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Confirmation - Gifts of the Holy Spirit

By RH

    The day the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles, they were afraid, hiding and uncertain of what to do next. Are you aware that the gifts the apostles received are the same gifts that we receive in Confirmation? The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us:

“Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the ‘sacraments of Christian initiation” and that the reception of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of

baptismal grace. For by the sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by work and deed.”

We can all ask ourselves - are we true witnesses of Christ and are we doing what we should to help spread the faith?

    When we go through Confirmation classes, we have the opportunity to make the choice of receiving the Holy Spirit and all His power, or to ignore the outpouring of the Spirit and go on living without His power. There is hope that, even though the Spirit was ignored by a young person at Confirmation, as they age they might change their mind and search for help in receiving these powers.

    The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “the moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, piety, fortitude (courage), fear of the Lord (reverence, respect).

    There is more information about Confirmation in the Catechism of the Catholic Church beginning at number 1285.