Florida Catholic | Confirmation: Continuation Of The Catholic Journey

CONFIRMATION: Part 1

Continuation of the Catholic Journey

FATHER JOHN J. LUDDEN | SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA CATHOLIC

Published: 05.23.08

Bishop Frank J. Dewane confers the sacrament of confirmation on a candidate at Epiphany Cathedral during the Pentecost Mass May 11.

Bishop Frank J. Dewane confers the sacrament of confirmation on a candidate at Epiphany Cathedral during Mass on Pentecost Sunday May 11.
BOB REDDY | FC

From late March to early June, nearly 3,000 young people at 41 parishes in the Diocese of Venice are receiving the sacrament of confirmation from Bishop Frank J. Dewane. Another 185 will receive the sacrament at seven more ceremonies in the fall. This the first of two parts of a column exploring the origins and the deeper meaning of the sacrament.

To understand the sacrament of confirmation we must first understand what “sacrament” means.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: “The Sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the church, by which life is dispensed to us” (CCC 1131).

The word “sacrament” derives from the Latin, “sacramentum” meaning, “sign of the sacred.” The sacraments are those grace-filled moments of the community’s life where we recognize Jesus present to us on life’s journey.

The sacraments celebrate the sacred in the significant events that knit together the seamless garment of human experience. These sacramental moments are deeply rooted in sacred Scriptures where Christ powerfully entrusts his mission to his disciples.

In the celebration of the sacraments we are transported beyond space and time as we enter into the story of Jesus Christ by entering into a deepening relationship with him. The celebration of the sacraments relive the moments in which Christ is present to his followers, teaching them and revealing the glory of God’s reign.

In the great jubilee of the year 2000, Pope John Paul II focused on the theme, “Christ – Yesterday, Today and Forever.” We were being reminded that we are part of salvation history. The past gifts us with the truths of Scripture and tradition.

The present gifts us with the opportunity to follow God’s will and surrender our lives to him. The future endows us with the tremendous possibilities God holds out to us. The sacraments, likewise, allow us to be shaped and formed by the spiritual intrigue of the past through the transmittal of divine revelation.

The sacraments open us to the constancy of God’s redeeming presence in the world today. They are encounters with Christ in which he continues to heal, reconcile, feed, teach and transform a community of believers who have chosen to follow him.

As each of the sacraments is celebrated, the individual opens his or her life to what is sacred to God and what is sacred to humanity.

The sacrament of confirmation celebrates a candidate’s willingness to hold onto what is sacred in his or her own experience, recognizing at the same time the importance of growing in faith within the context of the Catholic Church.

A story was once told about a priest who was invited to attend a reception following the confirmation ceremony. A delightful feast had been prepared for the young man who had received confirmation. In the center was placed a cake which read: “Congratulations! No more CCD!”

Unfortunately, this attitude toward the sacrament of confirmation is very prevalent in parish communities. Many view confirmation as the end to catechesis and faith development. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The sacrament of confirmation should not be viewed as the end of the journey, but the continuation of the journey of faith with the new dimension of the Holy Spirit.

Confirmation is one of the sacraments of initiation: baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church the magisterium teaches: “Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of confirmation together constitute the “sacraments of Christian initiation,” whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace” (CCC 1285).

In this sense, when someone receives the sacraments of initiation their journey of faith does not come to an end, rather it empowers them to continue on the journey which leads them into the heart of God.

Journeying into the mystery of God begins at baptism where we are set free from original sin through the baptismal waters. Immersed into these waters we die to the world of sin, but then we rise to new life in Christ. Each one of us is anointed to be priest, prophet and king.

This anointing with sacred chrism symbolizes being marked out to engage ourselves in charity and sacrifice in the name of the Lord. We enter into a community of faith whose baptism calls us to discern the prophetic utterances of God through the teachings of sacred Scripture and tradition.

Through this discernment we learn to follow God’s will in the ordinary circumstances of life. We share in the kingly office of Jesus Christ by proclaiming the message of the Gospel through word and deed. Since most of us were baptized as infants we do not truly appreciate the richness of our baptismal life.

The sacrament of confirmation completes the grace conferred upon us in baptism. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at confirmation opens us to the gifts of the Holy Spirit which enable us to discover the divine Giver in the midst of the gifts. Baptism, confirmation and Eucharist, form a unity into which a member enters into full membership as the body of Christ.

The holy Eucharist is the culmination of all Christian life and is very much the source and summit of Christian experience. Pope Benedict XVI in “Sacramentum Caritatis” writes: “Still, it is our participation in the eucharistic sacrifice which perfects within us the gifts given to us at baptism. The gifts of the Spirit are given for the building up of Christ’s body (1 Cor 12) and forever witness to the Gospel in the world. The holy Eucharist then brings Christian initiation to completion and represents the center and goal of all sacramental life.”

For this reason the church most often celebrates the rite of confirmation in the context of Mass. For us, the Eucharist is the center of life for the church and the ultimate sign of our unity.

Each year at the Easter Vigil, many adults in parishes throughout the world receive the sacraments of initiation at that celebration. It is at this moment when individuals make a choice to receive baptism and confirm their own belief by asking for the Holy Spirit.

This choice leads them to the altar of sacrifice and banquet table where Christ’s real presence is experienced in the breaking of the bread. However, since the majority of the Catholic Church practices infant baptism, two practices are now common in the experience of the West.

Some communities practice “restored order,” which places emphasis on children celebrating the original order of the sacraments. The other approach is to receive confirmation at an older age where candidates may reaffirm for themselves a choice made for them at infant baptism.

There is a need for individuals to grow in maturity of faith and come to the point where they have the opportunity to embrace Christ and make their own assent to Christ and his church. The sacrament of confirmation intensifies what has already been given in baptism. Confirmation deepens our understanding of what it means to be Christian.

Father Ludden is pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Port Charlotte.

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CONFIRMATION: Part 1

Continuation of the Catholic Journey

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