By virtue of the baptismal character - an indelible seal received by the soul - the faithful are appointed to Christian religious worship, and participate in the threefold office of Jesus Christ: Ruler, Priest, and Teacher. This empowers Christians to share in Christ's divine rule over the world, to sanctify every human endeavor, and to teach all people the truths of God.
Afterwards, in Confirmation we receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
In the natural order, man is born and develops until he comes to maturity and to full mastery of 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 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, to act supernaturally. Confirmation strengthens and increases this ability. 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 signifies and causes the growth to maturity of the person incorporated into Christ. By the imposition of hands, the Christian receives the divine power and strength to become a good soldier of Christ Jesus. The anointing with oil symbolizes 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 by our words, giving us the courage and magnanimity to be leaders in the faith, and even, with the help of divine grace, even to suffer martyrdom.
We are greatly in need of fortitude, as we strive to sanctify ourselves the 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 fortitude, gives us the courage we need so that we can always triumph in our wonderful battle of peace to extend Christ's kingdom on earth.
Video: