Confirmation

Confirmation Program for 9th Grade
Adults Seeking the Sacrament of Confirmation
Confirmation in the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Filled with the Holy Spirit, the Apostles proclaimed God's mighty deeds

The Effects of Confirmation
Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:
--unites us more firmly to Christ
--increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us
--renders our bond with the Church more perfect
--gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross

Confirmation is not only an anointing, but also a commissioning to live out our faith in the world. We are already called to mission by virtue of our Baptism, but at Confirmation we are endowed with gifts of the Spirit (like the apostles in Acts 2) to be “ever greater witnesses to the Gospel in the world."

As disciples and witnesses to Christ in both Church and world, we are sent out to act on behalf of the poor and vulnerable, promoting the life and dignity of every human person.

Rite of Confirmation

Bishop Thomas Zinkula

Confirmation is normally conferred by the bishop, signifying one's bond with the Church and its apostolic origins. The bishop confers Confirmation through the anointing with Chrism on the recipient's forhead, which is done by the laying on of the hand, while saying the words "Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Confirmation, together with Baptism and Eucharist, form the Sacraments of Initiation that are all intimately connected.
In the Sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized person is "sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit" and is strengthened for service to the Body of Christ.

The prophets of the Old Testament foretold that God's Spirit would rest upon the Messiah to sustain his mission. Their prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus the
Messiah was conceived by the Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus on the occasion of his baptism by John.

Jesus' entire mission occurred in communion with the Spirit. Before he died, Jesus promised that the Spirit would be given to the Apostles and to the entire
Church. After his death, he was raised by the Father in the power of the Spirit.

Those who believed in the Apostles' preaching were baptized and received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. The Apostles baptized believers in water and the Spirit. Then they imparted the special gift of the Spirit through the laying on of hands. "'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'" (CCC, no. 1288 citing Pope Paul VI).

By the second century, Confirmation was also conferred by anointing with holy oil, which came to be called sacred Chrism. "This anointing highlights the name
'Christian,' which means 'anointed' and derives from that of Christ himself whom God 'anointed with the Holy Spirit'" (CCC, no. 1289, citing Acts 10:38).

From the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest,
and in our hearts take up they rest.
Come with they grace, and heavenly aid
to fill the hearts which thou hast made.

There are those who have said that courage in witnessing our faith is one of the best proofs for the existence of God. Confirmation is the Sacrament that makes possible courageous witness. The never-ending stories of martyrs and other Christian heroes and heroines throughout the centuries to the present provide ample evidence of the Holy Spirit's gift of courage. Today, there are plenty of opportunities to act courageously on behalf of the teachings of Christ and the church, to promote the stability of marriage, to support the ideals of family life, to be brave in defending human life from conception to death, to be stadfast in Christ's compassion and peace will shine everywhere on earth. US Catholic catechism for Adults