The Sacraments – Confirmation

Confirmation is the second sacrament of Christian initiation. It is conferred by the anointing with sacred chrism (oil mixed with balsam), which is done by the laying on of the hand of the minister. The sacrament is normally administered by a bishop who blesses the chrism during Easter week on Holy Thursday. Through this sacrament the grace given in baptism is strengthened and deepened. Like baptism, confirmation may be received only once. The effect of the sacrament of confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The apostles all received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and a group of Samaritans (the people who lived in Samaria) also received the Holy Spirit through the apostles Peter and John:

“Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.”
[ Acts of the Apostles 8:14-17 ]

The sacrament gives us a special strength to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross. This effect has been described as making the confirmed person “a soldier of Christ”. It is a great occasion in the parish when the bishop arrives to confirm the boys and girls who have been prepared to receive the sacrament by their parents and schoolteachers.