Confirmation Homily
Immaculate Conception, Towson
May 30, 2026
Getting the Answer Right
For most of you, the school year is almost over and I hope that you will have a wonderful summer vacation. One of the things about school that you probably won’t miss are pop quizzes… All of a sudden, without warning, you find yourself answering questions you weren’t expecting to be asked. But unpleasant as a pop quiz can be, there’s a point to it. It lets your teacher know if you are doing your reading, if you are studying. It lets you, the student, know if you are comprehending the course material.
Perhaps that’s what Jesus is doing in today’s Gospel: he’s giving his followers a “pop quiz”. He asks, “Who do people say that I am?” Various disciples volunteer to answer that question. It’s easy because Jesus is only asking about other people’s opinions. So these disciples respond to Jesus’ questions: ‘Some say you’re John the Baptist, others Elijah, or one of the prophets.’
Now comes the difficult part of the quiz. Jesus asks them: “But who do you say that I am?” He isn’t just asking what other people think. He’s putting his followers on the spot: ‘What do you have say?’ You can imagine there was an embarrassed silence – like those awkward moments in class when no one knows the right answer. Finally, Peter speaks up. He says to Jesus, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” Peter is saying that Jesus is our Savior, the Son of God who became one of us.
How does Jesus respond? Does he say, ‘You got it right, Peter, come to the head of the class’? No, Jesus tells Peter that he didn’t figure this out on his own. God the Father in heaven revealed this truth to him. And because of that Jesus made Peter the rock on which he built his Church— Peter whom we claim as the first pope of the Catholic Church. And right then and there Jesus made Peter and the other apostles shares in his mission to bring about the forgiveness of sins.
A Lot to Learn
Getting the answer right was not the end but the beginning. Peter would soon learn and experience how Jesus would show himself truly the Messiah and the Son of God: not by donning a crown but by dying on the Cross and rising from the dead. Yes, Peter had a lot to learn. Despite his right answer, Peter still misunderstood Jesus’ set plan and purpose. Frightened by Jesus’ condemnation, he betrayed him, and was dazed by the reality of Christ’s resurrection.
It is only after all of this had taken place that we meet Peter again. This time he is together with the other Apostles and the Virgin Mary as the Holy Spirit descends like tongues of fire on each of them. Only then does Peter really understand the right answer he had given Jesus. Only then does have the courage to tell the whole world what he said to Jesus in private! Addressing a huge crowd of people, Peter proclaims Jesus as Messiah, and boldly bears witness to death and resurrection. He speaks about receiving the Holy Spirit sent by Jesus. In other words, he tells the people what it meant when he said to Jesus: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!”
What Does All This Mean for You?
Well, what does any of this have to do with you? Two things, I would suggest. First is this: Part of getting ready for Confirmation was studying the faith. The idea was to help you know what the Church teaches. I don’t know if your preparation for Confirmation involved pop quizzes, but along the way you were expected to come up with the right answers. And that’s good. As Catholics, we need to know what the Church teaches. And I am grateful to your parents, teachers, and pastors for helping you to have a correct knowledge of the faith you are about to profess.
But like Peter, who gave the correct answer about Jesus’ identity, you will find that having the correct answer is not enough. Like Peter, you will come to understand what you faith means only when you open your hearts to the Spirit you are to receive, and only when you allow the Spirit to teach you how to follow Christ every day, on good days, bad days, days when things you right, days when you suffer. The Spirit will help you to know how much Jesus loves you, and how to share in that love by participating in Sunday Mass and in going to Confession regularly for the forgiveness of sins. The Spirit will teach you how to reject the false joys of the world and help you find true joy and meaning comes in belonging to the Lord, and in belonging to his holy people, the Church. That is why you are gathered with you classmates for Confirmation: like Peter and the Apostles you are to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Here’s a second and final point. After receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter bore witness to Christ, and kept on doing so until he shed his blood for proclaiming him. Confirmation is not graduation. It is a commissioning for mission. It’s a moment to think about the vocation God has in mind for you, the special work he will entrust to you and to no one else. It’ a moment to think of how you can bear witness to Christ now – and the answer to that question is found in our second reading where St. Paul speaks of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, the results, the outcomes of welcoming the Holy Spirit into our hearts. When we do that, we change. We live differently. Without saying a word, people notice these fruits of the Spirit in us: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Even when you’re out of school, you’ll find life is full of pop quizzes. Your virtue will be tested. Your faith will be tested. Your generosity will be tested – In the power of the Holy Spirit, may you pass each test with flying colors and may God bless you and keep you always in his love!