February 12, 2025

By Father William Muench
NCC columnist

I am still involved in the parish RCIA program. I am certain that you remember this program that prepares those who are seeking to enter the Catholic Church. The sacraments that formally mark a person’s entrance into the Catholic Church are baptism, confirmation and the Holy Eucharist.

Today a little bit about confirmation. You and I, as baptized Catholics, received confirmation in high school. For those in RCIA, this is an important sacrament of initiation into the Church. Many of these people have been baptized through another Christian faith; these baptisms are accepted by the Catholic Church. So, the formal entrance into the Catholic Church is with the sacrament of confirmation. I hope this short review of confirmation will help you to remember this important sacrament. Hopefully this will help you to continue to live your Christian life as a confirmed Catholic.

Let’s start with the basics: Confirmation is the sacrament that completes baptism. Confirmation renews our dedication to our  faith and our dedication to our Savior, Jesus. Confirmation strengthens this dedication by strengthening the powerful gifts of the Holy Spirit. Confirmation guides us as a Catholic and as a disciple of the Lord Jesus.

In Sacred Scripture, we learn of the Pentecost. In the Acts of the Apostles, we learn that after the crucifixion of Jesus, after his Resurrection and his Ascension to Heaven, the apostles continued to be fearful. They were not ready to bring Jesus and his message to the world. In the Pentecost, we are told, the Holy Spirit came to the apostles gathered in the Upper Room, transforming them into bold apostles now ready to teach and preach, now bold apostles to transform this world by bringing Jesus to others.

I believe that the Holy Spirit continues even now through this sacrament of confirmation to empower Catholics to be true disciples of the Lord. The Holy Spirit leads the confirmed to be unafraid to live well as called by the Lord and to bring the message of Jesus and of the Catholic Church to others, and to live an empowered life to be witnesses of the Lord to transform their world.

The sacrament of confirmation deepens the grace of baptism, the dedication to follow Jesus. This sacrament transforms a person and strengthens his or her bond with the Church and with the Lord Jesus. Confirmation increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit, giving courage that the confirmed witness to Christ in word and action. This is a call to spiritual maturity.

We speak of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts empower a person to form a bold faith, a readiness to live well. These gifts of the Holy Spirit form the confirmed person into a dedicated, powerful Christian. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel (right Judgment), courage, knowledge, piety (reverence), fear of the Lord (wonder and awe). The gifts of the Holy Spirit continue through life to develop a confirmed person to be a disciple of the Lord. A confirmed person is called to make the Catholic Church constantly alive and strong, leading all in the way of the Lord.

Our hope is that the sacrament of confirmation will continue to lead each one of us, Catholics, to participate actively in the life of the Church. Confirmed Catholics are challenged to evangelize and defend the faith. We are all called to grow in personal prayer and virtue. Each time I turn to you in this column – I pray to the Holy Spirit for those gifts that were given to me once in the Sacrament of Confirmation.

The Church encourages a person preparing for Confirmation to choose a saint as a model of faith. They are also encouraged to choose a sponsor to guide them through the sacrament and to continue to guide them as they live their Catholic faith.