By DON FIER
To conclude its treatment of Baptism, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) briefly describes, in 13 paragraphs (nn. 1262-1274), the principal effects of this foundational sacrament through which one gains entry into the Church.
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes what we examined more fully last week: “Baptism takes away original sin, all personal sins, and all punishment due to sin. It makes the baptized person a participant in the divine life of the Trinity through sanctifying grace, the grace of justification which incorporates one into Christ and into his Church. It gives one a share in the priesthood of Christ and provides the basis for communion with all Christians” (n. 263).
Moreover, Baptism bestows upon the sacrament’s recipient the infused theological and moral virtues as well as the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Undeniably, concupiscence remains; however, grace is received which enables one to overcome this unruly inclination to sin and thus makes possible attainment of the crown of eternal life.
The baptized person also receives an indelible seal which marks him as Christ’s own possession. It is a mark which sin cannot erase. Indeed, as the Catechism teaches, the “Holy Spirit has marked us with the seal of the Lord ‘for the day of redemption’. . . . The faithful Christian who has ‘kept the seal’ until the end, remaining faithful to the demands of his Baptism, will be able to depart this life ‘marked with the sign of faith,’ with his baptismal faith, in expectation of the blessed vision of God” (CCC, n. 1274).
Corresponding responsibilities, however, complement the manifold gifts received in Baptism. Among these, according to Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, is “a special accountability for assimilation to Christ by living a holy life” and “especially the duty to profess and share their faith in the Church’s missionary apostolate” (The Faith, p. 114).
As discussed earlier in this series (see volume 148, n. 42; October 22, 2015), the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church groups Baptism with two other sacraments in a special way: “Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the ‘sacraments of Christian initiation,’ whose unity must be safeguarded” (CCC, n. 1285).
It is the third of these, Confirmation, which was typically conferred prior to reception of First Holy Communion in the Western or Latin Church until the 20th century, which the Catechism now addresses. In the Eastern Church (where infants receive all three sacraments together) and in the liturgy for adult Baptism in the Western Church, Confirmation continues to precede First Holy Communion.
So closely connected are Baptism and Confirmation that the Roman “Rite of Confirmation” states: “Christ our Lord instituted Confirmation as the sacrament which complements, perfects, or strengthens the divine life implanted in us through Baptism” (Ordo Confirmationis, intro. 1). In other words, it can be seen as the fulfillment of the act of Christian regeneration that has taken place in Baptism.
To better understand the significance of this statement, it would be helpful to consider an analogy to natural life as proposed by Leo J. Trese in The Faith Explained (TFE).
In the natural life of a person, there is a close dependency between two events: being born and growing up. Obviously, it is not possible to grow up unless one has been born. This is also true in the spiritual life. It is through the Sacrament of Baptism that a person experiences “spiritual birth” — he now shares in the divine life of the Most Holy Trinity and begins to live a supernatural life. But just as a young child is largely self-centered in the natural realm, the same is analogously true of this stage of the spiritual life.
As expressed by Mr. Trese, “We tend to be preoccupied with the needs of our own soul, with the effort to ‘be good’” (TFE, p. 336).
Then, with the onset of greater maturity, a person is confirmed. A special grace is imparted by which his faith is deepened and strengthened: He has the capacity and strength to take heed not only of his own needs, but to serve the needs of others. Just as a maturing adolescent begins to progressively take on responsibilities in the family and society, the confirmed Christian — if he cooperates with the special graces, virtues, and gifts imparted by the sacrament — now has the supernatural ability to share the “life of Christ” with others.
The strengthening grace received in Confirmation will enable him to overcome human pettiness, cowardice in the face of human opinion, and fearfulness of sacrifice (cf. TFE, pp. 336, 342).
The Vatican II fathers, conscious of the council’s pastoral purpose, emphasized the special graces received in Confirmation. In the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, they taught that those who have been confirmed are more perfectly bound to the Church and are endowed with special strength by the Holy Spirit so that they are “more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith, both by word and by deed, as true witnesses of Christ” (Lumen Gentium, n. 11).
The Catechism, in effect, now provides an abbreviated history of Confirmation in paragraphs 1286-1292. As is the case so often throughout the course of salvation history, the working of the Lord in the sacraments of the New Testament is prefigured in the Old, and such is indeed the case for Confirmation. The anointing of priests, prophets, and kings in the Old Testament can be seen as a foreshadowing of Confirmation.
For example, consider the anointing of Aaron and his sons as priests as commanded in Exodus 19:1-7, the command of the Lord for Elijah to anoint Elisha to be a prophet after him (see 1 Kings 19:16), and the anointing of David as king by Samuel (see 1 Samuel 16:12-13). The typology of these Old Testament anointings can be readily seen if one considers that anointing with oil in Confirmation is a sacramental sign that signifies the imparting of the Holy Spirit so as to empower one to serve God in a heightened way.
In like manner, the Old Testament prophets “announced that the Spirit of the Lord would rest on the hoped-for Messiah for his saving mission (cf. Isaiah 11:2; 61:1)” (CCC, n. 1286). This was manifested publicly when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River: “When he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove” (Mark 1:10). This was a sign for the people that the longed-for Messiah, Jesus Christ, had come and was in their midst.
It is important to note, however, that as the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, the eternally begotten Son of God was always in communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
The Catechism goes on to explain that “this fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah’s, but was to be communicated to the whole messianic people” (CCC, n. 1287). This outpouring of the Holy Spirit had been foretold by the prophets. For example, consider the prophecy of Ezekiel: “I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances” (Ezek. 36:27).
The future gift of the Spirit is also prophesied in the Old Testament by Jeremiah (see Jer. 31:31-33) and Joel (see Joel 2:28-29).
Just as the descent of the Spirit in the form of a dove at the Baptism of Jesus can be seen as a figure of Confirmation, so too can the giving of the Holy Spirit as symbolized by tongues of fire on Pentecost Sunday.
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4).
The Power Of Confirmation
The transformation of the apostles on Pentecost upon receiving the Holy Spirit beautifully illustrates the spiritual effects conferred by the Sacrament of Confirmation. They experienced a newfound courage and the ability to speak boldly and effectively.
Filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, explains Dr. Lawrence Feingold, STD, “they gained a supernatural fortitude or boldness, a supernatural wisdom to understand the mysteries of God, and a supernatural docility to God’s inspirations” (Baptism and Confirmation Course Notes [Spring 2014], p. 152).
In his 1971 apostolic constitution Divinae Consortium Naturae, Blessed Paul VI affirms: “From that time on the apostles, in fulfillment of Christ’s wish, imparted the gift of the Spirit to the newly baptized by the laying on of hands to complete the grace of baptism.” Indeed, on the very day of Pentecost, the number of Christians grew twenty-five-fold, from 120 (see Acts 1:15) to approximately 3,000 (see Acts 2:41).
Such is the power of the Sacrament of Confirmation if the recipient is properly disposed and fully cooperates with the graces and gifts received.
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(Don Fier serves on the board of directors for The Catholic Servant, a Minneapolis-based monthly publication. He and his wife are the parents of seven children. Fier is a 2009 graduate of Ave Maria University’s Institute for Pastoral Theology. He is doing research for writing a definitive biography of Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)
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