Confirmation
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Confirmation at St. Cecilia'sThe Confirmation Program for minors is a 2-year process at St. Cecilia's: students start the program at the beginning of the 9th grade and receive the Sacrament of Confirmation at the end of the 10th Grade. Receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation marks our students as ready to begin living their lives as young adults in the Catholic faith.
Over the course of these two years, students examine their faith and participate in various service projects which teach the importance and relevance of service to others in their lives. The highlight of the 10th Grade year, prior to receiving Confirmation is a twenty-four hour overnight retreat.
Catholic adults who have not yet been confirmed should contact the rectory or the RCIA program for the adult catechesis that would be needed for this sacrament.
Sponsor Qualifications
Many times, I am asked to sign a paper attesting to an individual’s practice of the Faith, since the person wants to be a godparent (Baptism) or sponsor (Confirmation). Church Law states that a person must be a Baptized, Confirmed, practicing Catholic, at least sixteen years old to qualify.
Since I often meet very disappointed people who fail to understand that one can hardly provide for another what one does not already possess, it is my hope that the publication of this material will be of help to anyone who aspires to be a godparent or sponsor.
In short, while the role of godparent or sponsor is important and also a great honor, it is not simply honorary. The godparent or sponsor is expected to help parents of the Baptized in their roles as the primary teachers of the Faith and to encourage the Confirmed individual to live the Catholic Faith in daily life.
-Rev. Richard P. Cornell
The Catechism of the Catholic Church on Confirmation:
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"Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit" (Acts 8:14-17).
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Confirmation perfects Baptismal grace; it is the sacrament which gives the Holy Spirit in order to root us more deeply in the divine filiation, incorporate us more firmly into Christ, strengthen our bond with the Church, associate us more closely with her mission, and help us bear witness to the Christian faith in words accompanied by deeds.
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Confirmation, like Baptism, imprints a spiritual mark or indelible character on the Christian's soul; for this reason one can receive this sacrament only once in one's life.
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In the East this sacrament is administered immediately after Baptism and is followed by participation in the Eucharist; this tradition highlights the unity of the three sacraments of Christian initiation. In the Latin Church this sacrament is administered when the age of reason has been reached, and its celebration is ordinarily reserved to the bishop, thus signifying that this sacrament strengthens the ecclesial bond.
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A candidate for Confirmation who has attained the age of reason must profess the faith, be in the state of grace, have the intention of receiving the sacrament, and be prepared to assume the role of disciple and witness to Christ, both within the ecclesial community and in temporal affairs.
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The essential rite of Confirmation is anointing the forehead of the baptized with sacred chrism (in the East other sense-organs as well), together with the laying on of the minister's hand and the words: "Accipe signaculum doni Spiritus Sancti" (Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit) in the Roman rite, or “Signaculum doni Spiritus Sancti “(the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit) in the Byzantine rite.
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When Confirmation is celebrated separately from Baptism, its connection with Baptism is expressed, among other ways, by the renewal of baptismal promises. The celebration of Confirmation during the Eucharist helps underline the unity of the sacraments of Christian initiation.