Confirmation

Confirmation

Confirmation is the Sacrament which gives you the strength to be a good Catholic. This Sacrament completes and perfects the Christian life you begin at Baptism. The Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity comes into your soul at Confirmation, affording the recipient His Seven Gifts: Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Fortitude, Piety and Fear of the Lord. ‘Confirmation gives you more Sanctifying Grace; it gives you more strength to stay away from sin and lead a Christian life; it helps you to be a loyal and faithful follower of Jesus Christ; and it gives you the strength to profess your Catholic Faith openly and not to hide it. You are made strong soldiers of Christ, and so are more firmly obliged by word and deed to be faithful witnesses of Christ, spreading and defending the Catholic faith.

It is more difficult to get into Heaven without Confirmation and it is a sin to neglect receiving it. To receive it one has to be a baptized Catholic and have no mortal sin on the soul. The sponsor for Confirmation cannot be the same one as Baptism. The sponsor should be a confirmed Catholic, a good example to emulate for the Catholic life who tries to lead others to the True Faith. The sponsor’s function is to take care that the person confirmed behaves as a true witness of Christ and faithfully fulfills the duties inherent in this holy Sacrament. When preparing for this Sacrament, the young person typically selects the name of a favorite saint for his Confirmation name.

Confirmation is usually administered by the Bishop, who holds his hands over those to be confirmed, prays for them and makes the sign of the Cross on the forehead of each one with the holy oil of Chrism, saying the word: “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Ordinary Form) or “I sign thee with the sign of the cross and confirm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Extraordinary Form). Holy Chrism is a mixture of olive oil and balm consecrated by the Bishop on Holy Thursday; it is a symbol of the strength received in Confirmation.