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The Sacrament of Confirmation Part I

As pastor, it seems fitting we as a parish study each of the seven sacraments in some detail. I have used the front of the bulletins for us to study the sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, and the Eucharist including a several part series from Fr. Berhorst on the Mass. Today, I want to start the series on studying the sacrament of Confirmation. It is a good time to start this series as our parish will celebrate this sacrament for approximately forty of our parishioners with Bishop McKnight on Saturday, at 11am March 8, 2025, St. Patrick Chapel. As always, the whole parish is invited.

Let’s begin this study series on the Sacrament of Confirmation with an introduction and the Biblical roots of the sacrament. I will use the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Introduction:
1285: Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the “sacraments of Christian initiation,” whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation 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.”

Scriptural and early church roots:
1286: In the Old Testament the prophets announced that the Spirit of the Lord would rest on the hoped-for Messiah for his saving mission, Isaiah 11:2 & 61:1. The descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at his baptism by John was the sign that this was he who was to come, the Messiah, the Son of God, Matthew 3: 13-17 & John 1: 33-34. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit; his whole life and his whole mission are carried out in total communion with the Holy Spirit whom the Father gives him “without measure”, John 3:34.

1287: This fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah’s, but was to be communicated to the whole messianic people, Ezekiel 36: 27-27 & Joel 3: 1-2. On several occasions Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit, such as in Luke 12:12, John 3:5-8, again in John 7: 37-39, and in Acts 1:8, a promise which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at Pentecost. Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began to proclaim “the mighty works of God,” and Peter declared this outpouring of the Spirit to be the sign of the messianic age in Acts 2:11. Those who believed in the apostolic preaching and were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit in their turn.

1288: We read in the document from Paul VI Divinae Consortium naturae paragraph 659: “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.”

1289: Very early, the better to signify the gift of the Holy Spirit, an anointing with perfumed oil (chrism) was added to the laying on of hands. This anointing highlights the name “Christian,” which means “anointed” and derives from that of Christ himself whom God “anointed with the Holy Spirit” as we read in Acts 10:38. This rite of anointing has continued ever since. For this reason, named Confirmation, since this sacrament both confirms baptism and strengthens baptismal grace.

1291: A custom of the Roman Church facilitated the development of the Western practice: a double anointing with sacred chrism after Baptism. The first anointing of the neophyte on coming out of the baptismal bath was performed by the priest; it was completed by a second anointing on the forehead of the newly baptized by the bishop. 102 The first anointing with sacred chrism, by the priest, has remained attached to the baptismal rite; it signifies the participation of the one baptized in the prophetic, priestly, and kingly offices of Christ. If Baptism is conferred on an adult, there is only one post-baptismal anointing, that of Confirmation.

In the next part, we will examine the signs and the rite of Confirmation.