Confirmation

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, The sacrament of Confirmation is the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost (# 1302) Before Pentecost, the Apostles were fearful, confused and secretive, gathering only behind locked doors. But, Suddenly from up in the sky there came a noise, like a strong driving wind which was heard all through the house where they were seated. Tongues as of fire appeared which parted and came to rest on each of them. All were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to..make bold proclamations as the Spirit prompted them. (Acts 2:1-4)

Like all the Sacraments, Confirmation is a moment of encounter with Jesus Christ. By receiving this Sacrament, we are joined more closely to Christ and are more fully conformed to Him.

The particular gift of Confirmation is the Gift of the Holy Spirit.  It is not that we are without the Holy Spirit prior to Confirmation. In the Sacrament of Baptism, we become “temples of the Holy Spirit.” But in Confirmation, the Holy Spirit is given with a new fullness, especially to equip the Christian to carry on the work of Christ in the world.

The model for Confirmation is Pentecost. Jesus chose Twelve Apostles and commissioned them to carry on His work after His death and resurrection. Nonetheless, even after the Apostles had been thoroughly convinced that Jesus had risen from the dead, they remained ill equipped to carry on His work.

The Apostles had two great problems: (1) they did not know how to fulfill the mandate to “make disciples of all the nations” and (2) even if they had known what to do, they were afraid to do it – in fear for their own lives, they locked themselves in the upper room.

The situation was transformed by the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Spirit was heard as a rushing wind and seen as tongues of fire. Once He had come upon the Apostles, they opened the doors, went out into Jerusalem and preached Jesus Christ with words that were miraculously understood by Jews from all over the world in their own languages.

From the beginning of the Church, the Apostles shared the gift of the Holy Spirit with those who had been baptized by the laying on of hands. This is the essence of the Sacrament of Confirmation to this day. And the Sacrament of Confirmation is given to equip Christians to share in the work of Christ and the Church to make disciples of all the nations.

An application form for 2024 (Year 10 students only) can de downloaded here: