A version of the homily of Bishop Peter A Comensoli at the 12.30pm Rite of Confirmation at St John the Baptist, Woy Woy, 20 June 2015.

This is not a literal transcript, but it will give you the gist of his message.

Bishop Comensoli

Thank you for presenting these candidates for Confirmation. I am very willing to give them the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

When I get up of a morning, Mum and Dad don't wake me. I have to use an alarm clock. It is one of those with a radio. So when I wake up I hear a bit of news, a bit of sport, and then comes... Maybe the candidates can tell me what comes next? That's right, it's the weather report. Once I hear that I have a look outside to see if the weather report has a chance of being true. When I do that checking of the weather outside my window, I am confirming the weather report. Checking something I have been told is true, is confirming whether that something is true.

All of you will say, 'I am a Christian. I believe in God.' You will say this to us, and we confirm your belief. Afterwards you won’t look any different, but you will take home a Confirmation name.

For my Confirmation name I chose St Michael the Archangel. What did some of you choose…?

Now candidates, I would like you to close your eyes and think about your Confirmation Saint. I want you to think about one special thing they did, something that made them good friends of God.

How do you confirm your faith in God? By living like your Saint. By doing the things that show that you live like a friend of Jesus.

It is just not enough for us to say that we are Christian, we need to let others see that we are Christian.

In honour of this year's feast day of the Immaculate Heart of Mary here are some meditations on the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary:

The Annunciation

What does the Annunciation teach us about Mary's heart?

It teaches us that her heart was lowly, because she was disturbed by the lofty greeting of the angel. It teaches us that her heart was used to listening because she didn't interrupt the angel's long message. It teaches us that Mary's heart was full of faith because she did not doubt that God could make her a mother. Her only question related to what God required of her to make it happen. This indicates that her heart was willing to follow God's will even if it meant setting aside her virginity. Her answer tells us that she considered herself completely at God's disposal, showing a depth of trust, and her heart's desire that God's plan be fulfilled in her fully according to His wishes and without any desire that she be consulted about the details.

The Visitation

What does the Visitation teach us about Mary's heart?

It teaches us that God only had to make her aware of a situation for her to act upon it. She must have pondered why God told her that her cousin was pregnant, beyond giving her an example of His power to do the seemingly impossible. God left her free to act, and her generous heart decided to do whatever it took to go and assist her cousin. Mary didn't go to Elizabeth with a high and mighty heart, but with a servant's heart willing to all she could to help her cousin in the most awkward months of her pregnancy. When Mary finally arrived she didn't grumble and complain about the journey, but she expressed her praise and thanks to God for His mercy.

The Birth of Jesus

What does the Birth of Jesus teach us about Mary's heart?

In this mystery we have no words of Mary, only her actions. In the face of the rejection and abject poverty which caused her to give birth in a rough stable, Mary does not complain, nor does she make a scene. Her heart accepts whatever God gives her. How happy her heart must have been to see the face of Jesus for the first time! When she gets unexpected guests in the form of smelly shepherds she does not turn them away, but invites them to gaze with her upon the promise of the Father, now made visible. From this we learn how welcoming and hospitable her heart is. Her heart listens carefully to the story they tell and she carefully ponders over it seeking to comprehend all the messages from God it contains.

The Presentation in the Temple

What does the Presentation in the Temple teach us about Mary's heart?

Travelling with a new born baby is inconvenient at the best of times, but Mary goes to the Temple to offer her thanks to God as well as her heart in obedience to His law. At the same time that she offers her Son to God through the Jewish ritual of redeeming first born sons from sacrifice, Mary dedicates her whole heart and her whole life to the mission of Jesus. To indicate that her offering is acceptable to God, He sends her Simeon as a messenger, who confirms that the road ahead is full of unimaginable suffering. Yet from her compassionate heart comes no complaint because to not be united with the sufferings of her Son is unthinkable.

The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

What does the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple teach us about Mary's heart?

To search for a lost child for even an hour is a most horrible experience. To go through that worry for three days would put any mother's sanity to the test. Here the patient heart of Mary is seen, going from person to person, asking the same questions over and over again, describing the appearance of her Son. We see her heart trusting in God's plan despite the darkness of not knowing why and the searing pain of loss. When she sees Him at last in the Temple, she has control of her heart, she doesn't make a scene, but she does ask 'Why?'. Her heart accepts the answer Jesus gives, even though she does not understand it. But she takes this too as a message from God and ponders it in her heart, trusting that with time and prayer some understanding will come. Despite the sorrows she went through and her inability to understand the reason for it, Mary's heart forgives and doesn't retain any bitterness.

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This question was posed to Catholic bloggers by @theAnchoress and answers are being posted using the hashtag #whyremaincatholic.

Such a worthwhile question deserves an attempt at an answer.

The short answer is that any alternative is completely unthinkable.

I remain a Catholic

Because the Catholic Church today is the same Church begun by Jesus with His Apostles.

Because the Catholic Church has been a continuous witness to the resurrection of Jesus for almost 2000 years.

Because the Catholic Church wrote the New Testament under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and is the 'Church of the living God, which upholds the truth and keeps it safe' 1 Tim 3:15 or as other translations say 'the pillar and bulwark of truth'.

Because the Catholic Church has preserved the faith of the Apostles and the early Church and has never watered down its teaching on abortion, contraception and marriage, unlike other churches.

Because the Catholic Church has been led by a successor of St Peter, the prime minister of Jesus, for its whole history.

Because the Catholic Church deals in reality and not in symbols. Baptism makes a person a child of God. Penance cleanses a person of sin and grants power to overcome sin. Confirmation empowers a person with the gifts of the Holy Spirit to enter into the mission of the Church. Eucharist feeds us with the true body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, to make us one with Him and with each other. Marriage transforms the bond of love between a man and woman into a life-giving icon of the love between Jesus and His Church. Holy Orders transforms a man into a priest. The Anointing of the Sick always heals, body, mind, soul, spirit at a level chosen by God and protects a person in the final conflicts between good and evil as death approaches.

Because the Catholic Church is universal. Anywhere in the world I can walk into a Catholic Church and can participate in the Eucharist. Where ever we find ourselves, we offer the same perfect sacrifice to God that Jesus offered on the Cross.

Because the Catholic Church prays in unity. Across the whole world (apart from those places where regional feast day liturgical prayer takes precedence) members of the Catholic Church are praying the same set of psalms, canticle and intercessions at morning and evening prayer each day. The scriptures read at Mass are the same, too.

Because the Catholic Church is serious about calling Her members to holiness. She is the one surrounded by the great cloud of witnesses, Hebrews 12:1, of Saints from every age, nationality, and walk of life. We know, treasure and celebrate the great witnesses to Jesus in every century, and are encouraged to imitate their virtues. Thecla, Clement, Perpetua, Augustine, Jerome, Gregory, Basil, Benedict, Boniface, Patrick, Francis, Dominic, Catherine, Gertrude, Charles Borromeo, Ignatius, Kateri, Bernadette, Maximillian Kolbe, John XXIII and many thousands more.

Because the Catholic Church is bigger than any one of its worst members. Even if a priest is at enmity with God the sacraments he celebrates are still 100% valid and life giving.

Because the Catholic Church is the wise householder who brings out from Her storeroom things both new and old Matt 13:52. Not only does she share all that the Holy Spirit is teaching her now, but she preserves and shares all that the Holy Spirit has taught her in the past. What a vast treasure house there is of the writings of popes, Saints and Councils, of prayers, songs, meditations and scripture commentaries, of wisdom on how to live the counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience, and on how to live family and community life.

Because the Catholic Church gets persecuted, just like Jesus promised She would.

Because the Catholic Church enables its members to worship in the fullness of the truth and the fullness of the Holy Spirit. John 4:24. Safeguarded in truth by the magisterium of the Church and open to the miracles and charisms of the Holy Spirit under the pastoral care of the bishops.

Who wouldn't want to be in, and remain in, the Church that Jesus Christ founded?

That's why I remain a Catholic.