The Sacrament of Confirmation

Symbols of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation
Confirmation is like Pentecost in the life of a believer. The Holy Spirit comes to confirm us in mission. His coming is signified by sensible signs.

• Laying on of hands – In the Acts of the Apostles, the laying on of the apostles’ hands signified the coming of the Spirit as an office or responsibility is bestowed on someone. (e.g. Acts 2: 41; 9:17-19; 19:1-7) By the laying on of the bishop’s hands, as successor to the apostles, the Holy Spirit comes to us anew as we are now sent on mission to proclaim the Good News like the Apostles at pentecost. The Lord commissions us as apostles and send us out to proclaim his Word as the bishop extends his hands over us. God confirms us as his witnesses to the world.
• Anointing with Chrism – In ancient times, athletes rubbed their bodies with oil to limber their muscles in preparation for their sport. Anointing with sacred oil in the Scriptures also signified missioning such as when the priests, prophets and kings of Old were anointed. This unction of the Spirit prepares us for our mission and send us forth, enabled by the grace of his seven gifts.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
The gifts or charisms of the Holy Spirit help us in Christian life and mission. They are spiritual qualities that the Spirit plants within us and which he nourished and cultivates to fruition with out cooperation. Being a good disciple and apostle of Christ is not an easy task but the Spirit, our Paraclete is Jesus’ gift that always helps us, if only we allow him to.

There are seven chief gifts of the Holy Spirit. Four of these gifts enlighten our minds while the other four strengthen our hearts:

• Wisdom – The Spirit guides us in the ways of God: to think as he thinks and to do as he would do. Wisdom enables us to see things according to their true value in the light of God’s holy will.
• Knowledge – The Spirit helps us grow in knowledge and competence to do the work of God effectively. Knowledge as “spiritual know how,” helps us to know truths about the world and ourselves and to apply these in relation to God.
  
• Understanding – The Spirit helps us to understand the truths that he reveals to us about God and the world. Understanding helps us to see God’s presence and inspirations in our daily lives.
  
• Counsel – The Holy Spirit sharpens our judgment, inspiring us to make the right decisions and actions in the light of the will of God. Like a good friend, he advises or admonishes us in the proper way to go.
  
• Fortitude – The Holy Spirit strengthens us to pursue God’s will even amidst difficulties.
• Fear of the Lord – The Holy Spirit endows us with a filial fear of God—not the fear that comes out of a dread of punishment but the reverential fear of a good child who does not want to hurt its good father. This fear helps us to hate the things that God hates: evil and sin and to avoid them at all costs.
  
• Piety – The Holy Spirit not only inspires fear but on the other hand, he inflames our hearts with the love of God. More than just outward religiosity, piety, in its original sense means filial love, helps us to love the things that God loves and moves us to seek what pleases him like a good child who always wants to make his parents happy.
  

The twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit
If we cooperate well with the Holy Spirit, the fruits of his activity in our souls will soon manifest in our lives. They are the “external product of the indwelling spirit” in the saints, this is seen to a very high degree that the whole Church is moved to praise God for his saving actions in them and inspired to imitate their example. Christ invited us, in what Xavier School has adopted to be its motto, to “let our light shine so that people may see our good works and praise our heavenly Father.” The following are the chief fruits of the Holy Spirit:

• Charity – A Spirit-filled person is unselfish. He sees Christ in others and is moved to serve them lovingly out of piety towards God whom he sees in them.
• Joy – The Spirit-filled person is not burdened with undue fear but only with the fear of God. He serves God and others with joy, a joy that radiates from his deep relationship with God.
• Peace – The Spirit-filled person finds God in all things. Hence, he is seldom bothered with worry because he trusts God with childlike confidence and seeks only to accomplish his will, even if this sometimes requires suffering endured in fortitude.
• Patience – The Spirit–filled person is not easily angered and is not prone to hatred. He is calm in all situations, preferring to listen to the Spirit’s counsel instead of his rash emotions.
• Kindness - The Spirit–filled person is kind and considerate, always accommodating and ready to give service to others as he is to God, especially kind to the needy and weak.
• Goodness/Righteousness - The Spirit–filled person is determined to do good even when this is difficult. He does not yield to pressure but decides with wisdom according to the will of God. He is not however self-righteous or condemning. His uncompromising goodness always comes with charity and meekness.
• Long-Suffering/Endurance - The Spirit–filled person, although not immune to pain, is strengthened from despair. In times of trial, he trusts in God and looks up to heaven not in rebellion but in trust, wisely seeing the value of sufferings in his life.
• Mildness - The Spirit–filled person is gentle, “easy to be with.” Not only does he see God in all things, this also leads him to reflect God’s gentle and assuring presence.
• Faith - The Spirit–filled person is a man of faith, which helps him to understand events in his life as revealing the will of God. He trusts God and his plan for his life.
• Modesty - The Spirit–filled person avoids offending God and others in all things out of reverential fear. He is always careful about his actions, words.
• Continence - The Spirit–filled person has self-control in all things. He is not easily carried away by impulse or cravings, his passions directed only to the will of God and regulated by reason and grace.
• Chastity - The Spirit–filled person understands his sexuality and understands it as truly God’s beautiful gift received in joy to be shared to others instead of being used only for one’s pleasure. He uses the gift of sexuality wisely.