The Sacrament of Confirmation

After a beautiful and blessed celebration of confirmation on the lawn of Saint Martha's on Friday, July 31st, it is Saint Mary's’ turn to welcome Bishop Reed this coming Thursday, September 3rd, to confirm the second group of the youth of our collaborative. What does God want to do for our youth in this sacrament?

Confirmation is not a graduation from religious education or a reward from God for living a good Christian life. As a sacrament of a character or a “seal” of the Holy Spirit, the sacrament of confirma-tion is a free gift and grace from God. It marks our total consecration and belonging to Christ, our enrollment in his service for ever.

Like all other sacraments, confirmation is a way of withdrawing from sin. It is a medicine for spiritual life, a remedy against the weakness of the soul.

For those who were baptized as infants, confirmation provides an opportunity to ratify (i.e. profess publicly, freely, and deliberately) what was first effected for them at Baptism. It is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For “by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1285). In Baptism we are all called to holiness as we have become disciples and followers of Jesus. Confirmation equips us with the resources to help us reach Christian maturity and respond to the call of Baptism. Through Baptism we have been welcomed into a community of believers to extend God’s message of loving mercy. Confirmation brings new meaning to this mis-sion by connecting our faith in a new way to our concrete life through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the ongoing presence of Jesus in the world. Confirmation celebrates the work of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. It strengthens us to do God’s work and spread the faith on earth. As we have been commissioned by Jesus to build the Kingdom of God on earth, it is our responsibility to share our faith with others, to enrich the world, and to be present in our society as Christians. Confirmation assists the recipient to become a public witness of the values of the Gospel as they are proclaimed in the assembly of the Church community.The celebration of confirmation includes the renewal of baptismal promises, the laying on of hands, the anointing with sacred chrism, and the sign of peace. The idea of spiritual strength for service is seen in the prayer before the anointing with chrism that confers the sacrament of confirmation. This prayer makes reference to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (Is 11:2-3).

Like all other sacraments, confirmation does not take away our natural inclination or our human tendency towards sin. That is why we need divine grace to keep us far from sin beyond the moment we receive confirmation. It requires spiritual nourishment through regular Eucharist participation and witness to the Gospel, starting with our own families.

Fr. Lambert Nieme