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Like Baptism, which it completes, Confirmation is given only once, for it too imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, the character which is the sign that Jesus Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of the Holy Spirit. As a result, Christians who have been confirmed share more completely in the priestly mission of Jesus Christ.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are imparted in their fullness in Confirmation. We find a list of these gifts in the book of the prophet Isaiah (Is. 11:2) They are Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and the Fear of the Lord. The gifts are necessary for salvation. The virtues of themselves are not sufficient to raise man to the perfection to which he is called. Their incapacity is remedied by these Gifts of the Holy Spirit. They enable us to act correctly in a superhuman way, in order to bring our actions into line with God's own standards of conduct. They enable us to live our human lives as God would live a human life.
Send us the Spirit of wisdom, that He may discover to us the enemies we ought to fear, and the dangers we ought to avoid amid the deceptive appearances of this world; that He may enable us to choose in every circumstance what is most useful for the preservation and increase of divine life in us.
Send us the Spirit of understanding, that He may enable us understand the beauty, the sweetness and the fruitfulness of the holy truths whose light illumines our path in the world.
Send us Your Spirit of Counsel, that in the moment of action He may always incline us to the most opportune and prudent of reflections; that He may enable us to be perfectly docile to Your secret inspirations; and that He may also make us in time of need the courageous counselors of our brothers and sisters.
Send us Your Spirit of Fortitude, that He may change our weakness into strength and that of the faint-hearted He may make apostles full of burning zeal.
Send us Your Spirit of knowledge, that He may inspire us with a horror of lying and of error; that He may inflame us with a noble and holy love of all the truths that You have taught us; and that, to guard these truths, He may place in our hearts a constant memory of them.
Give us Your Spirit of piety, that He may enkindle in us the fire of your love that love which makes us love Your divine will ardently even in things most minute.
Fill us, Lord, with the Spirit of fear, that He may never allow us to forget Your infinite majesty, and your boundless power. Keep us ever under your gaze and your loving direction.
The Fruits of the virtues and Gifts infused into our souls
by the Holy Spirit are listed by Saint Paul. (Galatians 5:22)
They are Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Patient Endurance, Kindness, Generosity, Mildness, Faith, Modesty, and Chastity.
O Holy Spirit, Eternal Love of the Father and the Son! Please grant me
the fruit of charity that it may unite me to you by means of love;
the fruit of joy, that it may fill me with a holy happiness in the midst of affliction;
the fruit of peace, that it may give me tranquility in my conscience;
the fruit of patience, that it teach me to embrace the cross and help me to bear it;
the fruit of kindness, that it may incline me to relieve the necessities of my neighbor;
the fruit of generosity, that it may maintain me in patience in the midst of opposition;
the fruit of mildness, that it may make me endure in tranquility whatever weakness
or faults may be in my neighbor;
the fruit of faith, that it may permeate me with respect and love for the word of God;
the fruit of modesty, that it may regulate all my external acts, and preserve my body in holiness;
the fruit of chastity, that, my heart remaining ever pure in this world, I may deserve to see You in
the mansions of Glory in Heaven.
If we have not already received Confirmation, we must arrange to do so as soon as possible. We cannot afford to go through life without all the wonderful graces it bestows on us. For the Church, it is the perpetual Pentecost, the means by which she keeps alive the power of the Spirit within her members. "O Sacred Treasury in which the Holy Spirit is communicated to us, the thought of Pentecost is established in our hearts, we remain for life temples of His Divine Presence, and we are given full posssession of a pledge of everlasting glory." (Kolbe, The Sacrament of Confirmation).
This preparation should aim at leading the Christian toward a more intimate union with Christ and a more lively familiarity with the Holy Spirit in order to be more capable of assuming the responsibilities of Christian life. To this end catechists for Confirmation should strive to awaken a sense of belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ, the universal Church as well as the local community.
Confirmation is a sacrament of the living.
To Receive Confirmation one must be in the State of Grace. One is encouraged to receive the Sacrament of Penance in order to be cleansed for the gift of the Holy Spirit. More intense prayer should prepare one to receive the strength and grace of the Holy Spirit with docility and readiness to act.
Candidates Need a Sponsor.
Candidates for Confirmation, as well as for Baptism, normally should have a sponsor. To emphasize the unity of the two sacraments, it is appropriate that one of the Baptismal sponsors be the Confirmation sponsor.