A. The Divine institution of the Sacrament of Confirmation is proved from Scripture and Tradition.
A. The Divine institution of the Sacrament of Confirmation is proved from Scripture and Tradition.
Confirmation, so called from its chief effect, is a Sacrament by which he who has been baptized receives strength fearlessly to confess his Faith, and faithfully to live up to its teachings. That Confirmation is of Divine institution is proved both indirectly by the usage and teachings of the Church, which numbers Confirmation among the Seven Sacraments, and directly from Scripture and Tradition.
I. In the Acts of the Apostles we read that St. Peter and St. John went to Samaria to lay their hands upon
those who were baptized,
that they might receive the Holy Ghost (Acts 8: 14-17). By the Holy Ghost is
understood here, as in other passages, grace strictly so called, not gratuitous gifts, which were likewise often
communicated in Confirmation (Acts 19: 56), since no limitation is added, as, for instance, the spirit of
prophecy. There can be no doubt that it was by command of Christ that the Apostles, who were, not the authors,
but the dispensers of the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 4: 1), performed this ceremony, with which inward grace
was connected; whence we must conclude that it is of Divine institution.
II. Many passages are to be found in the fathers and ecclesiastical writers which prove that Confirmation
existed in the first ages of the Church, and that it is, therefore, of Divine institution. Tertullian (de res. carn. c. 8)
thus speaks of the three Sacraments which were usually administered to the catechumens on the same day: The body is
washed that the soul may be cleansed [Baptism]; the body is anointed that the soul may be sanctified; the body is
signed that the soul may be fortified; the body is overshadowed by the imposition of hands that the soul may be
nourished of God [Holy Eucharist].
Similarly St. Cyprian (ep. 73, ad Jubaian. n. 9), St. Jerome
(dial. cont. Luc. n. 9), and various early synods. Not to mention other proofs, if we consider the belief
of the Greek Church and of the Oriental (schismatic) sects, who reckon Confirmation among the Seven Sacraments,
we obtain an incontrovertible historical evidence of the Church's belief in its sacramental character.
B. The imposition of hands and anointing with Chrism, accompanied by certain words, constitute the matter and form, or complete sign, of Confirmation.
I. The rite of Confirmation consists in the imposition of hands and the anointing with Chrism, accompanied
by certain words or prayers. First, the minister of Confirmation extends his hands over those to be confirmed, and prays
that God may send down the Holy Ghost and His Seven Gifts upon them. Then he anoints them individually with Chrism on the
forehead with his thumb, in the form of a Cross, holding in the mean time his hand on the head of the person to be confirmed,
and saying: I sign thee with the sign of the Cross, and I confirm thee with the Chrism of salvation, in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Finally, he turns to the altar and offers up some prayers, and again
directing himself to those just confirmed, he makes the sign of the Cross over all together, with these words:
May the Lord bless you from Sion, that you may see the blessings of Jerusalem all the days of your life, and that you
may have eternal life.
II. That this ceremony, prescribed in the Latin Church, and used with slight variations by the Greeks, constitutes the full sign – or matter and form – of Confirmation is beyond doubt. We do not, however, mean to assert that all these details essentially belong to the Sacrament.
According to the common opinion the proximate matter is the anointing with Chrism
(a mixture of olive oil and balsam blessed by the Bishop) together with imposition of hands. The earliest Fathers
of the Church testify to the unction with Chrism, and the Council of Florence calls Chrism the matter of the Sacrament.
The Fathers as well as the Scriptures themselves, however, seem to regard the imposition of hands as an essential element.
The form consists of the words pronounced by the minister during the imposition of the hand and unction with Chrism:
I sign thee...
(as above). For by these words the matter and the action receive their full signification –
the imparting of spiritual strength.
C. Besides augmenting sanctifying grace, Confirmation perfects the spiritual life of the soul.
I. As a Sacrament of the living Confirmation produces an increase of sanctifying grace; for of those confirmed by the Apostles it is said that they received the Holy Ghost (Acts 8: 17), whereby we are to understand a greater fulness of sanctifying grace, of which the Holy Ghost is the Dispenser.
II. The special sacramental grace of Confirmation is the maturity of the supernatural life – strength to profess our Faith and fortitude in the combat against the enemies of salvation. Therefore it imprints a character which marks the recipient as a soldier of Christ. These effects are signified both by the matter and the form.
In Holy Scripture oil symbolizes abundance and gladness. Unction signifies strength and activity; for combatants anointed themselves with oil before entering the arena. Balsam, with which the oil is mixed, implies the preservation of the soul from corruption or sin, and the sweet odor of sanctity imparted to the soul. The repeated use of the Sign of the Cross points to the characteristic virtue of the soldier of Christ, that is, patience in the endurance of insults for Christ's sake, which is also indicated by the blow on the cheek. By the imposition of the Bishop's hand is signified the communication of the sacramental graces, as well as the reception into the ranks of the soldiers of Christ.
D. The ordinary minister of Confirmation is the Bishop; by papal delegation, however, a priest may become its extraordinary minister.
I. The Apostles alone, whose successors the bishops are, as we may see from Holy Scripture, administered
Confirmation to those who had been baptized by inferior ministers (Acts 8: 14). The earliest synods mention only
bishops as the ministers of this Sacrament. And, indeed, it seems reasonable that soldiers should be received and enrolled
in the ranks by the leaders under whose banner they are to fight. The Council of Florence (Decret. pro Armen.)
calls the Bishop the ordinary minister of Confirmation; and the Council of Trent (Sess. VII de Confirm. can. 3)
anathematizes those who assert that the ordinary minister of Confirmation is not the bishop alone,
but any simple priest.
II. A simple priest by papal delegation may be the extraordinary minister of Confirmation. The priest, not possessing the fullness of sacerdotal power, requires the delegation of him who has received all power from Christ. The Council of Florence (ibid.) in reference to this fact declares that by dispensation of the Holy See, for reasonable and urgent causes, a simple priest may sometimes administer the Sacrament of Confirmation with Chrism consecrated by the Bishop. In the Greek Church priests usually administer Confirmation; but although they receive this power directly through their bishops, yet it is granted by papal delegation, as the popes have long sanctioned, or at least tolerated, this custom among the Greeks.
E. Everyone who is baptized can receive Confirmation validly; to receive it worthily, however, the state of grace is required.
I. Why Baptism must precede Confirmation as well as all other Sacraments has already been explained (in the section on the Sacraments in General). That Confirmation can be validly administered to anyone who is baptized follows from the fact that no act of preparation is necessary on the part of the recipient.
Since the Sacraments operate of their own inherent virtue (ex opere operato), and since Confirmation – unlike Matrimony, which being a contract requires mutual consent, and, unlike Penance, the matter of which are the acts of the penitent – requires no particular act on the part of the recipient for its validity, even a child under the age of discretion can validly receive it. In the early ages the custom of confirming infants was common in the Church, as it remained among the Greeks. The prevailing custom, however, to defer this Sacrament at least to the age of discretion is a laudable one, as thus the recipient is better prepared and disposed to reap its fruits; and, on the other had, it is at this time that its special graces begin to be necessary for Christian life (especially as a soldier of Christ).
All are, in virtue of a divine precept, bound to receive Confirmation. The very institution of this Sacrament by Christ is proof sufficient that He wishes the faithful to receive it. This obligation is all the more urgent for those who, on the one hand, are able to fulfill it without great difficulty, and on the other hand, are exposed to the danger of losing their Faith.
II. As Confirmation is a Sacrament of the living, in order to receive it worthily one must be in the state of grace. He who would present himself knowingly in the state of grievous sin would forfeit the effects of Confirmation until he should again be reconciled to God, and at the same time make himself guilty of a sacrilege by the unworthy reception of the Sacrament.
Sponsors in Confirmation incur the same obligation towards those for whom they stand as do the sponsors in Baptism; they contract also a similar spiritual relationship.
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