Sacrament of Confirmation

The Sacrament of Confirmation

We are baptized and confirmed so that we are made able to participate fully in the Eucharist. Participating fully in the celebration of Eucharist includes being nourished on the Word of God, receiving the Body and Blood of Christ and being sent to live as the Body of Christ in the world. Our full sharing in the Eucharist is the event that draws us into communion of life in God.

Confirmation is not a sacrament of maturity; it is a sacrament of initiation. Those who seek to be confirmed are asking to deepen their relationship with Christ and the believing community. They are anointed with sacred chrism to seal their baptism. The candidate is confirmed using his or her baptismal name and is accompanied by a sponsor.

The sponsor is to be:

a Roman Catholic,
at least 16 years of age,
a fully initiated member of the Church
a faithful active participant at the Sunday Eucharist. (Canon Law 893, 874)
The sponsor is a guide, witness, and companion for the candidate on their journey of faith. A parent may not be a sponsor.

Confirmation is the sacrament which empowers us to celebrate the Eucharist in a new and more dynamic way through the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are sent out from the Sunday Eucharist as people whose mission it is to witness to Christ in the world. The Spirit given us in Confirmation enables us to give a powerful and effective witness to Christ’s presence.

Immediate preparation for the celebration of Confirmation begins each year in September. Please read the Parish bulletin for specific dates.

Adults who did not receive Confirmation as children, or adults or children who are not baptized in the Roman Catholic Church and desire to participate fully in Eucharist through reception of Confirmation are invited to speak with the Priest about the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).

(We would like to thank Catherine Ecker (catherineecker56@gmail.com), who is the principal author.)

Here at St. Elizabeth Seton, registrations for those school age children who would like to celebrate the completion of their baptism usually take place during the month of September.  Registration forms can be picked up at any of the weekend masses and must be returned, accompanied by their Baptismal Certificate by the last Sunday of September.

We host an information meeting for parents and candidates generally in the first or second week of October.  The candidates are expected to attend mass each week and they will be provided with a reflection form that they fill out and return each mass.  the reflection form is based on a catechetical tool called "Breaking Open of the Word" where they are invited to reflect on how the Word of God speaks to them that day and what it means to them for living out their lives as a Eucharistic person.

We host two retreats for the candidates, one before Christmas and one before the celebration of the sacrament itself.  Along with these retreats, they will be divided into small groups with whom they will be confirmed.  They meet for small group meetings, usually 5 or 6 of them with parish leaders who facilitate the meetings.  These small group meetings constitute an immediate, spiritual preparation for Confirmation.  

Please note that if the child is not enrolled in the Catholic school system, they will also be responsible for attending catechetical sessions, what some might consider to be 'Sunday School'.  In the Catholic School curriculum, the young people are being prepared for Confirmation through the religion program that spends two years unpacking the mystery of what it means to be a Confirmed Catholic.

There is a public component to the journey to Confirmation that kind of parallels the RCIA rituals.  The first thing is the young people petition the Bishop to be allowed to celebrate their Confirmation.  It is referred toa s a letter of intent.  They write to the Bishop explaining why they want to be Confirmed.  Then, when they are finally give the go ahead to participate in the Sacrament, they are publicly accepted as official candidates and presented with a cross.  Then they celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation usually during the Easter season and preferably close to Pentencost, the last Sunday of the Easter season.