Confirmation
Is Confirmation necessary for salvation?
-debatable; theological debate
-might say that it is necessary for those who have been offered it
- the Magisterium (teaching authority) of the Church says this:
“It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed." (CCC, # 1285)
-Confirmation completes baptism
-“seals” the gifts of baptism
-sends us on our journey; missionary
-“receive the Holy Spirit”
“The 1st Confirmation” – Pentecost (fifty days after Resurrection / Passover - feast of weeks)
- Acts 2:1-13
- Jesus had promised that the Father would send the Spirit
-“the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you” - John 14:26
- Acts 8
- the Apostles, began to impart the gift of the Spirit through the laying on of hands
-Peter and John went to Samaria where the people “had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit (16-17)
Did the early Church celebrate Confirmation as we do??
-yes, with external signs (oils, the laying on of hands) and with the bishop as celebrant
&
-no, because it was celebrated with baptism as a “double sacrament”
Conf. completes bapt., seals gifts of HS, indelible character
-Bishop couldn’t be present at all baptisms
-huge number of baptisms, growing number of rural parishes, growth of dioceses (among other reasons)
-West separated the 2 in order to reserve Conf. to the bishop
- East kept them as one; priests did Conf.
Did the early Church Fathers distinguish between Baptism and Confirmation:
- St. Hippolytus of Rome (235 AD) mentions the following rites of
Confirmation:
- Imposition of hands by the Bishop and prayer
- anointing with consecrated oil - this unction must be distinguished from the baptismal unction performed by the priest after Baptism - together with imposition of hands and the simultaneous pronouncement of a Trinitarian form of blessing
- signing of the forehead and the kiss of peace.
(St. Hippolytus may have studied under St. Iraneus, who studied under St. Polycarp, who studied under St. John the Apostle)
What about the oils used in Confirmation?
- “Christ” = anointed one ; Christian = anointed one
- very early in the Church, an anointing with perfumed oil (chrism) was added to the laying on of hands
- continues in both East and West
- East: “chrismation”
- West: “Confirmation” (ratification of Baptism and strengthening / fulfilling baptismal grace)
- Chrism oil is used in Baptism – priesthood of Christ as p,p,k
- from OT and other ancient symbolism, oil:
- is a sign of abundance and joy
- cleanses (before or after a bath) and limbers (athletes, e.g.)
- is a sign of healing since it soothes bruises and wounds
- makes radiant with beauty, health, and strength
- those who are anointed at Baptism are cleansed and strengthened
- those who are anointed at Confirmation are consecrated to Christ and share more deeply in his mission
Confirmation seals us as Christ’s and helps us to DO God’s Will
Confirmation brings a greater familiarity with the Holy Spirit, particularly, who can be a powerful presence in our lives
- gifts of the Holy Spirit (+ charisms; 1 Cor 12; healing, prophecy, miracles, tongues)
- fruits of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity)
2 comments:
Ted, hey buddy! I'm getting ready to head out to Germany for 2 weeks, and just realized I haven't responded to your question. I'm literally leaving right now, but want to get back to you when I return. I'll be back in town at the end of the month and try to answer it then (although I haven't thought much about what you asked before...good question).
Talk to you soon, buddy!
Ted,
We find a distiction in Scripture between the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 11:1-2 lists the gifts of the Holy Spirit as being attributes of the Messiah. Then, St Paul identifies the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.
All of the baptized receive all of the gifts of the HS which are sealed at Confirmation. As far as how many of the fruits each of us live, that depends on our openess to Grace. If we are open to the Spirit, He will use our gifts abundantly and we will live all of the fruits abundantly. If we shut ourselves off to the Spirit and don't live out our Baptismal promises, then we won't live out many of the fruits, if any at all.
In general terms, the gifts lead to the fruits. For example, wisdom helps me to be charitable, generous, modest, chaste, etc. The gifts are things that we have; the fruits are things that we do. The fruits are signs that we have the gifts.
It gets a bit confusing when you talk about Charismatics. Basically, St Paul lays out in 1 Cor 12 how the Spirit gives more of the gifts to some than others. Some baptized persons are better able to express wisdom than others, for example, but they all have the gift of wisdom.
But, there are also gifts within gifts, as I understand 1 Cor 12. Paul talks about gifts like miracles, prophecy, tongues, etc. These would all fall under one or more of the 7 gifts (probably piety). If a person is living according to the Spirit, the Spirit can work miracles through them (many times with the saints), speak prophecies through them speak in tongues, etc. The charismatic movement calls on the Spirit to work miracles, healings, prophecies...
It is really a call to increase and intensify the gifts He's aleady given at Baptism. We can go as deep or as shallow as we want with the gifts of the HS. And, the Holy Spirit can go deep!! That's why it's always good to take all of this slowly and prudently.
The work of the Spirit is powerful. We see Him working in our lives and in different ways every day. I will probably never speak in tongues, but see the Spirit working in my life in other ways. However He decides to give the fullness of His gifts, we leave it up to Him.
Here are the summaries from the Catechism:
The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1830)
The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Wisdom
Understanding
Counsel
Fortitude
Knowledge
Piety
Fear
They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations. (CCC, #1831)
The Fruits of the Spirit
The fruits of the Spirt are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory (CCC, # 1832)
Charity
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Generosity
Gentleness
Faithfulness
Modesty
Self-Control
Chastity
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