Confirmation is the third sacrament of initiation and serves to “confirm” a baptized person in their faith. The rite of confirmation can occur as early as age 7 for children who were baptized as infants but is commonly received around age 13; it is performed immediately after baptism for adult converts. A bishop or priest normally performs the rite, which includes the laying on of hands in prayer and blessing and the anointing of the forehead with chrism (holy oil) with the words, ”Be sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” In so “sealing” that person as a member of the church, the outward rite of confirmation signifies the inner presence of the Holy Spirit, who is believed to provide the strength to live out a life of faith and service. At confirmation a Catholic may symbolically take the name of a saint to be his or her patron.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem so that they could be baptized by the Holy Spirit (Acts of the Apostles 1:5). When about 120 of Jesus’ disciples were gathered the Holy Spirit came in the form of wind and fire. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the disciples understood that God was anointing them for a special mission (Acts of the Apostles 2).
The early Christians made sure, then, that whenever they brought people into the Church, they would baptize them with water and then anoint them with oil. Why oil? Oil had been used in the Old Testaments to anoint priests, prophets, and kings. The early Christians realized that their community was “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9). Each new member was anointed with oil after being baptized with water.
In the early Church Baptism and Confirmation were celebrated in a single ceremony. It is still done this way in the churches of the East. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of the West, the two sacraments gradually separated. The Church in the West wanted the bishop to complete a person’s initiation. As the Church grew and the bishops ministered over ever larger territories, the bishop could not be present for every Baptism. So began the custom of gathering groups of baptized Catholics together later so that the bishop could confirm them all at one time. In the process over time the reception of the Eucharist came before the celebration of Confirmation.
The designated age for Confirmation is between the ages of discretion and the age 16. In order to be confirmed a person must have reached the age of discretion, which is defined as about the age of seven; profess the Catholic faith and desire to receive the sacrament; be in a state of grace; be ready to live as a witness to Jesus Christ. Receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Christian’s relationship with God is made stronger. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are strengthened: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. In this way the Christian is equipped to become a better witness to Christ in the world.
A bishop is the usual celebrant of the Sacrament of Confirmation. During the celebration of Confirmation, the bishop extends his hands over those to be confirmed and calls upon God: “Send your Holy Spirit upon them to be their helper and guide.” Then each person to be confirmed is anointed with chrism on the forehead as the bishop says, “Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.” In Confirmation the Christian becomes more closely united with Christ. With the strengthening of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit the Christian is able to accept new responsibilities for witnessing Jesus to the world.
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. The infant who is Baptized in the faith of his/her parents and God Parents once reaching the age of reason is required to confirm the faith that was given to him/her by his/her autonomous individual act of faith which is an act of personal choice where the Baptized confirms his commitment to Christ and to his people as a Christian. It is the point where the Baptized is considered an adult and a mature Christian in the community. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief.
It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost. From this fact, Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:
- It roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, “Abba! Father!” (Rom. 8:15)
- It unites us more firmly to Christ
- It increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us
- It renders our bond with the Church more perfect
- It gives us the strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross
In the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, the sacrament is customarily conferred only on persons old enough to understand it, and the ordinary minister of confirmation is a bishop.
