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Confirmation 01-09

- Praying

Confirmation
01-08

Introduction to Confirmation	01
Rite of Confirmation with Commentary	02
Who Should be a Sponsor	03
What should Sponsors and Confirmandi do	04

01 Confirmation Introduction

Confirmation is the third of the Sacrament of Initiation and makes a person a full-fledge Catholic. Once a person has received the Sacrament of Confirmation he or she is to take personal responsibility for his or her own faith.

02 Rite of Confirmation with Commentary

PRESENTATION OF THE CANDIDATES After the gospel, the bishop with miter and crosier moves directly to the top of the main aisle. The pastor approaches the microphone to present the candidates for Confirmation. When more than one parish is participating in the liturgy, each pastor presents his candidates. Pastor: Candidates for confirmation, please stand. Bishop, I am pleased to present to you the candidates from ___ parish. If possible, each candidate is called by name. If there are many candidates, they are not called by name, but simply stand in their pews. Bishop: Father ___, have they been prepared and are they ready to receive this sacrament? Pastor: in these or similar words: These candidates have prepared for Confirmation by participating in the sacramental life of the Church, by meditating on the word of God, by attending religion classes, by participating in a retreat and other activities, and by demonstrating Christian service. They have found strength in God’s grace and support in our community’s prayer and example. Now they ask to be confirmed and, after consultation with their teachers and parents, I testify that they are ready.	The pastor of the parish presents those people who are about to be confirmed to the bishop because it is important for the bishop to know that the people who are about to be confirmed have been prepared well and that they know what they are about to commit themselves to.
AFFIRMATION BY THE SPONSORS The bishop turns toward the assembly. He invites the sponsors to stand. Bishop: My dear sponsors, the Christian life and the demands that flow from the sacraments are not to be taken lightly. Therefore, before granting these candidates their request to receive the sacrament of confirmation, it is important that the Church also hear the testimony of their sponsors who have journeyed with them. Are these candidates ready to be confirmed today? Sponsors: They are.	The preparation for the Sacrament is not a test in which the individual must do alone but rather is sort of an apprenticeship. The sponsor is to share with and mentor the person about to be confirmed in such a way that begin to pray like an adult, serve the community as an adult, and take responsibility for their faith like an adult.
AFFIRMATION BY THE ASSEMBLY The bishop speaks to the assembly. Bishop: I ask you, my brothers and sisters in this assembly: Should these, our brothers and sisters, be confirmed today? Assembly: Yes.	The Catholic community is asked if these people are to be confirmed because they too have a stake at who is made an adult in their faith. We will count on them to be fellow servants in the vineyard of the Lord.
CANDIDATES’ DECLARATION OF INTENT Bishop: My dear candidates, your pastor, sponsors, families and fellow parishioners have testified on your behalf. Are you ready now to receive the sacrament of confirmation? Candidates: I am. The candidates, sponsors, and pastors are seated.	Finally the candidates stand and announce that this is what they want and that they are not being forced and they know this because of the time they have put into their preparation.
HOMILY OR INSTRUCTION The bishop then gives a brief homily. He explains the readings and so leads the candidates, their sponsors and parents, and the whole assembly to a deeper understanding of the mystery of Confirmation.	We are all caught up into the mystery of the Spirit and we can use all the advice that we can get in order to live the life God is calling us too.
RENEWAL OF BAPTISMAL PROMISES After the homily the candidates stand the bishop questions them: Bishop: Do you reject Satan and all his works and all his empty promises? Candidates: I do. Bishop: Do you believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth? Candidates: I do. Bishop: Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father? Candidates: I do. Bishop: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who came upon the apostles at Pentecost and today is given to you sacramentally in Confirmation? Candidates: I do. Bishop: Do you believe in the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? Candidates: I do. The bishop confirms their profession of faith by proclaiming the faith of the Church: Bishop: This is our faith. This is the faith of the Church. We are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus our Lord. All: Amen.	In a very special way the candidates become a part of the community by agreeing to hold the same things that we hold dear to our hearts dear to their heart. Their is a unity that comes from reciting together what one believes.
THE LAYING ON OF HANDS The bishop faces the people and with hands joined, sings or says: Bishop: My dear friends: in Baptism God our Father gave the new birth of eternal life to his chosen sons and daughters. Let us pray to our Father that he will pour out the Holy Spirit to strengthen his sons and daughters with his gifts and anoint them to be more like Christ the Son of God. All pray in silence for a short time. The bishop alone extends hands over the candidates and says the prayer. No one else in the assembly extends hands. Bishop: All-powerful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by water and the Holy Spirit you freed your sons and daughters from sin and gave them new life. Send your Holy Spirit upon them to be their Helper and Guide. Give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence. Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in your presence. We ask this through Christ our Lord. All: Amen.	This ancient gesture of laying on of hands invokes the Holy Spirit upon those to be confirmed like the priests invokes the Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood at Mass.
THE ANOINTING WITH CHRISM The deacon or priest brings the chrism to the bishop. Each candidate goes to the bishop, or the bishop may go to the individual candidates. The one who presented the candidate [sponsor] places his right hand on the latter’s shoulder and gives the candidate’s name to the bishop; or the candidate may give his own name. The bishop dips his right thumb in the chrism and makes the sign of cross on the forehead of the one to be confirmed, as he says: Bishop: N., be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Newly Confirmed: Amen. Bishop: Peace be with you. Newly Confirmed: And also with you.	Chrism is a special oil in the Church and in a real way invokes the Holy Spirit in a physical form. We do not have to wonder if they have the Holy Spirit for we through the sacrament can see them getting it.

03 Choosing A Confirmation Sponsor

When choosing a Sponsor for yourself, it is important to choose a person who is grounded in the fundamentals of the Catholic Faith. It would not make much sense for you to choose a person who has never played baseball before to become your hitting instructor and in much the same way it makes very little sense to choose someone who does not know his or her faith and does not practice his or her faith to be your sponsor.
Does the person you are considering asking to be your sponsor attend Sunday Mass every week even when on vacation? Once again you would not choose a person to be your coach if he or she was not going to show up for the games.
Does the person you are considering celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation on a regular basis? Part of our faith is admitting our sinfulness and our need for God’s grace. Going to Confession is sometimes a hard thing for us to do but once again you would not want for a coach someone who simply skips the hard physical exercises and so your spiritual coach should be one that does not avoid the hard spiritual things.
Make sure your sponsor is a person of prayer. Faith above all is a personal relationship with God. We call communicating with God prayer and so it is important that your sponsor be able to teach you the signs of God’s presence much like a third base coach helps relay the manager’s will to the runner through the relaying of signs. It is helpful to have a spiritual coach that knows the signs of God’s presence and can teach you how to communicate effectively with him.
Make sure your sponsor is proud to be a Catholic. Is he or she willing to show their pride by the way they dress or through praying in public? You would not hire a coach who would not wear the team’s uniform.
Is the person you are considering to be your sponsor a person who does some sort of service work to help those who are less fortunate? By helping those in need your potential sponsor shows him or herself to be a real team player much like the coach who takes the extra time to play catch with a player who needs a little more practice.
Can your potential sponsor help you understand the history of the ball game? It would be hard to choose someone as a coach if they did not know who Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle was. Does your potential sponsor know the history of his or her faith or have some favorite saints?
Is your potential sponsor still trying to improve him or herself? It is always important for coaches as well as athletes to continue to learn more and more about the game. Someone truly serious about his or her faith knows that faith is a lifelong process.
Is your potential sponsor a fan of his or her faith? Does he or she cherish the opportunities to pray and serve others? Once again you would not want someone to be your coach if they no longer liked the game.
Would your potential sponsor take the time to make sure you would succeed? A coach that is too busy too coach is not a coach at all. Make sure to ask you sponsor to take time to meet with you and talk about your faith.
Is your potential sponsor someone who will help you know wrong from right and help you live a moral life? You can’t play the game of baseball without rules.
Is your potential sponsor ready to push you to be your best? If a coach is unwilling to push you to be your best then he or she is not much of a coach. You will never learn to hit better if your coach only throws the ball underhanded to you.

04 What should Sponsors and Confirmandi do?

	The first thing you should do with your sponsor is to talk to your sponsor about your faith life and how you can grow in your faith. Imagine you and your sponsor are setting up a training routine so that you can grow in your faith.
	The second thing you should do is practice your faith together from time to time. Go to Mass together, pray together, and talk about your faith. As a baseball player gets better by playing catch with someone so practicing your faith with someone helps you grow also.
	Celebrate your faith together. Talk about your God given talents and how you can best use them for the good of the Church and the world. A ball player must always hone his or her skills & cheer others on.
	Repent together. We all know that we make mistakes and so talking with your sponsor about your sins and how you can avoid them in the future is a good idea. Think of it as watching game film with your coach in order to improve.
	Learn together. Take some time to learn about the Church and all it teaches. A good athlete never stops learning. He or she, with his or her coach, takes the time to learn more about the game.
	Support one another. Being a Catholic is not an easy choice. Sometimes it means being rejected by others and sometimes it means doing without. Catholics therefore need to support each other.
	Encourage one another. No one is perfect and so we need people to encourage us to keep trying even if we swing and miss. In much the same way we need to encourage others including our sponsor.
	Tour different churches and shrines with your sponsor. It might be a good idea if you and your sponsor took the time to explore different churches and shrines. Just as taking in a ballgame at a different stadium can help you grow in your appreciation of the game so can visiting different churches and shrines and talking about your experience.
	Celebrate your milestones with your sponsor. Go out with your sponsor on the day of your baptism or on another special day significant to your faith development. Think of you and your coach celebrating your call up to the majors or your first hit.
	Perform some sort of service project together. A big part of what it means to be a Catholic is answering Jesus’ call to serve the less fortunate. Choose a service activity to do together like working at a soup kitchen or helping some elderly person with their yard for example. Your relationship with your sponsor will grow to be like that of a pitcher and catcher and you will be more likely to go to your sponsor with questions of faith.
	Take the time to go the extra mile especially after you are confirmed and meet with your sponsor either weekly or once a month to talk about your faith. You will be like the player who always signs up for extra batting practice and you will show others how serious you take your faith.
	Finally take the time to talk to your sponsor about how to avoid sin because just as a fielder wants to avoid errors while playing defense we too want to avoid sin because it separates us from God.