Confirmation makes us strong in Christ

The Sacrament of Confirmation can be called a “more” sacrament. It confirms and deepens the grace of Baptism. Baptism brought us into a relationship with God and made us His children. Confirmation strengthens us to live out our Baptism in the world. God doesn’t want us to be immature Christians, shunning the responsibility that comes with grace. So he gives us another sacrament to push us on to adulthood and spiritual maturity with the help of grace.

Many cultures have ceremonies for coming of age, which signal the passage from adolescence to adulthood. The Sacrament of Confirmation helps us to become adult Christians. Specifically, Confirmation makes us strong and courageous followers of Jesus Christ, able to bear witness to the cross of Christ to a world that lacks truth, discipline, and firmness of purpose. To become mature adults naturally, we must take on responsibility and not expect others to perpetually take care of us, as rightfully happened in childhood. To mature spiritually, we must live out our faith in public, taking responsibility for the mission Jesus left for each member of his Church: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19-20). Failure to live out our faith keeps us in a state of perpetual spiritual adolescence.

The Rite of Confirmation makes clear to us the nature of the sacrament, and the grace it contains. First the name itself. To confirm means to make firm or strong. God wants to make strong in us the grace of Baptism and the gifts of the Holy Spirit we received therein. He deepens and completes the graces of Baptism, but he also wants to make us strong with a new strength, because as adult Christians, we are like soldiers going out to battle against a deadly enemy. Our enemy is not a standing army, but rather Satan and the demons who prowl through the world seeking the destruction of souls. Our enemy is the pride of this world that would lure us away from the cross through many seductive promises. Our enemy is our own flesh, our fallen human nature, with its many weaknesses and inordinate desires. The name tells us we are being made strong for battle as true soldiers of Christ.

Confirmation uses chrism oil, blessed by the Bishop. We sometimes use oil to sooth and limber our skin and limbs. In ancient times, gladiators, athletes, and soldiers would oil their bodies to prepare for competition or battle. This symbolism carries over to the Sacrament of Confirmation. The use of oil reminds us that God prepares us through Confirmation for a great contest: a spiritual contest of faith.

The chrism oil also has a certain fragrance, due to the mixture of balsam with olive oil. The smell of our bodies can either be pleasing and attractive to others or repulsive. The pleasing aroma of the Chrism oil reminds us that we are to be the “good aroma of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:15). Through our good works, we should attract people to the Gospel, just as pleasing fragrances make our bodies attractive. Confirmation therefore gives us this grace to be Christ in the world.

In Confirmation, the sacred chrism is put onto the forehead in the Sign of the Cross. The forehead is that part of us that is most visible to others. It is the part of us that blushes when we are ashamed. How fitting to put the Sign of the Cross, the symbol of the king we serve, on the most visible part of ourselves. People will either see us blush with shame when we are confronted for our faith, or they will see us boldly stand with the cross of Christ (Heb. 12:2). Our mature Christian lives should speak of nothing but the cross of Christ, without fear or shame. Like St. Paul, the saving cross of Jesus is our one message to the world, and through bold proclamation, it becomes the power and wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:23-24). This cross is drawn on our forehead as the Bishop seals us with the gift of the Holy Spirit; Confirmation gives us the grace to live the cross publically.

Most of our readers have probably already received Confirmation. Does it still affect us? Yes, like Baptism, Confirmation inscribes a permanent and indelible mark on the soul. This seal acts as a continual conduit of grace for us, as long as we are disposed to receive it, so we can ask the Holy Spirit to stir into flame the gift of God we received through Confirmation. We all need grace to live as adult Christians and soldiers of Christ in the spiritual battle we are in. Through the Sacrament of Confirmation, God continues to give us everything we need to win the battle.