What is Confirmation? How does it differ from Baptism? Is it obligatory for the baptized first?  

Newsroom (05/01/2022 10:03 AM, Gaudium Press ) After Baptism, every Catholic is born to a new life and is therefore in a state similar to that of an innocent baby, even if baptized as an adult.

In fact, the newly baptized is weak and small, so he needs to grow, to be robust and to be strengthened.

And if we are born through Baptism, it is through Confirmation that we obtain the growth, the strengthening, and the fortification that we need so much.

Nevertheless, not infrequently we meet people who find the reception of this Sacrament superfluous, because “it seems to be the same thing as Baptism,” they say. Is this so?

Confirming knowledge

What is the difference between Baptism and Confirmation?

Perhaps the main reason for this confusion is that in the early days of the Church both Baptism and Confirmation were administered together in the same rite. This was because it was the wish of all the faithful that it was the bishop who administered both Sacraments; which in fact was done.

However, as the number of churches grew, it became very difficult for a single bishop to administer both Sacraments to all the faithful. Henceforth, in the West, priests were authorized to administer Baptism, while Confirmation was reserved to be ordinarily administered by the bishop. In the Eastern Churches, however, both Sacraments were entrusted to priests, which is why to this day they are performed in the same rite.

Is there a difference between Confirmation and Chrismation?

In fact, the difference between Confirmation and chrismation is as follows: chrism is the oil used by the minister to anoint the faithful at the moment of Confirmation. Thus, by extension, some call the sacrament itself ‘chrismation’. In the East, Confirmation is called “Chrismation.”[1]

What is Confirmation properly?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Confirmation completes baptismal grace; it is the Sacrament which bestows the Holy Spirit to root us more deeply in divine sonship, to incorporate us more solidly in Christ, to make more firm the bond that ties us to the Church, to associate us more closely with Her mission and to help us bear witness to the Christian faith by word, accompanied by deeds.[2] Like Baptism, this Sacrament also imprints character.

Is Confirmation obligatory?

For salvation, no; but for complete Christian initiation, yes. For this reason the Code of Canon Law prescribes to all the faithful the obligation to receive this Sacrament in due time, under penalty of which – if through negligence or disregard they do not – they may gravely sin.[3]

Who may receive it?

“Every baptized person not yet confirmed can and should receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.”[4] “Latin custom for centuries has pointed to “the age of discretion“[5] as the point of reference for receiving Confirmation. In danger of death, however, children should be confirmed, even if they have not yet reached the age of discretion.”[6]

Moreover, “to receive Confirmation it is necessary to be in a state of grace. It is appropriate to have recourse to the Sacrament of Penance in order to be purified in view of the gift of the Holy Spirit. And a more intense prayer should prepare one to receive with docility and availability the strength and graces of the Holy Spirit.”[7]

Who can administer it? How?

The bishop administers the Sacrament, although he can grant this faculty to a priest if there is real need.[8] But “if a Christian is in danger of death, any priest can confer Confirmation on him.”[9]

In the West, its essential rite is the “anointing of the holy chrism on the forehead, done with the imposition of the hand, and by these words: ‘Accipe signaculum doni Spiritus Sancti’ – ‘Receive by this sign the Holy Spirit, the Gift of God.'”[10]

The effects of Confirmation

Thus the Catechism states:

1– It roots us more deeply in divine sonship, which leads us to say “Abba! Father!” (Rom 8:15);

2– it unites us more firmly to Christ

3– It increases in us the gifts of the Holy Spirit;

4– It makes more perfect the bond that unites us to the Church;

5– It gives us a special power of the Holy Spirit to propagate and defend the faith, by word and deed, as true witnesses of Christ; to confess with courage the name of Christ, and never to be ashamed of the Cross.

However, it is not only the Sacrament of Confirmation that strengthens us. Let us not forget that a child also needs to be nourished! But this is the role of the Eucharist, which we will deal with in a future article.

By Thiago Resende

[1] CEC 1289.

[2] CCC 1316.

[3] Cf. CCC 890.

[4] CCC 1306.

[The word “discretion” (discretio) is used here in its theological sense, which is quite different from its common usage. It means the ability to distinguish clearly good from evil, a discernment. This meaning corresponds to what is said in the Letter to the Hebrews: “But solid food is for the perfect, for those who by habit have their senses exercised to discern good and evil (ad discretionem boni ac mali)” (Heb 5:14). This capacity is attained, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, with the full use of reason, which is at age 12 for girls and 14 for boys (cf. Contra retrahentes XII, 8-9).]

[6] CEC 1307.

[7] CEC 1310.

[8] CEC 1313.

[9] Idem.

[10] CEC 1300.

Compiled by Sandra Chisholm