Confirmation
The Sacrament of Confirmation is one of the Sacraments of Initiation. A person is considered a full member of the Catholic Church when he or she has received the Sacrament of Confirmation. By this anointing, the person being Confirmed receives the "mark" -- the Seal of the Holy Spirit. The seal of the Holy Spirit marks our total belonging to Christ and our enrollment in His service for ever.
The Parish Religious Education Program prepares Confirmation students in the Seventh and the Eighth Grades. Preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation encourages Confirmation students to complete a certain number of service hours and to participate in the Diocese Youth Summit or the Parish Confirmation Retreat. Students are required to complete the Sixth Grade religious-education year, in order to receive Confirmation in Seventh or Eight Grade. The parish also offers guidance to older children and adult Catholics who are seeking to be Confirmed in the OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults) program.
If you are an adult, or have an older child, who would like to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, please contact the Parish Office for more information (815-589-3542).
Diocese of Rockford Sacramental Requirements
Biblical Background to Confirmation:
The Catechism (the official teachings of the Catholic Church) states in the glossary, "Confirmation completes the grace of Baptism by a special outpouring of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, which seal or "confirm" the baptized in union with Christ and equip them for active participation in the worship and apostolic life of the Church", (CCC) Confirmation is closely linked to that of Baptism, but offers more graces in view of the calling received at Confirmation. All those who are confirmed are called to bring Christ into the world. They are called to become "soldiers for Christ" . This not the type of soldier that does violence to others, but is a spiritual empowering to "spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ..." (CCC#1303) so Confirmation is a type of sending-out. it is a calling that every Catholic is is to make ever more present in the world.
This is testified in the Bible by the first major act of the Holy Spirit for the Church at Pentecost (Acts 2). There were about three thousand souls baptized that day. It is assumed here that Confirmation was part of the baptisms. To this day, the eastern Church celebrates Confirmations with Baptisms. Yet they do recognize them as a separate Sacrament. After a while, they noticed some had not received the Holy Spirit as in Confirmations when they were baptized, "they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts8:16) Peter and John, though, did not re-baptize them, but, rather, "laid their hand on them and they received the Holy Spirit" (v17). This is considered Confirmation, since it was not a baptism with water and the Holy Spirit. But here, we can see that it is a completion of the graces of the baptism. In verses fourteen and fifteen they recognized the need to send, "them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit". They recognized the baptism, but needed to be prayed over for the manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 19, Paul is presented with people who were baptized by John the Baptist, but not in the Trinitarian form that Jesus gave in Matthew 28. Again, we do not see here a re-baptism, but a completion of the baptismal graces by the laying on on of hands and praying over them in verse six. As a result, they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Baptism is for the salvation of the person baptized and there is not a sending forth as of yet. In confirmation is where there is a sending forth as is testified, "...the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues and prophesied." Speaking in tongues and prophesying is not for ones own salvation, but for the good of others. This, speaks of service for the good of others. It is a sending forth that we find in confirmation.
Ephesians recognizes the calling we all have and how, "In him you also...were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit." (Eph 1:13) This is where we understand that the Gift of the Holy Spirit becomes for us an indelible character on our soul, as a "seal" which recognizes permanence. This makes Paul write of the Holy Spirit as, "...the guarantee of our inheritance until the we acquire possession of it...." (Eph 1:14). We will have that inheritance on a permanent basis, but until then it is a promise that we have faith in. The Holy Spirit is the seal of that promise and He will not let us go.
When Catholics think of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit that we receive at Confirmation, we do not refer to Corinthians 12. We recognize these gifts as the Charismatic Gifts, given by the Holy Spirit, but are not necessarily given at Confirmation. The purpose of the Charismatic gifts differ in purpose and in it's fruits. They have specific purposes for specific times. Rather, the Church recognizes the Gifts of the Holy Spirit as the gift of God Himself as stated in Isaiah 11:2. The Bible states in the Old Testament passage, "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord..." (Is 11:1-2). When you look at these gifts, they have more permanence to make us faithful followers of Jesus. They are underlying strengths that are readily accessible to the confirmed when called upon. When we are confirmed, we are empowered to become more like Christ who has died for us and bring His grace to those whom we meet in our daily lives.
It is a sort of fruitfulness that Jesus expects of us in our free response to His grace we have received. After we are confirmed, God wants to work through us so that His name may be praised. As Catholics, we are to do our best to bear the fruits He calls us to. These fruits are found in Galatians 5:22-23. Here we find, "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control..." (Gal 5:22-23). When we live our lives for Christ, we should find this kind of fruitfulness of our actions. This is one way we can discern God's will for us. They help us to grow in holiness and gives us a rule of thumb by which we can discern habits to change or understand what kind of outcomes our actions may bring.
Three virtues that we receive from the Holy Spirit are the ones Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. These are, "faith, hope and love...these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13). We cannot love with the sacrificial love that is written about here by ourselves. We need that gift from God to help us. He gives us that gift in Confirmation. Similar to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit; God can give us those gifts, but it cannot bear any fruit if we do not cooperate with those gifts God gave us. A carpenter can have alot of great tools, it still doesn't do any good if the carpenter never picks them up. What good is it if God gives us all the treasures we need and we never invest them into the souls He wants to save through us? (Matthew 25:14-30). "Just Jesus and me" is diametrically opposed to the gospel message.
Confirmation, is an invitation to participation in the very glory of God in His works. He is the One that makes it happen. He just needs our "Yes" and cooperation.