was a smorgasbord of sacraments. 

As I sat there, I couldn’t help but be filled with great joy at seeing so many of our young men take the next significant step in their faith journey. There are so many great things about Belen, so many great things you learn, but ultimately, it’s about faith formation and deepening a relationship with Jesus Christ. What a gift to have been there, but there was one thing missing though. The students were not slapped across the face.

You read correctly, slapped. Unfortunately, some bishops have opted against the practice and, if they do it, it’s usually a light, almost nonexistent brush to the cheek. But the slap is an integral part of the confirmation experience. As you approach the altar where the holy man with the pointy hat and the wooden staff stands, he dips his fingers in oil and traces the cross on your forehead as he says a prayer addressing you with the name of the Catholic saint you have chosen. Then he should slap you.

Where does this come from? Why such an expression of aggression on such a peaceful and joyous day? I mean think about it, when do people slap across the face? Growing up my favorite program on television was “The Three Stooges.” Every Saturday morning on channel 6 at 7:00 a.m., I would watch these three guys pull hair, poke eyes, and slap across the face. It was usually Moe who would do the slapping. He did it when he was upset at Curly or Larry for one reason or another. I confess, to this day, it makes me laugh like you wouldn’t believe it.

I always wondered how they did it. How those guys could take such a beating. They didn’t have stunt doubles for those scenes or slapped each other at close range working camera angles, smoke, and mirrors. The sound effects did help to heighten the effect, but it was a slap if I ever saw one.

Obviously, the slap that forms part of the confirmation ceremony has a different purpose than the Stooges. It’s more like the slap on the helmet that a football coach gives to his player as he prepares to take the field. If you’ve ever seen a football game or played the sport yourself, you know what I’m talking about. The coach grabs the player by the facemask and barks some last-minute instructions, slapping him across the helmet as he takes the field. The blow to the helmet gets the juices flowing, the blood pumping, the toes tingling, the fire burning. It wakes him up to a task that has to be performed. It’s a message that the coach communicates that, no matter how hard it might be, he wants his player to go out there and leave it all out on the field.

So, picture the bishop as a coach. The Holy Spirit that the young person received at baptism is aroused at confirmation when the Christian is old enough to take the field and not simply stand watching on the sidelines. The slap to the face gets the Spirit flowing, the graces pumping, and the faith burning. It wakes the person up to a task that has to be performed. The gospel needs to be preached and it is the young person who has just been confirmed that has to go out into the world and preach it. The bishop wants him to give it all he’s got, to leave it all out on the field. Just like the apostles who at Pentecost received the Spirit that led them to preach the gospel, even at the expense of their own lives, the person that is confirmed is roused up to go out and set the world on fire.

I was very proud of our students on Saturday as one by one they approached the bishop to be received through the sacrament of confirmation into the Church as men, years after their baptism. What we witnessed on Saturday was an expression of their conviction to be men of the Church. That’s what truly made this past weekend so super. 

Auspice Maria