CATECHISM
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CATECHISM
Part V
THE RITE AND A
COMMENTARY
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(4
parts: Renewal of Baptismal Promises, Laying on of Hands, Anointing with
Chrism, Sign of Peace) Presentation of the Candidates : After the Gospel the Bishop, and the
priests who will be ministers of the sacrament with him, take their seats.
The pastor or another priest, deacon, or catechist presents the candidates
for Confirmation, according to the custom of the region. If possible, each
candidate is called by name and comes individually to the sanctuary. If the
candidates are children, they are accompanied by one of their sponsors or
parents and stand before the celebrant. If there are very many candidates, they are not called
by name, but simply take a suitable place before the bishop. Homily or Address : The Bishop then gives a brief
homily. He should explain the readings and so lead the candidates, their
sponsors and parents, and the whole assembly to a deeper understanding of the
mystery of Confirmation. Renewal of Baptismal Promises : When a child is baptized, the profession of
faith is made by the parents and the godparents. By this they mean that they
will share their faith with the child as he grows. The profession of faith is
not a mere intellectual acceptance of a body of facts, but the acceptance of
a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, which should grow, and a complete
and total trust in his goodness and love. This has now become reality for the child as
he comes for Confirmation and with his own lips he confirms and professes his
faith in Christ publicly for the first time. This is the moment the parents
have looked forward to when the child was baptized. There is a difference between the promises at
Baptism and the ones at Confirmation. There is but a single question on the
rejection of evil, summing up the three Baptism questions. There are four
questions of positive faith: Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and the Church. The
Church is separated to allow for more elaboration of the Holy Spirit, for it
is the Church and the Holy Spirit that we celebrate in Confirmation. The question of the Bishop contains the words
“believe in” which is more than stating an objective truth of faith. “There
is a trinity.” What we are saying is that we believe in each person; they are
real; we have entered into a personal relationship with each of them. Our
lives are caught up in theirs, in the whole process of salvation. A child should know God as a father and
praise Him with love in prayer. Before Confirmation the child should know
Jesus as a Brother. He ought to see the Spirit as his Friend living within
him and experience some of the Spirit in a community. It is only when a child
has this relationship that a profession of faith is in order. With the excitement of Peter in the household
of Cornelius, the Bishop exclaims loudly: “This is our Faith! These
candidates belong to our community! The Spirit lives in them and they call
God their father, and Jesus their Brother,” With this the people respond
their “Amen”, and approval of the faith of the candidates. Bishop: Do you reject Satan and all his works and all his empty
promises? Candidates: I do. Bishop: Do you believe in God the Father
almighty, creator of heaven and earth? Candidates: I do. Bishop: Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his
only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died and
was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the
Father? Candidates: I do. Bishop: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life, who came upon the apostles at Pentecost and
today is given to you sacramentally in
confirmation? Candidates: I do. Bishop: Do you believe in the Holy Catholic
Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of
the body, and the life everlasting? Candidates: I do. The Bishop confirms their profession of faith
by proclaiming the faith of the Church. Bishop: This is our faith. This is the
faith of the Church. We are proud to profess it in Christ, Jesus our Lord. Candidates: Amen. The Laying on of Hands : The sign of laying on of hands is based on Scripture. It was the
gesture of the Apostles in giving of the Spirit. Here it is a “sacramental”
moment, and not the Sacrament. The laying on of hands with the prayer is the
ideal way to remind the children that everything is a gift from a loving
Father. The confirmed should never again forget that he/she lives every day
under the gift-laden arms of a loving God. He/she should never again forget
that the good things he/she enjoys every day are the gifts of the Spirit. The
child could be taught this gesture of praying with open palms to express
asking or receiving from God. The concelebrating
priests stand near the Bishop. He faces the people, and with joined hands,
sings or says: My dear
friends, In
Baptism God our Father gave the new birth of eternal life to His chosen sons
and daughter. Let us
pray to Our Father, that He will pour out the Holy Spirit to strengthen His sons
and daughters with His gifts and anoint them to be more like Christ the Son
of God. All pray in
silence for a short time The Bishop and the
priests who will minister the sacrament with him lay hands upon all the candidates
(by extending their hands over them). The Bishop alone sings or say: All powerful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by water and the Holy Spirit You freed Your sons and daughters from sin, and gave them new life. Send your Holy Spirit upon them to be their helper and guide. Give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and
reverence. Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in Your presence. We ask this through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. Anointing with Chrism : Oil is used in the Church’s liturgy in three roles: strength,
healing and consecration of a person or object. The Chrism used is unique for
it is perfumed, mixed with balsam or balm. We could ask this question: on
whose head would I like to pour a bottle of perfume? On an important person
and someone I want to honour or on someone
unimportant and whom I want to dishonour? Chrism is
a perfumed oil we pour on the head of an important
person we want to honour. In confirmation that
person is the one the Holy Spirit has chosen and gifted, one the Spirit has
prepared for a place in the Church community. (in
life our parents use aftershaves lotion and perfumes and scent when going out
with important people.) God has chosen us as important people and is going to
pour the sweet scented oil of His Spirit on us. Our life must continue to
give off this fragrance. We are conformed to Christ; his Spirit lives in us.
We must radiate Christ. In saying “Amen”
to the Bishop, the child is interacting in the whole process of the
sacrament. He/she does not just receive. He/she agrees to his/her new role in
the Church. He/she accepts the role of a gifted Christian. The deacon brings the chrism to the Bishop. Each
candidate goes to the Bishop or the Bishop may go to the individual
concerned. The ones who presented the candidate places his/her right hand on
the latter’s shoulder and gives the candidate’s name to the Bishop; or the
candidate may give his/her own name. The Bishop dips his right thumb in
the chrism and makes the sign of the cross on the forehead of the one to be
confirmed, as he says:
WITH
THE GIFT Of
the Holy Spirit. The newly confirmed responds: AMEN. The Sign of Peace : The candidate has
entered the community and the Bishop is now his/her friends, After honouring the entering member with perfume, he now wishes
him/her the peace of Christ. This sign should be something warm and personal
like clasping the hands or drawing the child to himself in a semi-embrace, to
replace the “strike on the cheek” (which then indicated that the child must
be ready to suffer for Christ). The warm personal sign given by the Bishop
assures the child of his/her belonging fully now to the Body of Christ. The Bishop now says: PEACE BE
WITH YOU. The newly confirmed respond: AND ALSO WITH YOU.
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