WHAT IS CONFIRMATION?
Confirmation is the sacrament that completes the work begun at Baptism. It makes a person a soldier for Christ and equips them with the fullness of the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who freely decides to live a life as God's child and asks for God's spirit under the signs of imposition of hands and anointing with chrism receives the strength to witness God's love and might in word and deed. They would now be a full-fledged responsible member of the Catholic Church. To be confirmed means to make a "covenant" with God. During confirmation, the soul of a baptized Christian is imprinted with a permanent seal. Because it has a permanent seal, it may only be received once, which marks this individual as a Christian forever. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the strength from above in which this individual puts the grace of his Baptism into practice through his life and acts as a "witness" for Christ. The rite of confirmation begins after the Gospel, when the candidates are presented. Then a brief homily is given by the bishop. Next, the candidates go through a renewal of baptismal promises. This is followed by the laying hands on the candidate, which represents the biblical gesture by which the gift of the Holy Spirit invoked. The anointing with the chrism is the next step in this rite. The anointing with chrism and the accompanying words express the effect of the Holy Spirit. The prayer of the faithful, the concluding rite, and finally the prayer over the people conclude the rite of confirmation. You may only be confirmed if you have been previously baptized, but who are unconfirmed and are in need of the completion of Baptismal graces, and those who have been baptized in another faith and are entering the Catholic Faith. This is because the Church doesn't recognize Confirmations in other faiths because they are not done the same way as the Church. The sacrament of Confirmation also has different effects. These effects include a sign of consecration, an indelible spiritual mark imprinted on the soul, completion of baptismal grace, full outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and finally the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, which were first received at Baptism. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
PHOTO FROM MY CONFIRMATION
MY SPONSOR
My sponsor was my Aunt Sonia. She was my mom's sister and my godmother and I have always been close to her. She is a funny and genuine person and is one of the most spiritual people that I know. She was a religion teacher at her local parish that was well-liked by all of her students. Because she was so spiritual and an awesome religion teacher, I wanted a good spiritual role model to look up to, and so I chose her to be my sponsor. Here is a picture of her, she is on the far right:
MY CONFIRMATION NAME
I remember trying to choose my confirmation name. I had a lot of trouble deciding which name would be the best for me. I decided my name by going on the computer and going on a website with a list of saints and their stories. I wanted a story that spoke to me so that I could have a powerful saint to look up to. I remember going through a whole bunch of different saints, but it wasn't until I clicked on one name and read their story that I almost cried at how powerful the story I read was and how it spoke to me. The name that I chose is Christina, and here is her story taken from antiochian.org:
"The Martyr Christina lived during the third century. She was born into a rich family, and her father was Governor of Tyre. By the age of 11 the girl was exceptionally beautiful, and many men asked for her hand in marriage. Christina's father, however, wanted his daughter to become a pagan priestess. He placed her in a special room where he had set up many gold and silver idols, and he ordered his daughter to burn incense before them. In her solitude, Christina wondered who had created this beautiful world. From her room, she was delighted by the stars of the heavens, and she constantly thought about the Creator of the world. She was convinced that the voiceless and inanimate idols in her room could not create anything, since they themselves were created by human hands. She began to pray to the One God with tears, entreating Him to reveal Himself. Her soul blazed with love for the Unknown God, and she intensified her prayer all the more, combining it with fasting. Christina was visited by an angel, who instructed her in the true faith in Christ. The angel called her a bride of Christ and told her that she would suffer for her faith. Christina smashed all the idols in her room and threw them out the window. Shortly thereafter, Christina’s father visited her and asked where all the idols had gone. Christina would not speak, but summoning her servants, her father learned the truth from them. In a rage, Christina’s father began to slap her face. At first, she was quiet, but then she told her father about her faith in the One True God, and that she had destroyed the idols with her own hands. Her father gave orders to kill all the servants who had attended his daughter, and he fiercely beat Christina and threw her in prison. Having learned about what had happened, Christina's mother came crying to her daughter’s cell and urged her to renounce Christ. However, Christina remained unyielding. The next day, her father brought Christina to trial and ordered that she worship the pagan gods and ask forgiveness for her sins. Instead, she gave a firm and steadfast confession of her faith in Christ. Her father ordered that Christina be tied to an iron wheel, beneath which was lit a fire. Her body, turning round on the wheel, was scorched on all sides. She was then thrown back into prison. That night, an angel appeared, healing her wounds and strengthening her with food. Seeing her unharmed, her father gave orders to drown her in the sea. An angel sustained Christina while the stone sank to the bottom, and she miraculously came out of the water and reappeared before her father. Her father subscribed this event to sorcery, and he decided to execute her in the morning. However, that same night, her father suddenly died. Governor Dion was sent in his place. Dion ordered Christina to renounce Christ, but seeing her unyielding firmness, he again subjected her to torture. She was then thrown back into prison where Dion thought she would eventually perish. However, people began to flock to her, and she converted about 300 people to the true faith in Christ. In place of Dion, a new governor, Julian, arrived and resumed Christina’s torture. Julian ordered that she be locked in a red-hot furnace. After five days the furnace was opened and Christina was found alive and unharmed. Seeing this miracle, many came to believe in Christ the Savior. Finally, St. Christina was executed with a sword."
"The Martyr Christina lived during the third century. She was born into a rich family, and her father was Governor of Tyre. By the age of 11 the girl was exceptionally beautiful, and many men asked for her hand in marriage. Christina's father, however, wanted his daughter to become a pagan priestess. He placed her in a special room where he had set up many gold and silver idols, and he ordered his daughter to burn incense before them. In her solitude, Christina wondered who had created this beautiful world. From her room, she was delighted by the stars of the heavens, and she constantly thought about the Creator of the world. She was convinced that the voiceless and inanimate idols in her room could not create anything, since they themselves were created by human hands. She began to pray to the One God with tears, entreating Him to reveal Himself. Her soul blazed with love for the Unknown God, and she intensified her prayer all the more, combining it with fasting. Christina was visited by an angel, who instructed her in the true faith in Christ. The angel called her a bride of Christ and told her that she would suffer for her faith. Christina smashed all the idols in her room and threw them out the window. Shortly thereafter, Christina’s father visited her and asked where all the idols had gone. Christina would not speak, but summoning her servants, her father learned the truth from them. In a rage, Christina’s father began to slap her face. At first, she was quiet, but then she told her father about her faith in the One True God, and that she had destroyed the idols with her own hands. Her father gave orders to kill all the servants who had attended his daughter, and he fiercely beat Christina and threw her in prison. Having learned about what had happened, Christina's mother came crying to her daughter’s cell and urged her to renounce Christ. However, Christina remained unyielding. The next day, her father brought Christina to trial and ordered that she worship the pagan gods and ask forgiveness for her sins. Instead, she gave a firm and steadfast confession of her faith in Christ. Her father ordered that Christina be tied to an iron wheel, beneath which was lit a fire. Her body, turning round on the wheel, was scorched on all sides. She was then thrown back into prison. That night, an angel appeared, healing her wounds and strengthening her with food. Seeing her unharmed, her father gave orders to drown her in the sea. An angel sustained Christina while the stone sank to the bottom, and she miraculously came out of the water and reappeared before her father. Her father subscribed this event to sorcery, and he decided to execute her in the morning. However, that same night, her father suddenly died. Governor Dion was sent in his place. Dion ordered Christina to renounce Christ, but seeing her unyielding firmness, he again subjected her to torture. She was then thrown back into prison where Dion thought she would eventually perish. However, people began to flock to her, and she converted about 300 people to the true faith in Christ. In place of Dion, a new governor, Julian, arrived and resumed Christina’s torture. Julian ordered that she be locked in a red-hot furnace. After five days the furnace was opened and Christina was found alive and unharmed. Seeing this miracle, many came to believe in Christ the Savior. Finally, St. Christina was executed with a sword."