CORPUS CHRISTI  ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
Text Box: Confirmation

Through confirmation we receive a special grace by which our faith is deepened and strengthened.

Text Box: The Catechism's section on Confirmation says that the sacrament is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Its effects are to: Root us more deeply in divine filiation (being children of God) Unite us more firmly to Christ Increase the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us Strengthen our bond with the Church Associate us more closely to the mission of bearing witness to Christ Help us and more strictly oblige us to spread and defend the faith by word and deed. (Referenced from www.beginningCatholic.com)

Fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah's, but was to be communicated to the whole messianic people.94 On several occasions Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit,95 a promise which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at Pentecost.

 

The imposition of hands is rightly recognized by the Catholic tradition as the origin of the sacrament of Confirmation, which in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the Church.

 

Very early, the better to signify the gift of the Holy Spirit, an anointing with perfumed oil (chrism) was added to the laying on of hands.

 

In the West, the term Confirmation suggests that this sacrament both confirms and strengthens baptismal grace.

 

(Excerpted from the Catechism of the Catholic Church as published on www.vatican.va)

Stained glass window in the church.