Who can I choose for my Confirmation Saint?

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Mojoforyeshua

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I am coming into the Church next year and I have been wanting to choose a confirmation saint and I am having trouble deciding who I should choose. I have considered Saint Polycarp, Saint Justin Martyr or Saint Thomas Aquinas. The reason these three saints appeal to me is that they were all apologists of sorts and I believe the gift God gave to me was the gift to be an effective apolotist. The issue that I have though is that I don’t feel these saints have had a major influence on my path to becoming catholic. The person who is the main influence on this is actually C.S. Lewis. Now, I know C.S. Lewis isn’t canonized or even catholic but I have asked for his intercession on several occasions where I needed God’s help with defending the faith and the results were spectacular! So, the question I have is, could chose Lewis as my confirmation saint or will I need to chose someone else?
 
Mojoforyeshua said:
I am coming into the Church next year and I have been wanting to choose a confirmation saint and I am having trouble deciding who I should choose. I have considered Saint Polycarp, Saint Justin Martyr or Saint Thomas Aquinas. The reason these three saints appeal to me is that they were all apologists of sorts and I believe the gift God gave to me was the gift to be an effective apolotist. The issue that I have though is that I don’t feel these saints have had a major influence on my path to becoming catholic. The person who is the main influence on this is actually C.S. Lewis. Now, I know C.S. Lewis isn’t canonized or even catholic but I have asked for his intercession on several occasions where I needed God’s help with defending the faith and the results were spectacular! So, the question I have is, could chose Lewis as my confirmation saint or will I need to chose someone else?
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You cannot choose C.S. Lewis (who, by the way, I don’t think ever actually became a Catholic), because he is not a saint or a blessed. I don’t think you need to worry, though, about picking someone who has already had a significant effect on your life or way of thinking – a perfectly good reason to pick a saint is to invoke his or her patronage and intercession for the future. In other words, don’t just ask who’s helped you get where you are now, but who can help take you where you’d like to go?

Anyway, congratulations on your upcoming reception into the Church!
 
Mojoforyeshua said:
I am coming into the Church next year and I have been wanting to choose a confirmation saint and I am having trouble deciding who I should choose. I have considered Saint Polycarp, Saint Justin Martyr or Saint Thomas Aquinas. The reason these three saints appeal to me is that they were all apologists of sorts and I believe the gift God gave to me was the gift to be an effective apolotist. The issue that I have though is that I don’t feel these saints have had a major influence on my path to becoming catholic. The person who is the main influence on this is actually C.S. Lewis. Now, I know C.S. Lewis isn’t canonized or even catholic but I have asked for his intercession on several occasions where I needed God’s help with defending the faith and the results were spectacular! So, the question I have is, could chose Lewis as my confirmation saint or will I need to chose someone else?
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You’re free to choose a saint or not. It’s not required for Confirmation.
 
Do some reading about the saints and see who jumps off the page and into your heart.

When I was confirmed 5 years ago, I was in the middle of working on a certificate in medical transcription, and I ran across the fact that St. Albertus Magnus (St. Thomas Aquinas’ professor) was the patron saint of those who worked in medical technology, so I picked him.

DaveBj
 
Do not forget about Church Fathers like St. Augustine of Hippo. Or maybe you could choose St. Louis with a sort of double meaning; that is, your patron would be St. Louis(a famous French king), but you would also be honoring C.S. Lewis(neither of his Christian names, Clive Staples, were saintly) by intention.
 
diggerdomer said:
You’re free to choose a saint or not. It’s not required for Confirmation.
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But neglecting to do so when it is allowed(confirmational names are a practice only in certain countries like the U.S.) takes away some of the meaning and excitement of the occasion, not to mention the opportunity to establish a relationship with a particular saint.
 
I’ve actually thought a lot about this, and I’m glad to see that a lot of Catholics think that some of my choices are good ones. Maximillian Kolbe is one I am definitely considering. I am also looking at Francis of Assisi, whose life and faith spoke to me profoundly when I was still even an atheist. Interestingly, too, my local church that I attend is dedicated to St. Francis 🙂

Martin de Porres is another that I am looking at. One of my greatest sins is laziness, both spiritual and physical, but Martin de Porres devoted both his body and mind to glorifying God and serving others in any capacity he could. Also, he, like Francis, had a strong connection to animals - even vermin. Lol and I am deathly afraid of rodents. 😛

The three that you are looking at, Mojoforyeshua, are really good choices, too, IMO.
 
Young_Thinker said:
Do not forget about Church Fathers like St. Augustine of Hippo. Or maybe you could choose St. Louis with a sort of double meaning; that is, your patron would be St. Louis(a famous French king), but you would also be honoring C.S. Lewis(neither of his Christian names, Clive Staples, were saintly) by intention.
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Note that there is a slight difference in pronunciation 😃

DaveBj
 
DaveBj said:
Note that there is a slight difference in pronunciation 😃

DaveBj
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Yes, but “Lewis” is the English version of “Louis.” He could select the former as the confirmational name if he wishes.
 
Current practice here is to encourage the teenagers to choose their Baptismal saint. I think it is intended to get them thinking more of that patron. [Note I said *encourage;not require.]
 
Joe_Kelley said:
Current practice here is to encourage the teenagers to choose their Baptismal saint. I think it is intended to get them thinking more of that patron. [Note I said *encourage
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;not require.]

I’m actually going to be 23 at the time of my confirmation, I am a convert 😃
 
Young_Thinker said:
But neglecting to do so when it is allowed(confirmational names are a practice only in certain countries like the U.S.) takes away some of the meaning and excitement of the occasion, not to mention the opportunity to establish a relationship with a particular saint.
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It does not take anything away from the Church’s liturgy (in this specific case, the celebration of the Rite of Confirmation).

It does not take anything away from an individual’s opportunity to establish a relationship with a particular saint. That can happen any time in anyone’s life, it is not dependent on the celebration of a Sacrament.
 
diggerdomer said:
It does not take anything away from the Church’s liturgy (in this specific case, the celebration of the Rite of Confirmation).

It does not take anything away from an individual’s opportunity to establish a relationship with a particular saint. That can happen any time in anyone’s life, it is not dependent on the celebration of a Sacrament.
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Yes, but a ceremony often makes it(e.g. the relationship) more “special” to the person. If there is an optional ritual or the like, I would always be inclined to take advantage of it.
 
Young_Thinker said:
Yes, but a ceremony often makes it(e.g. the relationship) more “special” to the person. If there is an optional ritual or the like, I would always be inclined to take advantage of it.
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Of course a liturgical ceremony should be “special.” Always! My point is that there’s nothing in the Rite regarding this. It’s not an optional part of the Rite that one may take advantage of; it’s simply not there. It’s not part of the Rite, whether optional or not.
 
diggerdomer said:
Of course a liturgical ceremony should be “special.” Always! My point is that there’s nothing in the Rite regarding this. It’s not an optional part of the Rite that one may take advantage of; it’s simply not there. It’s not part of the Rite, whether optional or not.
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All right, but it is a custom(and a good one in my opinion).
 
Young_Thinker said:
All right, but it is a custom(and a good one in my opinion).
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Exactly. A custom. That is my point. Whether it’s good or not is subjective. I can see a lot of value in it (hey, both I and my children had confirmation saints) but I can also see how it could detract from a full understanding and celebration of the Rite.
 
diggerdomer said:
Exactly. A custom. That is my point. Whether it’s good or not is subjective. I can see a lot of value in it (hey, both I and my children had confirmation saints) but I can also see how it could detract from a full understanding and celebration of the Rite.
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How can you “see how it could detract from a full understanding and celebration of the Rite”?
 
FrDavid96 said:
How can you “see how it could detract from a full understanding and celebration of the Rite”?
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If it’s presented or understood as an essential or required part of Confirmation. Which, from my experience, it often is.
 
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