Confirmation isn’t “graduating church.” For most Catholics, it represents a transition point from being a child to a young adult in the Church. Whenever and however a Catholic is confirmed, he or she is sure of receiving some pretty great gifts.
In “Catholic Central: Confirmation,” Kai and Libby explain just what is happening at Confirmation, what is being confirmed, who is doing the confirming, and, most importantly ... why?
Diving Deeper
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In many dioceses, confirmandi (those being confirmed) choose a confirmation saint. Who is your confirmation saint? Why did you choose him or her? How can you try to emulate him or her more?
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In this episode, we learn about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. What gifts can you recognize in yourself? Are there gifts of the Holy Spirit that you’d like to grow in? What can you do to grow in them?
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Why is it important that up until Pentecost the Apostles "had only been baptized”? What did Pentecost change for them?
Activity
The Holy Spirit works with our willpower to help us grow. What is one bad habit you could give up this week?
Reflection
At its deepest and most fundamental level, Confirmation is one of the Sacraments of initiation, the other two being Baptism and Eucharist. Baptism gives our life in Christ, and Confirmation seals this baptism. Confirmation was historically celebrated immediately after Baptism and before Eucharist. So, while many diocese celebrate this for teenagers, we might more appropriately think of it as something received in youth or in the Eastern Catholic tradition, soon after birth. How can we come to think of Confirmation as more than just a mere living out more fully of one’s baptism and more frequent reception of the Eucharist?
