The Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation Church of

The Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation Church of the Ascension

What Are Sacraments? • An outward sign instituted by Christ to give • grace. - Baltimore Catechism The signs and instruments by which the Holy Spirit spreads the grace of Christ the head throughout the Church which is the body. - Catechism of the Catholic Church • A visible sign of invisible grace. – St. Augustine • A sign from Christ by which he comes to us and gives us his life and love. – We Believe by Oscar Lukefahr, C. M.

The Seven Sacraments • The apostles believed that Christ entered the • • • lives of his followers through signs of celebration and ritual given them by the Lord. At first there was no organized theology of such signs, but one was gradually developed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit By the thirteen century the church recognized seven signs or sacraments that had been given to us by Christ. The Council of Trent (1545 -1563) declared as dogma that the sacraments are: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Matrimony, Holy Orders and Anointing of the Sick.

Sacraments of Initiation • Baptism: Incorporates us into the church and gives us rebirth as daughters and sons of God. • Confirmation: A continuation or sealing of Baptism. It confirms our commitment to both the Church and the work of Christ in the world. • Eucharist: The preeminent sacrament from which all others have meaning. Christ most profoundly present in the church.

Sacraments of Healing • Penance (Reconciliation): Focuses on forgiveness in our life and on our acceptance of that forgiveness. • Anointing of the Sick: To pray over and lay hands on those who are sick. Helps us experience spiritual and sometimes physical strengthening when we are ill.

Sacraments of Service • Matrimony: Celebrates and witnesses marriage, the lifetime covenant of love between two people. • Holy Orders: Ordination of men as bishops, priests and deacons, empowering them for a lifetime of spiritual leadership and service.

Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation & Eucharist • The sacraments of Christian initiation lay the • foundation of Christian life “The faithful are born anew by Baptism, strengthened by the sacrament of Confirmation, and receive in the Eucharist the food of eternal life. By means of these sacraments of Christian initiation, they thus receive in increasing measure the treasures of the divine life and advance toward the perfection of charity. ” - Pope Paul VI, Divine consortium nature (1971)

Baptism • Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit. – Council of Florence 1314: vitae spiritus ianua • Through Baptism we share in Christ’s victory over the power of darkness in the world. Thus, we are “freed from original sin. ” • In Baptism we are reborn as sons and daughters of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission.

Baptism • Baptism brings forgiveness of sins (original and personal), brings us new life in Christ (grace), gives us union with God, and confers membership in the Church, the one Body of Christ on earth. • Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church. Baptism constitutes the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it are reborn in Christ.

Confirmation • Completion: Confirmation is necessary for the • • • completion of Baptismal Grace Enrichment: Confirmation enriches us with a special strength of the Holy Spirit Bound: By confirmation we are more perfectly bound to the Church Witness: Through confirmation we become true witnesses of Christ and more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.

Scriptural Roots of Baptism and Confirmation • I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean…A new heart I will give you and a new spirit I will put within you. - Ezekiel 36: 25 -26 • The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of Wisdom and of Understanding, a spirit of Counsel and Strength, a spirit of Knowledge and of Fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the Fear of the Lord. - Isaiah 11: 2 • Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. ” - Matthew 28: 19 -20

Scriptural Roots of Baptism and Confirmation • Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless • • one is born of water and the Holy Spirit. He cannot enter the kingdom of God. ” - John 3: 5 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? ” - Mark 10: 38 When they heard this they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them. - Acts 19: 5 -6

Signs and Symbols • Water: Symbolizes life, death, cleansing and • • growth. Baptismal water is consecrated so that we may be “born of the water and spirit. ” Exorcisms: Catechumens renounce Satan and confess the faith of the Church. Sign of the Cross: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” is accompanied by triple immersion in water or water poured 3 times over the candidate’s head. (The essential rite of Baptism)

Signs and Symbols • White Garment: Symbolizes that the person • • • baptized has “put on Christ”, has risen with Christ. Candle: Lit from the Easter candle signifies that the baptized person has been enlightened by Christ. Chrism: Anointing with the blessed perfumed oil symbolizes the gift of the Holy Spirit and the indelible spiritual seal of the Lord. Laying on of Hands: Gesture to invoke the outpouring of the gift(s) of the Holy Spirit.

Anointing with Sacred Chrism • By this anointing the confirmed receives the • • • “mark”, the seal of the Holy Spirit. This seal of the Holy Spirit marks our total belonging to Christ, our enrollment in His service forever. Chrism is blessed during Holy Week. The bishop is the ordinary minister of confirmation. However, adults who are baptized or become Catholic through profession of faith are confirmed by the priest who receives them into the church. Here the priest acts as a representative of the bishop.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit • Wisdom – Ability to see things as they truly are in an • • • open-minded manner Understanding – Sensitivity needed to accept, care, listen, understand, forgive Right Judgment – Counsel; Ability to make good decisions Courage – Strength to do what is right in spite of challenges; Fortitude Knowledge – Ability to know the teachings of Jesus and the true value of things Reverence – Deep respect for God and others; Piety Wonder and Awe in God’s Presence – Sense of the greatness and majesty of God coupled with a deep realization of God’s nearness (Fear of the Lord)

Fruits of the Holy Spirit • The results of the Holy Spirit’s friendship: “The • • fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. ” (Goodness, Modesty, Chastity) - Galations 5: 22 -23 “I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. ” - John 15: 15 “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain. ” - John 15: 16

Anointed for a Fuller Witness • Confirmation is a sacrament of Call and • • Response. Confirmation is a sacrament that confirms our friendship with God. Movement toward further incorporation into the Christian Community. Journey toward maturing faith within the faith community. Continuation of the sealing of Baptism with focus on the missionary dimension of our commitment.

Call and Response Accipe signaculum doni Spiritus Sancti (Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit) Amen (Yes) (These words, along with the anointing with sacred chrism and laying on of the minister’s hands are the essential rite of Confirmation)

We can respond by: • Deepening our personal relationship • • • (friendship) with God. Living according to Jesus’ teachings. Being open to the action of the Holy Spirit. Living our life according to God’s commandments. Giving service to those in need. Being an active member of the Catholic Church. Witnessing our faith to others.

“Faith begins as a gift and grows horizontally from person to person”

FAQs • Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders confer, in • addition to grace, an indelible sacramental character or “seal. ” It remains in the Christian forever and therefore these sacraments can never be repeated. Those who die for the faith, those who are catechumens, and those who, without knowing of the church but acting under the inspiration of grace, seek God sincerely and strive to fulfill His will, are saved even if they are not baptized.

FAQs • “Limbo” as the abode of un-baptized infants and • children is a theological opinion many Catholics had been previously taught but is not commonly accepted today. It is not Catholic doctrine. The burial mass for un-baptized infants entrusts them to God’s merciful and tender care. In case of necessity, any person can baptize provided that he have the intention of doing that which the Church does and provided that he pours water on the candidate’s head while saying, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. ”

FAQs • Candidates may choose a “confirmation name” • • taken from a favorite saint, who is both a model and a heavenly intercessor. The Sacrament of Confirmation is not the same as laying on of hands or “Baptism of the Holy Spirit. ” The presence of the Holy Spirit can be manifested with extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit such as healing, prophesy, or speaking in tongues, but is not always. If we can say with faith that Jesus is Lord, and if we truly love others, we have received the Holy Spirit.