The document discusses the Catholic sacraments, particularly Confirmation. It provides scriptural references for Confirmation from the Old and New Testaments. There are six effects of Confirmation: it imprints a character, enriches one with the Holy Spirit, binds one more perfectly to the Church, strengthens one, and obliges one to spread and defend the faith through word and deed as a witness to Christ. The requirements for valid Confirmation are to be baptized, properly instructed, and able to renew one's baptismal promises. The ordinary minister is the bishop, who performs the sacrament through imposition of hands and anointing with chrism.

3. “The desire for God is written in the
human heart, because man is created
by God and for God; and God never
ceases to draw man to himself.”
(CCC 27)

4. “Only in God will he find the truth
and happiness he never stops
searching for.” (CCC 27)
It is through the sacraments that God
comes to us and draws near to us.

5. “He acts through the sacraments in the
sacramental economy; this is the
communication of the fruits of Christ’s
paschal mystery in the celebration of the
Church’s sacramental liturgy.” (CCC
1076)
“He acts through the sacraments in the
sacramental economy; this is the
communication of the fruits of Christ’s
paschal mystery in the celebration of the
Church’s sacramental liturgy.” (CCC
1076)

6. Places a special mark on us
which sets us apart as belonging
to Jesus Christ.

7. The imprinting of the baptismal character
which enables the person to receive the
other Sacraments, to participate in the
priesthood of Christ through the Sacred
Liturgy and to grow in the likeness of
Christ through Personal sanctification.

8. “A Sacrament of Love in
which Christ is eaten, the
mind is filled with grace,
and a pledge is given to
us of future glory.”
The Catholic Catechism (458)

9. “I tell you most solemnly,
if you do not eat the flesh
of the Son of Man and
drink his blood, you will
not have life in you.
Anyone who does eat my
flesh and drink my blood
has eternal life, and I
shall raise him up on the
last day.” (John 6:48)

10. “I believe in my heart and openly profess that the bread
and wine placed upon the altar are, by the mystery of the
Sacred prayer and the words of the Redeemer, substantially
Changed into the true and life-giving flesh and blood of Jesus
Christ our Lord, and that after the consecration, there is present
the true body of Christ which was born of the Virgin, and,
offered up for the salvation of the world, hung on the cross and
now sits at the right hand of the Father, and that there is present
the true blood of Christ which flowed from his side. They are
present not only by means of a sign and of the efficacy of the
sacrament, but also in the very reality and truth of their nature
and substance.” Fourth Roman Council, The Most Holy Eucharist: Denzinger 355
(CC461)

11. “Those who approach the sacrament of
Penance obtain pardon from God’s
mercy for the offense committed against
him, and are at the same time, reconciled
with the Church which they have
wounded by their sins and which by
charity, by example, and by prayer labors
for their conversion.” (CCC1422)

12. St. Ambrose says of the
two conversions that are
in the Church,
“there are water
and tears:
The water of Baptism
The tears of Repentance”

13. “Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the
mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues
to be exercised in the Church until the end of time.”

14. “Peace be with you. As the
Father sent me so am I
sending you.” After saying
this he breathed on them
and said: “Receive the Holy
Spirit. For those whose sins
you forgive, they are
forgiven; for those whose
sins you retain, they are
retained.” (John 20:20-23)

15. “The matrimonial covenant,
by which a man and a
woman establish between
themselves a partnership of
the whole of life, is by its
nature ordered toward the
good of the spouses and the
procreation and education of
offspring; this covenant
between baptized persons has
been raised by Christ the
Lord to the dignity of a
sacrament.” (CCC 1601)

16. “Father, you have made the
union of man and woman so
holy a mystery that it
symbolizes the marriage of
Christ and his Church.”
(The Catholic Catechism 536)

17. “By the sacred anointing of the sick
and the prayer of the priests the whole
church commends those who are ill to
the suffering and glorified Lord, that
he may raise them up and save them.
And indeed she exhorts them to
contribute to the good of the People
of God by freely uniting themselves
to the Passion and death of Christ.”
CCC 1499

18. The grace of this
sacrament confers the
union of the sick person to
the passion of Christ and
strengthens the soul to
endure in a Christian
manner the sufferings of
illness or old age.

19. “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.” (CCC 1285)

20. All of the Sacraments
confer sanctifying grace
and this is the invisible
work of the Holy Spirit,
but Confirmation
procures a new gift of
the Spirit, a new gift of
grace, adapted to the
special functions
conferred by
confirmation.

21. Learning Goals
1. What are the scriptural references for
the Sacrament of Confirmation?
2. What are the six effects of the
Sacrament?
3. What are the requirements for the
Sacrament?

22. Confirmation comes from the Latin word,

23. The references speak in terms of the out
pouring of the Spirit as a promise from God.
Isaiah 44:3
Ezekial 39:28-29
Joel 3:1

24. John 7:37-39
John 14:16-17, 26
John 16:7, 13
As the Prophets of the Old Testament had foretold the
outpouring of the Spirit of God as a characteristic of the
Messianic era, so also did Jesus promise this to His
Apostles and all the future of the faithful.

25. Acts 1:4-5
Acts 2:1-4
Acts 8:14-17
Acts 19:1-7
These references indicate a distinction between Baptism and
this gift of the Holy Spirit which was given through the
Apostles to the early Christians by the imposition of hands.

26. What does the Church teach today?
Code of Canon Law 879
The sacrament of confirmation confers a
character. By it the baptized continue their path
of Christian initiation. They are enriched with the
gift of the Holy Spirit, and are more closely linked
to the Church. They are made strong and more
firmly obliged by word and deed to witness to
Christ and to spread and defend the faith.

27. It states from the beginning that a requirement for the
Sacrament of Confirmation is to be baptized.
Six Effects of the Sacrament
1. A character is impressed – this is the same notion as the sphragis.
2. The baptized are enriched by the gift of the Holy Spirit.
3. They are also bound more perfectly to the Church.
4. The Sacrament of Confirmation strengthens them.
6. They are also obliged to spread and defend the Faith.
5. They are obliged more firmly to be witnesses to Christ by
both word and deed.

28. Four Requirements for a Sacrament
3. Subject
2. Matter
4. Ordinary Minister
1. Form

29. For the Sacrament of Confirmation
“(Name), be sealed with the gift of
the Holy Spirit.”
The candidate replies “Amen.”
For the Sacrament of Confirmation

30. For the Sacrament of Confirmation
Consists of both the imposition of hands
as well as the anointing with chrism.
- “… the matter is chrism made of oil,
which symbolizes purity of conscience,
and balsam whose perfume signifies good
repute, blessed by the bishop.”
Council of Florence 1317

31. For the Sacrament of Confirmation
Every baptized person who is not confirmed,
and only such a person, is capable of receiving
confirmation.
“Apart from the danger of death, to receive
confirmation lawfully a person who has the use
of reason must be suitably instructed, properly
disposed and able to renew the baptismal
promises.” Canon 889, 1-2

32. For the Sacrament of Confirmation
“The ordinary minister is the bishop. Whereas other
anointings (Baptism and Anointing of the Sick) may be
conferred by a simple priest, this may not be conferred
except by the bishop. For it is of the apostles alone,
whose place is held by the bishops, that we read that they
gave the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, as a
reading of the Acts of the Apostle shows:

33. “Now when the Apostles, who were in
Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria had received
the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and
John. Who, when they came, prayed for them,
that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For he
was not yet come upon any of them; but they
were only baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Then they laid their hands upon them,
and they received the Holy Spirit.”

34. 1. Sacramentum tantum – sign only
2. Res et sacramentum – reality and the sign
3. Res tantum – reality only

35. For the Sacrament of Confirmation
Consists of the parts of the Sacrament
perceived by the senses – the form and
the matter, the latter being both the
imposition of hands as well as the
anointing with chrism.

36. For the Sacrament of Confirmation
Is the intermediate level of
penetration. In Confirmation, it is
the imposition of the sacramental
character that marks out man as
especially strengthened by the Holy
Spirit. He also is deputed to
Christian witness.

37. For the Sacrament of Confirmation
Is both the sanctifying grace that
increases in the individual the
supernatural life given him in Baptism
as well as the sacramental grace that
enables him to perform those tasks
required of him by the Sacrament.

38. 1. Fulfillment of Baptism
2. Confirmation Name
3. Sponsor
4. Service projects
5. Interview
6. Letter

39. How well have you lived up to the obligation you
assumed on the day of your confirmation?
How much have you done, by both word and deed, to
spread and defend the Faith?