Now, when the apostles, who
were in Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria had received the word of
God, they sent to them Peter and John. And
when they had arrived,
they prayed
for them, so
that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
For he had not
as yet come to any
of them, since they were
only 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
Non-Christians who
are received to the Church, are given three sacraments at the same
time: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. These three sacraments are
sacraments of initiation because they are the first sacraments a
person encounters when entering the Church. Confirmation has its
roots in Apostolic times as narrated in scripture passage above. Peter and John "laid their hands upon them: and they received the Holy
Spirit." This
is the same action the Bishop does when he confirms a person. The
Bishop is the ordinary minister for Confirmation but he can delegate
this authority to a priest in special situations.
But what is
confirmation? Did we not receive the Holy Spirit during baptism? What
is the difference between the Gift given during Baptism and
Confirmation. After all, they are from the same Person any way.
While
it is true that the Spirit given in Baptism and Confirmation is the
same Person, the purposes are different.
To
explain this, let’s take for example a child in a mother’s womb.
Despite what other people say, the child in the mother’s womb has
life. Even while she is in the womb, she can still interact with her
mother, she can hear sounds outside of her mother’s womb. She kicks
and someone feeling the mother’s stomach can feel her kicking from
the inside. Even if she has life, she is able to interact with the
world outside in a limited way.
When
the child is born, her interaction with the world becomes more full.
She can see, she can hear better, she can touch, smell and taste.
When
we were baptized, our interaction with the Holy Spirit is limited.
The Holy Spirit was given fully, but our ability to interact with him
is limited. But as we become mature in our faith, our ability to
interact with and respond to him improves. This is when God gives us
the grace to fully interact with him in confirmation.
While
Baptism and Confirmation are given at the same time for an adult, the
assumption there is the adult already has been formed properly before
his baptism, that he has already developed his ability to interact
and respond to the Holy Spirit.
May
God give us the grace to fully respond to the movements of the Holy
Spirit so we can truly live our lives for the glory of God.
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