Adult Confirmation
What is the Sacrament of Confirmation, and why should I really want it?
The roots of the Sacrament of Confirmation are firmly planted in the Book of Acts. There, on the day of Pentecost the apostles and disciples of the Lord Jesus received a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Confirmation “completes the grace of Baptism”. These gifts of the Holy Spirit seal or “confirm” the baptized in union with Christ and equip them for active participation in the worship and apostolic life of the Church. CCC These gifts are for the strengthening of the individual in the Christian life, and for the witness of that life lived in love and service to the whole world. The purpose of the Church is to call souls to Christ, the Son who has redeemed the whole world.
WHAT THE SACRAMENT CONFERS. Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1285 “Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the “sacraments of Christian initiation,” whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace.89 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.”
WHO IS ELIGIBLE. Adult confirmation is offered in our parish in two ways. First, if you are an unbaptized person or a Christian baptized but uncatechized (need more formation) person from another faith tradition, the parish offers the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults or the RCIA. Secondly, for baptized practicing Roman Catholics, Adult Confirmation Preparation classes are offered twice a year through the Office of Evangelization. If you would like to prepare to receive this sacrament.
