Hello grthumongous~
Confirmation is given to already-baptized individuals, and is supposed
to be an outward sign of the Holy Spirit dwelling in a person.
(Sometimes confirmation is called the ?completion? of baptism.)
Some effects of confirmation, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, are:
?* An increase of sanctifying grace which makes the recipient a
?perfect Christian?;
* a special sacramental grace consisting in the seven gifts of the
Holy Ghost and notably in the strength and courage to confess boldly
the name of Christ;
* an indelible character by reason of which the sacrament cannot be
received again by the same person.?
(?Confirmation? The Catholic Encyclopedia:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04215b.htm )
The ?gifts of the Holy Ghost? are listed in the Bible: ?And the spirit
of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of
understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of
knowledge, and of godliness. And he shall be filled with the spirit of
the fear of the Lord, He shall not judge according to the sight of the
eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears.? (Isaiah
11:2-3)
Confirmation is usually administered by a bishop, who prays that the
Holy Ghost will come down upon the person being confirmed, and all
those who are already confirmed around them. Usually, this involves
the laying of hands (meaning he places his hands on the person being
confirmed and prays). The bishop anoints the forehead, saying: ?I sign
thee with the sign of the cross and confirm thee with the chrism of
salvation, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost.? When doing this, he uses ?chrism oil,? which is blessed at a
special Mass. Then he usually gives a ?slight blow on the cheek,?
saying ?Peace be with thee.?
A sponsor or godparent is assigned to each person being confirmed, and
is there to assist them in the learning of--and keeping of--the faith.
Confirmation is not thought necessary for salvation, but is considered
an important rite. It is typically given at the ?age of reason? (about
seven). The confirmed are supposed to be defenders of the Church and
?soldiers in Christ? (standing up for what is right and willing to
suffer for the faith).
If any part of this is unclear, please don?t hesitate to ask for
clarification before rating this Answer.
Kind regards,
Kriswrite
KEYWORDS USED:
"What is" confirmation Catholic
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Clarification of Answer by
kriswrite-ga
on
07 Apr 2004 13:28 PDT
Hi again grthumongous~
You asked about the following: "The confirmed are supposed to be
defenders of the Church and ?soldiers in Christ? (standing up for what
is right and willing to
suffer for the faith)."
This just means that if challenged, they are to defend their faith.
For example, let's say they meet an atheist who argues that God
doesn't exist and Jesus was a fraud. They should stand up and explain
and defend Christianity to the atheist.
Or, perhaps they live in a time and place where being Catholic may get
them sent to prison; they should not disavow their faith even so, and
must be willing to go to jail.
Or perhaps when they go to school or work, those around them harass
them because of their faith; they should be willing to suffer through
this.
Even if someone says "Say you don't believe in Jesus and aren't a
Christian or I will kill you," they should never disown God, Jesus, or
Christianity.
I hope this clarifies fully, but if it doesn't, just let me know.
Kriswrite
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