Mar 3 Mon
Why should I receive Confirmation?
In the natural order, man is born and develops until he reaches maturity and fully masters his faculties. Something similar occurs in the order of grace. It is obvious, St Thomas says, that in the life of the body, the first requirement is the generation by which man receives the gift of life; then comes growth by which he is brought to maturity; ... so in the spiritual life, there is Baptism which is spiritual birth, and Confirmation which is spiritual growth.
Baptism brings us the power of the Holy Spirit, enabling us to act as children of God. Confirmation strengthens and increases this ability. The Second Vatican Council teaches that by the sacrament of Confirmation, the faithful “are more perfectly bound to the Church and are endowed with the special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence, they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread the faith by word and deed." Confirmation, like Baptism, imprints a character on the soul, and enables it more easily to exercise the priestly, royal, and prophetic office.
Confirmation both signifies and causes the growth to maturity of the person incorporated into Christ. By the imposition of hands, the Christian receives the fullness of the Holy Spirit: divine power and strength to become a good soldier of Christ Jesus. The anointing with oil indicates our readiness to go into battle, recalling the way the athletes of old used to anoint their bodies for combat. And in fact, this sacrament confers on the soul the specific power of publicly confessing our faith in Christ through our words, giving us the courage and magnanimity to be leaders in the faith, and even, with the help of divine grace, to suffer martyrdom.
We are greatly in need of strength as we strive to sanctify ourselves in this earthly field of combat where God has placed us. In the sacrament of Confirmation, the Tradition of the Church “has unanimously seen a strengthening of the spiritual life. By giving more supernatural strength to the soul, through a quiet and fruitful outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Confirmation enables the Christian to fight as miles Christi, as a soldier of Christ, in his intimate battle against selfishness and concupiscence."
Confirmation, a pledge of God's strength, gives us the courage we need to always triumph in our wonderful battle of peace to extend Christ's kingdom on earth.
In confirmation, Christ fills us with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us confess our faith with firmness and conviction and courageously defend it. With this sacrament, we receive the virtue of fortitude to face the obstacles in the path of Christian life.
Finally, confirmation makes us witnesses of Christ according to our type of life and personal vocation. This sacrament unites us to the apostles' mission because it introduces each baptized person to the apostolate of the Church.
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