It is appropriate for a candidate to confirm the name given at Baptism. Choosing a Confirmation name helps put us in contact with our greater Christian story.
Since a sponsor has such a significant role to play in the development of the candidate for Confirmation, it is important that this person be one who is a living example of faith, one whose actions reflect the actions of Jesus. A Confirmation sponsor offers support and encouragement during the Confirmation preparation process.
During the Confirmation ceremony sponsors bring the candidates forward and present them to the bishop. Evangelisation Brisbane and Liturgy Brisbane have developed the following resources to assist with preparation for Confirmation in the Archdiocese of Brisbane.
For example, the record of the confirmation of St. Katharine Drexel was lost, but it is assumed she received it in at the then-relatively early age of 11 when she received first Communion from Archbishop James Wood at Sacred Heart Convent.
See the new rules setting reception of confirmation in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia at grades seven and eight, here. The change to earlier confirmation really began after when Pope St. Pius X decreed Eucharist should he permitted at the age of discretion use of reason , typically about 7 years of age.
Although it was not stated, many assumed this would also be the age for confirmation, but not usually at the same ceremony because confirmation except in special circumstance is administered by the bishop. Initiation thus consisted of one event with several moments. The climax was the celebration of the Eucharist. Christianity also spread from the cities into the countryside. It became impossible for bishops, who were now also involved in governing, to preside at every Baptism.
The bishops of the East solved the problem by delegating the Sacraments of Initiation to the presbyter, reserving for themselves only the blessing of the oil used in the rite. To this day the Eastern churches initiate with all three sacraments at once. The bishops of the West also delegated Baptism to priests, but retained the function of performing the initial anointing and laying on of hands. This they would do whenever they visited a particular locality.
Thus, in the West the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation was done at a later time than the celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism. Baptism was the sacrament of the initial gift of the Spirit, while Confirmation was the sacrament of the fullness of the Spirit with his seven gifts. When in the Middle Ages it became the practice to confirm close to adolescence instead of infancy, theologians began to teach that Confirmation was the sacrament of maturity.
Necessity Regarding the obligation of receiving the sacrament , it is admitted that confirmation is not necessary as an indispensable means of salvation necessitate medii. This is especially true of those who suffer persecution on account of their religion or are exposed to grievous temptations against faith or are in danger of death. The more serious the danger so much greater is the need of protecting oneself". II, n. As to the gravity of the obligation , opinions differ, some theologians holding that an unconfirmed person would commit mortal sin if he refused the sacrament , others that the sin would be at most venial unless the refusal implied contempt for the sacrament.
Apart, however, from such controversies the importance of confirmation as a means of grace is so obvious that no earnest Christian will neglect it, and in particular that Christian parents will not fail to see that their children are confirmed. Sponsors The Church prescribes under pain of grievous sin that a sponsor, or godparent, shall stand for the person confirmed.
The sponsor should be at least fourteen years of age, of the same sex as the candidate, should have already received the Sacrament of Confirmation, and be well instructed in the Catholic Faith. From this office are excluded the father and mother of the candidate, members of a religious order unless the candidate be a religious , public sinners , and those who are under public ban of interdict or excommunication.
Except in case of necessity the baptismal godparent cannot serve as sponsor for the same person in confirmation. Where the opposite practice obtains, it should, according to a decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Council, 16 Feb.
The Second Plenary Council of Baltimore declared that each candidate should have a sponsor, or that at least two godfathers should stand for the boys and two godmothers for the girls n. See also prescriptions of the First Council of Westminster. Formerly it was customary for the sponsor to place his or her right foot upon the foot of the candidate during the administration of the sacrament ; the present usage is that the sponsor's right hand should be placed upon the right shoulder of the candidate.
The Holy Office decreed , 16 June, , that no sponsor could stand for more than two candidates except in case of necessity. The custom of giving a new name to the candidate is not obligatory ; but it has the sanction of several synodal decrees during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
The Fifth Council of Milan, under St. Charles Borromeo , insisted that a candidate whose name was "vile, ridiculous, or quite unbecoming for a Christian " should receive another at Confirmation" cf. It is clear from the diversity of practice at the present day, that there is much uncertainty as to the doctrine concerning confirmation.
It is certain that the sacrament is validly and lawfully administered in the Church ; but this does not solve the theological questions regarding its institution, matter , form , and minister.
At the time of the Council of Trent the difficulty was felt to be so great that the assembled Fathers contented themselves with only a few canons on the subject.
They defined that confirmation was not "a vain ceremony but a true and proper sacrament "; and that it was not "in olden days nothing but a sort of catechism in which those who were entering upon youth gave an account of their faith in the face of the Church " can. They did not define anything specific about the institution by Christ ; though in treating of the sacraments in general they had already defined that "all the sacraments of the New Law were instituted by Christ our Lord " Sess.
VII, can. Nothing whatever was said about the form of words to be used; and regarding the matter they merely condemned any one who should maintain "that they who ascribe any virtue to the sacred chrism of confirmation offer an outrage to the Holy Ghost " can. The third and last canon defined that the "ordinary" minister of the sacrament is a bishop only, and not any simple priest.
This guarded language, so different from the definite canons on some of the other sacraments , shows that the council had no intention of deciding the questions at issue among theologians regarding the time and manner of the institution by Christ direct or indirect institution , the matter imposition of hands or anointing, or both , the form "I sign thee", etc. Elsewhere Sess. XXIII the council declared that " bishops are superior to priests ; they administer the Sacrament of Confirmation; they ordain the ministers of the Church ; and they can perform many other things over which functions others of an inferior rank have no power".
Concerning the administration of the sacrament from the earliest times of the Church , the decree of the Inquisition Lamentabili sane, 3 July, condemns the proposition 44 : "There is no proof that the rite of the Sacrament of Confirmation was employed by the Apostles ; the formal distinction, therefore, between the two sacraments , Baptism and Confirmation, does not belong to the history of Christianity ".
The institution of the sacrament has also been the subject of much discussion as will appear from the following account. History The Sacrament of Confirmation is a striking instance of the development of doctrine and ritual in the Church. We can, indeed, detect much more than the mere germs of it in Holy Scripture ; but we must not expect to find there an exact description of the ceremony as at present performed, or a complete solution of the various theological questions which have since arisen.
It is only from the Fathers and the Schoolmen that we can gather information on these heads. Confirmation in the Bible We read in the Acts of the Apostles that after the Samaritan converts had been baptized by Philip the deacon, the Apostles "sent unto them Peter and John, who, when they were come, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost ; for he was not yet come upon any of them, but they were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus ; then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost ".
Again : St. Paul "came to Ephesus, and found certain disciples ; and he said to them: Have you received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? But they said to him: We have not so much as heard whether there be a Holy Ghost. And he said: In what then were you baptized? Who said: In John's baptism. Then Paul said: John baptized the people with the baptism of penance. Having heard these things, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul had imposed his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied ". From these two passages we learn that in the earliest ages of the Church there was a rite , distinct from baptism , in which the Holy Ghost was conferred by the imposition of hands dia tes epitheseos ton cheiron ton Apostolon , and that the power to perform this ceremony was not implied in the power to baptize.
No distinct mention is made as to the origin of this rite ; but Christ promised the gift of the Holy Ghost and conferred it. Again, no express mention is made of anointing with chrism ; but we note that the idea of unction is commonly associated with the giving of the Holy Ghost.
Christ Luke applies to Himself the words of Isaias : "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, wherefore he hath anointed me to preach the gospel ". John tells the faithful : "You have the unction chrisma from the Holy One , and know all things"; and again: "Let the unction [ chrisma ], which you have received from him, abide in you" 1 John A striking passage, which was made much use of by the Fathers and the Schoolmen , is that of St.
Paul : "He that confirmeth [ ho de bebaion ] us with you in Christ , and hath anointed us, is God , who also hath sealed [ sphragisamenos ] us, and given us the pledge [ arrabona ] of the Spirit in our hearts" 2 Corinthians No mention is made of any particular words accompanying the imposition of hands on either of the occasions on which the ceremony is described; but as the act of imposing hands was performed for various purposes, some prayer indicating the special purpose may have been used: "Peter and John.
Further, such expressions as "signing" and "sealing" may be taken as referring to the character impressed by the sacrament : "You were signed [ esphragisthete ] with the holy Spirit of promise"; "Grieve not the holy Spirit of God , whereby you are sealed [ esphragisthete ] unto the day of redemption " Ephesians ; See also the passage from Second Corinthians quoted above.
Again, in the Epistle to the Hebrews the writer reproaches those whom he addresses for falling back into their primitive imperfect knowledge of Christian truth ; "whereas for the time you ought to be masters, you have need to be taught again what are the first elements of the words of God" Hebrews He exhorts them: "leaving the word of the beginning of Christ , let us go on to things more perfect, not laying again the foundation.
It is clear that reference is made here to the ceremony of Christian initiation: baptism and the imposition of hands whereby the Holy Ghost was conferred, just as in Acts The ceremony is considered to be so well known to the faithful that no further description is necessary. This account of the practice and teaching of the Apostles proves that the ceremony was no mere examination of those already baptized , no mere profession of faith or renewal of baptismal vows. Nor was it something specially conferred upon the Samaritans and Ephesians.
What was done to them was an instance of what was generally bestowed. Nor was it a mere bestowal of charismata ; the Holy Ghost sometimes produced extraordinary effects speaking with divers tongues, etc.
The practice and teaching of the Church at the present day preserve the primitive type: the imposition of hands , the gift of the Holy Ghost , the privileges of the episcopate.
What further elements were handed down by tradition will be seen presently. Church Fathers In passing from Holy Scripture to the Fathers we naturally expect to find more definite answers to the various questions regarding the sacrament.
From both their practice and their teaching we learn that the Church made use of a rite distinct from baptism ; that this consisted of imposition of hands , anointing, and accompanying words; that by this rite the Holy Ghost was conferred upon those already baptized , and a mark or seal impressed upon their souls ; that, as a rule, in the West the minister was a bishop , whereas in the East he might be a simple priest. The Fathers considered that the rites of initiation baptism , confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist were instituted by Christ , but they did not enter into any minute discussion as to the time , place, and manner of the institution, at least of the second of these rites.
In examining the testimonies of the Fathers we should note that the word confirmation is not used to designate this sacrament during the first four centuries; but we meet with various other terms and phrases which quite clearly refer to it. Thus, it is styled "imposition of hands" manuum impositio, cheirothesia , "unction", "chrism", "sealing", etc.
Before the time of Tertullian the Fathers do not make any explicit mention of confirmation as distinct from baptism. The fact that the two sacraments were conferred together may account for this silence. The unction runs bodily over us, but profits spiritually. Next to this, the hand is laid upon us through the blessing , calling upon and inviting the Holy Spirit [ dehinc manus imponitur per benedictionem advocans et invitans Spiriturn Sanctum ]. The flesh is anointed [ ungitur ] that the soul may be consecrated.
The flesh is sealed [ signatur ] that the soul may be fortified. The flesh is overshadowed by the imposition of hands that the soul may be illuminated by the Spirit. The flesh is fed by the Body and Blood of Christ that the soul may be fattened of God.
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