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Confirmation is the sacrament of ecclesial unity and the sacrament of the Holy Spirit.
Originally, the sacraments of baptism and confirmation went hand in hand and were part of the same ceremony, much like it is performed on Holy Saturday today. Baptism, Confirmation, and first Eucharist are also known as the sacraments of Initiation, the sacraments by which people become full members of and are initiated into the Catholic Church. At Confirmation, we receive the Holy Spirit; however, it is not the first time The Spirit is received. We receive the Holy Spirit also at Baptism, when we are incorporated into the Mystical Body of Christ and are born a Christian. Even in the early Church, since only a bishop could confirm, as more and more converts to Christianity came along, it became very difficult for the bishop to be at all baptisms in a timely fashion, so the two sacraments were separated. This allowed priests to baptize and the bishop could come along periodically and confirm. The Eastern Catholic Churches have retained the tradition of baptizing and confirming, as well as first Eucharist, all in the same ceremony. In those cases, the priest celebrant is the ordinary minister of the sacraments. Us, in the west, have continued the tradition of separating the two sacraments and the bishop acts as the ordinary minister of confirmation, guaranteeing its catholicity.
In Confirmation, we have an encounter with the Holy Spirit. The significance of the Chrism on the forehead means that, it soaks in and reaches the heart of the person. It soaks in to where one cannot see or touch and never comes out. In other words, the Holy Spirit completely fills us, nourishes us, and fills us with sanctifying grace so completely that it transforms us into a new person ready to be sent into the world to do the will of the Holy Spirit fueled by His holy flame awakened in our hearts.
Let us not see confirmation as a mere graduation ceremony, because, it is not an end, but a new beginning. It awakens in us, again, as it was in baptism, the desire and strength to grow in holiness. The Spirit fills us with enough grace to successfully carry out the vocation he has in store for us.
Let us not see Confirmation as a "decision to become Catholic" We are Christian Catholics at baptism! It is at baptism we become Catholic. In some ways, it is really not our choice whether or not to be confirmed. Not only does God will us to be confirmed, but it is our duty and responsibility to receive this sacrament that seals our baptism. St. Basil likened Confirmation to the seal of a treasure chest that safeguards a precious jewel inside, preventing it from being stolen. At baptism, we receive the most precious jewel of all, our unstained Catholic Christian dignity. That Jewel, however, can be easily snatched away by the world if we do not protect it. Confirmation seals the precious gift of our Christian dignity.
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