The Sacraments – Confirmation
Confirmation and Baptism have a special linkage. Leo J Trese makes the comparison to being born and growing up.
Baptism is our BIRTH in Christ, Confirmation is our GROWTH in Christ. We are baptized in order to be confirmed.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that
Confirmation is the sacrament which gives the Holy Spirit in order to root us more deeply in the divine filiation, incorporate us more firmly in Christ, strengthen our bond with the Church, associate us more closely with her mission, and help us bear witness to the Christian faith in words accompanied by deeds.
So what does all of this mean? We already know and understand that all the sacraments give us grace in order to live fully the Christian life that we are called to.
As many theologians have said, “We are ALL called to be Saints”.
We are able to live this journey towards Saint hood by receiving the sacraments and allowing God’s grace to pour over us.
When I received the sacrament of Confirmation
I was made to understand that this was a sacrament that would be myself making a firm decision to become a “full” Christian in the Catholic faith.
I use the word full here because with baptism you enter the Church, with the Eucharist – First Holy Communion – you receive the Body of Christ and all the graces therein.
With Confirmation however, you are taking that further step, going the extra mile.
I remember that Confirmation was such a serious thing for me, that I was actually afraid to go through with the ceremony because I didn’t know if I was fully ready.
It is the same feeling that people feel who really and truly understand the depth of the sacrament of marriage.
We recall too that at Confirmation we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
If we remember the prayer said over you –
“Give them the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of knowledge and good counsel; the Spirit of fortitude and piety and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord”.
The same Spirit that came down on the Apostles at Pentecost is the same Spirit we receive at Confirmation.
We receive these gifts in order to fully execute the life that a Christian in the Catholic faith is called to live.
Hilary De Freitas
Catholic Blogger and Author (among other things.)
Subscribe to my blog and purchase a copy my book today
About Hilary De Freitas
Hilary De Freitas is a wife, mother, engineer and marketer. She is dedicated to helping people build better businesses using the information available to them. Apart from helping people build businesses she runs her own Knights Consulting business as well as being a network marketer. Hilary has been on a faith journey that guided her along her professional life. She shares what she had learned in her faith and how she uses it in her everyday life.
- Web |
- More Posts(62)
Leave A Response