Confirmation and Chrismation: fifteen questions

With Baptism and the Eucharist it is one of the three sacraments of Christian initiation, and their unity must be kept. It completes the grace of Baptism. By it the baptized are more perfectly bound to the Church and enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit, so that as true witnesses of Christ they spread and defend the faith by word and deed.

The prophets foretold that the Spirit would rest on the Messiah, and the Spirit came down on Jesus at his baptism. Jesus promised the Spirit to his disciples, and the promise was fulfilled at Easter and at Pentecost. After that, the apostles laid hands on the newly baptized to give the gift of the Spirit (Acts 8:14-17; 19:5-6).

Very early an anointing with perfumed oil, chrism, was added to the laying on of hands. "Christian" means "anointed", from Christ, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit. So the Eastern Churches call it Chrismation, anointing with chrism or myron. In the West the name Confirmation points to the completion of Baptism and the strengthening of its grace.

In the first centuries it was one celebration with Baptism. As infant baptisms and rural parishes multiplied, the bishop could not be present at every Baptism. The West kept the completion of Baptism for the bishop, so the two came to be separated in time. The East kept them together, so the priest who baptizes also chrismates, but always with myron consecrated by a bishop. The Eastern way shows more clearly the unity of initiation; the Latin way shows more clearly the bond with the bishop and the apostles.

In Scripture oil is a sign of joy, cleansing, strength, healing and beauty. In this sacrament the anointing is the sign of consecration: the person receives a spiritual seal. This seal marks our total belonging to Christ and our enrolment in his service for ever (2 Cor 1:21-22).

The bishop, who in the Latin Church consecrates it for his whole diocese at the Chrism Mass of Holy Thursday. In some Eastern Churches this consecration is reserved to the patriarch. The Eastern Code says that myron, made from olive or other plant oil and fragrant spices, is consecrated only by a bishop, with due regard for particular law that reserves it to the patriarch.

In the Latin rite, the anointing with chrism on the forehead, with the laying on of the hand, and the words "Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit." In the Eastern Churches of Byzantine tradition, for example, after a prayer calling down the Spirit, the forehead, eyes, nose, ears, lips, breast, back, hands and feet are anointed, each with the words "The seal of the gift that is the Holy Spirit." The rites differ in words and signs; the sacrament is the same.

It is the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as once given to the apostles at Pentecost. It roots us more deeply as children of God, unites us more firmly to Christ, increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us, and makes our bond with the Church more perfect. It gives a special strength to spread and defend the faith, to confess Christ boldly and never to be ashamed of the Cross.

No. Like Baptism, which it completes, it is given only once, because it imprints an indelible spiritual mark, the "character". This seal perfects the common priesthood received in Baptism. The confirmed person receives the power to profess faith in Christ publicly, as it were by office.

Every baptized person not yet confirmed can and should receive it. Without Confirmation and the Eucharist, Baptism is valid and effective, but Christian initiation remains incomplete. The Eastern Code says simply that those who are baptized must be chrismated with holy myron.

The Latin tradition takes "the age of discretion" as the reference point, but children in danger of death should be confirmed even before it. In the East the sacrament is given immediately after Baptism and is followed by the Eucharist. The Catechism warns against confusing Christian maturity with adult age: grace is a gift and Baptism needs no "ratification" to be effective.

Preparation should lead to a closer union with Christ and a lively familiarity with the Holy Spirit, his actions, gifts and promptings, and to a sense of belonging to the Church and the parish. One must be in a state of grace, so it is fitting to go to Confession first. More intense prayer prepares the heart to receive the Spirit's strength.

Candidates fittingly seek the spiritual help of a sponsor. To show the unity of the two sacraments, it is good that this be one of the baptismal godparents.

The original minister is the bishop. In the Latin rite the bishop is the ordinary minister, though for grave reasons he may give priests the faculty. In the Eastern Churches the presbyter gives Chrismation, either with Baptism or separately, and any Eastern presbyter does so validly for the faithful of any Church, including the Latin Church. This is the practice of the Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara Churches, where the priest who baptizes also chrismates.

Any priest should then give Confirmation. The Church desires that none of her children, even the youngest, should leave this world without being perfected by the Holy Spirit with the gift of Christ's fullness.