Confirmation

The sacrament of the Holy Spirit: sealing and strengthening the baptized for a mature Christian life.

What it is. Confirmation completes what Baptism begins. Through the anointing with sacred chrism and the words "Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit," the baptized receive a fuller outpouring of the same Spirit given to the apostles at Pentecost. It is the sacrament of Christian maturity: not because feeling changes, but because the Spirit is given to strengthen and equip.

Why celebrate it. In Confirmation, the Holy Spirit deepens the grace of Baptism, roots a person more firmly in Christ, strengthens the bond with the Church, and gives the courage to live and profess the faith. It is the same Spirit who transformed frightened disciples into bold witnesses. To be confirmed is to be commissioned: no longer only receiving the faith but empowered to carry it. This is cause for joy: God does not leave His own to face the world on their own strength.

Where the sacrament comes from

On Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and turned a frightened band hiding behind locked doors into witnesses who preached Christ openly to the crowds. From the beginning, the Church understood that this same gift was meant for every believer, not the apostles alone.

In the Acts of the Apostles, after Philip had baptized the Samaritans, the apostles sent Peter and John, who "laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit." The laying on of hands, distinct from the washing of Baptism, is the root of the sacrament we now call Confirmation. What began as the apostles' gesture continues today in the bishop, their successor, who is the ordinary minister of the sacrament.

What actually happens

The heart of the rite is the anointing with sacred chrism — perfumed oil consecrated by the bishop — traced in the sign of the cross on the forehead, with the words "Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit." The word chrism shares a root with Christ, the Anointed One; to be chrismated is to be marked as belonging to Him.

This sealing imprints a permanent character on the soul, as Baptism and Holy Orders also do. Because the seal can never be repeated or undone, Confirmation, like Baptism, is received only once. It configures the Christian more deeply to Christ and marks them as a witness commissioned to spread and defend the faith.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit

The grace of Confirmation is traditionally described through the seven gifts the prophet Isaiah foretold would rest on the Messiah: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. These are not feelings but dispositions that make a person receptive to the Spirit's promptings: to see rightly, to judge well, and to act with courage. The sacrament does not hand over a finished holiness; it equips a person to grow into it over a lifetime.

Who receives it

Any baptized person who has not yet been confirmed can and should receive the sacrament. In the Latin Church it is often given around the age of discretion, though the age varies and adults received into the Church are normally confirmed at the same liturgy as their Baptism and First Communion. A candidate prepares by prayer, instruction, and (where needed) Reconciliation, so as to come to the anointing in the grace of God, ready to say yes to the Spirit who is given.