Confirmation

Baptism
Confirmation
Eucharist

We call the first three Sacraments the “Sacraments of Initiation” because through them we begin our lives in Christ: we become members of the Church, we share in the mission of the disciples, and we eat at the table of the Lord.

The Sacraments of Initiation: Confirmation

The Sacrament of Confirmation grew out of an element of the baptismal ritual in which the bishop anointed the newly baptized with sacred oil, signifying the presence and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Eventually in the early Church this anointing became its own separate practice, and took on the character it still has today: a sealing, or confirming, of the person’s baptism. Through Confirmation, a Catholic Christian also responds to God’s call to participate in the mission of the Church to bring about the Kingdom of God. The holy oil (or “chrism”) is a tangible sign of the truth that the newly confirmed will rely on the Spirit as they seek to follow God as Christ did. A strong connection to the Holy Spirit remains in the Sacrament of Confirmation, because of the many times in the Scriptures Jesus promises to his disciples the help and strength of the Holy Spirit.

“If you have received Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist you cannot simply be a spectator when Jesus Christ calls.”

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). With these words Jesus both comforts and challenges his disciples before he returns to heaven and leaves them to witness the Good News “to the ends of the earth.” The Sacrament of Confirmation also contains that element of challenge and witness: If you have received Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist you cannot simply be a spectator when Jesus Christ calls. Confirmation “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” (CCC 1303).

You can see the close connection between the Holy Spirit and the Sacrament of Confirmation. The Bible clearly lists both the gifts the Holy Spirit gives: wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge and fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2-3); as well as the fruits of living in the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Ephesians 5:22-23).

Today, if you come to the Catholic Church through the R.C.I.A., you will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation immediately following your baptism, a connection which goes back to the very earliest days of Christianity. At that same liturgy, you will also receive the Eucharist for the first time.

Catholic Christians baptized as infants typically receive Confirmation anywhere between the ages of twelve and eighteen. In the United States, each local bishop can decide the age of Confirmation for his diocese. Ordinarily, bishops celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation, though with good reason they can designate a priest in their place.