During the Rite of Confirmation just before the laying on of hands, the confirmandi profess a renewal of baptismal promises. All the statements are similar to the basic renewal of vows except the statement of the Holy Spirit. It says, “Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who came upon the apostles at Pentecost and today is given to you sacramentally in Confirmation?”[i] It is essential that we believe that the power of the Holy Spirit, who is the giver of life, is the same yesterday, today and forever. We are receiving a personal Pentecost when we are confirmed, the same as the apostles. “From that time on the apostles, in fulfillment of Christ’s will, imparted to the newly baptized by the laying on of hands the gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of Baptism. For this reason in the Letter to the Hebrews the doctrine concerning Baptism and the laying on of hands is listed among the first elements of Christian instruction. The imposition of hands is rightly recognized by the Catholic tradition as the origin of the sacrament of Confirmation, which in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the Church.”[ii]
What is Confirmation? Confirmation is the sacrament in which, through the laying on of hands, anointing with chrism, and prayer, the Holy Spirit strengthens those who are already baptized, in order that they may steadfastly profess the faith and faithfully live up to their profession.[iii]
How is Confirmation our Pentecost? Just like at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, at our Confirmation we receive the same Holy Spirit. We too receive the same graces, virtues, gifts, courage, and strength the Apostles received 2,000 year ago. Simply put, Confirmation is the Gift of Strength; it “strengthens the divine life within us.”[iv]
What does the Holy Spirit do for us? He enlightens us so that we may know the truths of religion and salvation, and the beauty of virtue; The Holy Spirit moves us to desire, and seek with love these things; He renews our hearts by cleansing our sin, and finally gives us His supernatural gifts and fruits of holiness by which we can become sanctified.[v]
Why do we need to be confirmed? What do we get from Confirmation? Another way of asking this question is what am I missing out on if I don’t get confirmed? Here are some of the things we would be missing out on if we don’t get confirmed.
We become fully Catholic, and receive full admission into the Church. Without Confirmation, a person is not fully initiated into the Catholic Church. If we are not a full member, then we cannot receive the full benefits of belonging to the Body of Christ the Church. We are partially Catholic, maybe sixty percent or thirty percent. It would be like going to boot camp for the Marines and not completely all thirteen weeks. If someone completed only eleven weeks, they cannot say they are a Marine. It is the difference between playing baseball in the minor leagues and making it to the big leagues, like the difference between playing Junior Varsity or starting for Varsity.
“Confirmation makes the Christian a soldier, and marks him with a new character which is, as it were, the military credentials of the souls in perpetual warfare with God’s enemies. This character will remain in the life to come, ‘just,’ says St. Thomas, ‘as the status of a soldier remains after the victory, to the glory of the conquerors and the shame of the conquered.’”[vi] We think of the Church as a country. Those that are baptized are the citizens, those confirmed are the soldiers and those that ordained are commanders. The commanders are to direct all the faithful but especially the soldiers (the confirmed). The soldiers should protect and defend the citizens (all the baptized). How do the confirmed protect and defend the baptized? By living and teaching the faith and morals, by avoiding evil and scandal and pursuing good, the call of holiness.
We are sealed with the Holy Spirit, this means that we are sealed, marked for eternal life; we are anointed for a purpose, for God, for heaven. We have an indelible mark forever on our soul, the same permanent mark that is given at baptism and holy orders. At Confirmation, an indelible mark is put on the soul. This is a mark that is permanent and eternal. The faithful also have an indelible mark put on the soul at Baptism. We can imagine the autopsy of a soul, if there is one indelible mark it means the soul was baptized, if two they were baptized and confirmed. What if there are three? This means that the baptized and confirmed soul also was ordained. The indelible marks are link ranks. The faithful are all equal in dignity but our roles different as our ranks differ.
We must get confirmed to enter into a sacramental marriage. Can. 1065 §1. Catholics who have not yet received the sacrament of confirmation are to receive it before they are admitted to marriage if it can be done without grave inconvenience.
The imparting of the Spirit is given to us; this means we have the infused virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. Faith, Hope and Charity direct your whole life. Hope is the goal, helping you keep your eyes on the finish line, heaven. Faith is our tool and guide; it is the right road which takes us to heaven and charity, is the action of having the courage to actually walk on the road, to keep walking during hard times and to lead others to walk on the road of faith toward heaven.
We are given the gifts of Fortitude that strengthens us to do the will of God in all things despite fear and obstacles. Wisdom which gives us a longing and love for the things of God and directs our whole life and all our actions to His honor and Glory; Understanding enables us to know more clearly the mystery of faith; Knowledge which enables us to discover the will of God in all things (what should I do?); Piety which makes us love God as a Father and obey Him because we love Him. This helps us to have reverence and to pray well (As we pray, we believe); Fear of the Lord which fills us with a dread of sin, and a dread of offending, hurting God and others through our sin; Counsel which warns us of the deceits of the devil and of the dangers to our salvation.
Activity - Gifts of the Holy Spirit Survey
We are also given the fruits of the Holy Spirit including Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Fidelity (Faith), Modesty, Self-Control and Chastity.[vii]
Search: Fruits of the Holy Spirit
We have claim or title to divine assistance for the rest of our lives; this means that we can always call upon God to help us. We can remind God that through Confirmation He promised us strength that we can always call upon and use This gift is perpetual which means it is not just for one day, but is there whenever you need it. The strength available at all times will help you to courageously confess the name of Christ and carry your Cross. Psalm 92 says, “To me you give the wild-ox’s strength; you anoint me with the purest oil (we are anointed at Confirmation and the Bishop says be sealed with the Holy Spirit). My eyes looked in triumph on my foes; my ears heard gladly of their fall.” You are given the strength to do battle against the enemies of Salvation
We are strengthened in our role as prophet, priest and king, which we were given at baptism. Prophet or teacher – we adhere to the true faith, profess the faith we communicate the faith. Priest – we accept suffering as Christ did, we are willing to do penance. King – we are a leader, leading others to Salvation, we have a good character, one that can withstand bad examples (peer pressure) and seduction, and we have a strong personality.
We are given a mission and sent out with a purpose, just as Christ was sent by the Father and just as Christ sent the first apostles. We are called, we are chosen. Every baptized person, confirmed by the Spirit has a mission to bring others to Christ. This is to be done with the help of others, a collective witness, and the body of Christ.
We have a Confirmation patron, a Saint who gives us each an example of holiness and we are assured of their constant intercession for life.
We are weak without Confirmation. Confirmation is not to be taken lightly; in fact, it is a sin to neglect Confirmation, especially in these evil days when faith and morals are exposed to so many and such violent temptations.[ix] The gift of strength is such a great gift; it must be cherished and embraced for it is the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of Life who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Is confirmation similar to graduation in the Church? Yes and no. It is similar to graduation in that when we graduate from school, we go out in the world to start our career and work in this world. Confirmation is the final Sacrament we receive in the Sacraments of Initiation. We then begin to seek out a much higher calling that a job, which is our Vocation. We seek where God wants us to serve Him in our everyday life. We remember that there are seven Sacraments. To be fully initiated into the Church we receive Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist; also known as the Sacraments of Initiation. We live the life of Christ to the full with these Sacraments. When we fail to live life to the full, we have the Sacraments of Healing, Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick. At Confirmation we receive in a deeper way, the Holy Spirit, which the Creed says is “the Lord, the giver of Life”. There are two Sacraments that help perpetuates life. Matrimony aided by the Holy Spirit, perpetuates natural life. Holy Orders, aided by the Holy Spirit, perpetuates spiritual life. Confirmation is not like graduation because when we graduate from school we leave and never return again to the place of study. For the Church, we have just begun to open the doors of the Church, and our places to study, pray, discern, and worship. We will never have enough time in our lives to learn everything there is to know in the Catholic Church, but that does not mean we are to stop learning about our faith. We must continue to dive into Sacred Scripture, the writings of the Church Fathers, and the Doctors of the Church, attend Mass at least every Sunday and Holy Day of obligation, pray without ceasing, and do whatever else is necessary to grow in our Faith. Our ultimate graduation prize is hopefully making it to Heaven.
[i] Rite of Confirmation
[ii] Catechism of the Catholic Church - 1288
[iii] Modern Catholic Dictionary pg. 122
[iv] Roman Catholic Daily Missal [1962]; page 1829
[v] The Church’s Year pg. 301
[vi] Roman Catholic Daily Missal [1962]; page 1841
[vii] Gal. 5:22-23
[ix] Baltimore Catechism No. 3 (Q. 696)