1. December Adult Meeting

2. Agenda

3. Opening Questions
Have you ever been sure of something, yet uncertain about how to tell others about it?
Have you ever been too scared to say something you wanted to say?
Allow the conversation to go in unexpected directions.

4. Opening Questions
Can you imagine that even the Apostles, who knew Jesus when He walked this earth, were too scared to tell other people about him?
Remember that before Jesus was crucified, St. Peter denied even knowing Jesus. And for 10 days after He ascended into Heaven, the Apostles hid themselves! Then Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, as He had promised, with a special outpouring of grace that gave them strength and courage. This event is known as Pentecost.

5. Opening Questions
We learned last month that all Christians have the same mission as the Apostles by virtue of our Baptisms: to evangelize.
What help does God give us in this mission?
God gives us a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as He gave the Apostles on Pentecost. We receive this in the Sacrament of Confirmation.

6. The Sacrament of Confirmation: Introduction

7. Confirmation is one of the most misunderstood Sacraments of our Faith.
So often we reduce it to a rite of passage and think of it as the Catholic version of a bar mitzvah.
We think of it as a ritual that makes us an “adult” in the Church.
Many young people go into receiving this Sacrament looking at it as just another traditional/cultural hoop you jump through to make your parents happy.

8. The Sacrament of Confirmation is so much more than a rite of passage.
It is a powerful encounter with God that transforms our entire Christian life!
As we have been discussing, the Sacraments are real encounters and moments of grace where we experience the love of God in a real and profound way through an outward physical sign.
Confirmation is yet another one of these encounters, and a very powerful one. If we truly understand what is taking place within this Sacrament and begin cooperating with the grace we receive, our entire life as Christian disciples will be transformed.

9. If an athlete wants to play a sport, what does he need?
To join a team
To develop his natural talent and skill
The right equipment for the game

10. Baptism is like joining the team.
Confirmation is like receiving the equipment you need to play the game.
In addition, you also get the best coach and the training you need to be a successful player.
You still need to go to practice and work hard but you get access to the best training and equipment out there!
Now let’s dive in and take a closer look at this beautiful and powerful Sacrament.

11. Confirmation in Salvation History
Let’s begin by exploring the roots and origins of Confirmation in Scripture

12. The Old Testament: Priest, Prophet, and King
In Exodus, God says He wants His people to be a royal priesthood.
Later on, Israel’s kings were anointed as a symbol of consecration to God and the outpouring of God’s spirit upon them.
Finally, the prophets foretold an outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh.
The Old Testament
In the book of Exodus we learn that God wants His people to be a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
God desired to make His people a royal priesthood who would proclaim and glorify His name to all the nations and serve Him in love.
Later on in Israel’s history, kings were anointed with holy oil as a symbol of consecration. This anointing set them apart as belonging to God and it also symbolized an outpouring of God’s spirit upon them.
All Davidic kings were anointed
They became “messiahs” or “christs” meaning, anointed ones.
Later the prophets foretold of an outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh.

13. The New Testament: Coming of the Advocate
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Jesus spoke to His Apostles about an Advocate that He promised would come to them after He was no longer with them.

14. The New Testament: Coming of the Advocate
The Holy Spirit descended upon the Disciples and the Blessed Mother at Pentecost.
They were emboldened with the power and courage to begin preaching the Gospel.
This is the institution of the Sacrament of Confirmation.
The New Testament
Jesus told His Apostles about an Advocate whom He promised would come to them after He was no longer with them.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Then at Pentecost, when the Blessed Mother and the Disciples were in the Upper Room, the Spirit descended on them like a strong rushing wind with tongues of fire appearing over each of them. They were suddenly emboldened with the power and courage to begin preaching the Gospel. They all began speaking in different tongues, or languages. Peter stood up and preached for the first time and over 3,000 were baptized that day.
This is a stunning moment. These 12 scared, foolish men suddenly received the courage and strength to begin preaching and healing in the name of Jesus. It is here that the Sacrament of Confirmation is instituted. The book of Acts is full of the mighty deeds and preaching the Apostles did in Christ’s name by the power of His Spirit.

15. The Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation
Now let’s turn to the form, matter, and effects of the Sacrament!

16. What happens at Confirmation?
Matter
Holy oil is used to anoint the recipient.
Form
As he anoints the recipient, the Bishop says “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Then he calls down the Spirit upon them by a laying-on of hands.
The Bishop is the ordinary minister of the Sacrament.
These words and actions bring about God’s desire for His people to be a royal priesthood.
Oil is used to symbolize a “sealing” with the Spirit. Once we are confirmed we are “marked” and “set apart” as God’s. We are now drafted into God’s army and called to be living witnesses of Christ through the power we receive from the Holy Spirit.

17. What happens at Confirmation?
Completes and perfects Baptismal grace.
Increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit within us.
Gives us special strength to spread and defend the Faith.
Gives us the fullness of the Christian mission.
Makes us full members of the Church.
Confirmation enables us to live and speak as true witnesses of Christ.
Full members does not mean adult members. This is the common misconception that leads to the vision of Confirmation as a graduation or rite of passage.

18. Who can receive Confirmation?
Every baptized person not yet confirmed can and should receive the Sacrament.
In the early Church, Baptism and Confirmation were received together. This showed the strong tie and connection between the two Sacraments.
With increasing infant Baptisms, it became too difficult for a Bishop to be present at every instance and so the two began to be celebrated separately.
In the Latin Rite the Sacrament is most commonly received after the age of reason, with the age being set by the bishop. The Eastern Church continues the tradition of offering Confirmation at the same time as Baptism (and Eucharist). The newly baptized receive Confirmation and Eucharist right away, being fully initiated into the Church.

19. Confirmation is not about “knowing enough” or being “old enough” to receive it.
It is about receiving the grace we need from the Holy Spirit to be living witnesses of Christ out in the world.

20. What event is depicted in this painting? How do you know?
The event depicted is the the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
The dove, and the little tongues of fire emanating from it are both clues that this is a painting of Pentecost. It may also be guessed fairly easily that the people pictured are the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, and the disciples.

21. Does the scene look still, or full of energy
Does the scene look still, or full of energy? Explain your answer, and why you think the artist painted it that way.
The scene looks very energetic: there is a lot of emotion on the people’s faces; some of them look almost thrown backwards; expressive, moving hands.
The energy in the painting conveys how the coming of the Holy Spirit filled the disciples with courage and energy to preach the good news of Christ to the world. Remember that, after St. Peter preached to the crowds on Pentecost, 3000 people were baptized that day!

22. Why do you think the man at the bottom right is writing?
The story of Pentecost is told in the book of Acts. The Holy Spirit inspired the writers of Scripture too, because that is another way that Christ’s followers proclaimed Him to the world, and they needed special grace and courage to do that as well!

23. Read Acts 2:1-4. How does this painting help you understand this Scripture passage?
“When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2:1-4).
Accept reasoned answers.

24. How does this painting help you understand the Sacrament of Confirmation?
It gives us an image of how Jesus fulfilled His promise to send the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. What is happening to the people in this painting is what happens to us in Confirmation: we are filled with energy and courage and the desire to proclaim God through word and deed. The Catechism tells us that Confirmation “gives a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross” (1303). Remember that many of the disciples gave up their lives and became martyrs, and they had the courage to do that because of this event.
Confirmation gives us that same ability!

25. Key Points in Our Readings this Month
Confirmation, like Baptism, places an indelible mark on our souls.
Confirmation perfects Baptismal grace, making us full members of the Church.
This would be a good place to stress once more the difference between full and adult membership. Confirmation is not about age, but receiving the fullness of grace!

26. Key Points in Our Readings this Month
Confirmation is prefigured in the Old Testament by the anointing of priests and kings, and foretold by the prophets.
Confirmation is instituted in the New Testament by the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

27. Key Points in Our Readings this Month
Confirmation increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us, and gives us special strength to spread and defend the Faith.