This coming week is a very special one to many in our parish: on Sunday at the 9:30 Mass I will be privileged to confer the sacrament of Confirmation upon several adults in our Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) and on Wednesday the Very Rev. Stanley Lukasewski, Episcopal Vicar for Ocean County, will administer the sacrament upon the young people in our parish Religious Education program. It is doubly appropriate that we do so during this week as we celebrate Pentecost: the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples (Acts 2:1-13) and the day commonly called "the Birthday of the Church."

But what exactly is Confirmation? It has been (tongue-in-cheek) called "the sacrament in search of a theology" due to the lack of understanding that many Catholics have about it. Confirmation enables us to fulfill the mandate of every baptized Christian to be a witness:  “On all Christians, therefore, is laid the splendid burden to make the divine message of salvation known and accepted by all men throughout the world” (Apostolicam Actuaositatem, "The Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity", 3).  This means that confirmed persons have the responsibility to bring the message of salvation to everyone we meet;  not the job solely of priests, deacons and religious, it is the task given to all members in Christ's Church.

We can and should expect the Holy Spirit to work effectively in our lives, just as He did in the lives of the early Christians gathered together at Pentecost:
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the breaking of bread together and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles…   Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42-47). Through the Holy Spirit conferred upon them, Peter and John witnessed to the crowd the Good News of Christ and salvation: “One day, Peter and John were going up to the Temple at the time of prayer- at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the Temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put everyday to beg from those going into the Temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked at him as did John. Then Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ so the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, ‘Silver and gold I do not have to give but what I have I give you In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the Temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God. When the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the Temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what happened to him” (Acts 3:1-26).

In the early Church, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist were linked in a single rite of initiation. In fact, the Eastern Rite Churches still administer these sacraments together.

(caution: above link contains a nsfw graphic due to baptismal symbolism)

For the unbaptized who seek to enter the Catholic Church the three sacraments are commonly conferred during the Easter Vigil Mass, reminiscent of that ancient practice.

Looked at in this way, Confirmation is a continuation of the process of conversion begun in Baptism in which we share in the mystery of Pentecost.

Today we see the sacrament of Confirmation as the sacrament of Christian maturity (not of CCD "graduation"; it is not an end, but in fact a beginning.)  It celebrates our being filled with the Holy Spirit, the indelible mark placed on our soul through Confirmation. If each of us is living our Confirmation, we will see the Holy Spirit as our Friend and Helper who lives in us. We will seek His guidance and rely on His power. As a result, we will live a fruitful and abundant life: “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will bring your mortal bodies to life also, through His Spirit dwelling in you” (Romans 8:11). “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes down on you, then you are to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, yes, even to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Do we see that marvelous grace working in our lives today?  If no, why not? We possess the very same Spirit as a result of our Baptism and Confirmation!