Confirmation
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Sacrament of Confirmation – oh that was years ago – Yes, but the power of the Sacrament has laid dormant in you for too long and we need to change that!
We have the wrong idea of the work of the Holy Spirit. We think Jesus came and left at the Ascension and then the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. But the truth of the matter is that the whole life and mission of Jesus was a joint mission of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. Both words mean He is the one anointed by the Holy Spirit. This means every moment of the life of Jesus is inspired and carried out by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. John 3:34 testifies: “The Father Has given the Son the Spirit without reserve.”
This is important because our life and mission also meant to be a joint mission between the Holy Spirit and us. To be a Christian is to share in the same anointing, to receive the Holy Spirit, to be led by the Spirit, inspired and strengthened by the Spirit. But we forget about the presence of the Spirit in our lives, we try to act on our own and the result is that we are weak and timid when we should be strong and bold. Do you wish the Holy Spirit was operating powerfully in your life? Man life would be a lot easier if he was.
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At the beginning of His public ministry
· Jesus was Baptized in the Jordan River.
· John saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Him – manifesting to the world that Jesus is the one anointed by the Holy Spirit – he is the Christ, the Messiah.
· Immediately Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to resist the temptations of the devil.
· From there he was led by the Spirit into Galilee
· One of the first things the Spirit led Jesus to do was form His teams – he actually had more than just the team of the Apostles; he had the 12; but he also had a small group of friends like Martha, Mary Magdalene, Lazarus, Joanna…; and he had the 72 disciples; because it was never his plan to go it alone.
There was this crazy idea in a few places in the early Church to be a solitary monk. A Solitary life only worked for a select few – like St Anthony of the Desert. Solitary doesn’t go so well for most – you go crazy and you grow cold. So Saints Pachomius and St. Basil began forming the monks into a small group of friends who shared life and integrated their faith. St. Basil used to say “If you live alone, whose feet will you wash.”
Solitary monks didn’t work. Solitary Christians never works. Solitary embers grow cold. If you try to live your faith alone – you will grow cold.
Like Jesus, we all need a small group of family and friends with whom we can share life and integrate our faith by good conversation and prayer. Like Jesus, we all need our team. The Holy Spirit led Jesus to form His teams. Holy Spirit we ask you to help us form ours.
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In the Sacrament of Confirmation we receive the same Anointing as Jesus - We receive the strength and power of the Holy Spirit
By Confirmation we are
1. Enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit
2. To resist temptation
3. To share more completely in the mission of Jesus Christ
4. To spread and defend our faith by word and by deed
5. To take up our cross and follow him all the days of our life
Sadly, I can say that for many years after my Confirmation, the gift of the Spirit laid dormant. I did not know the Spirit was there nor how to tap into his power.
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Prayer unleashes the action of the Spirit in our lives. If we want the Holy Spirit to operate powerfully in us then we need to deepen our prayer.
Luke 3:21
After Jesus was baptized, Jesus was praying, the heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him
Acts 1:14
All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary…
CCC 1309 Preparation for Confirmation should aim at leading the Christian toward:
1. a more intimate relationship with Christ in prayer
2. and to a greater cooperation with the gifts of the Holy Spirit (resolution)
CCC 1310 More intense prayer should prepare one to receive the strength and graces of the Holy Spirit with docility and readiness to act.
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Desire and Ask for Inspirations of the Spirit
We must desire God’s inspirations and ask for them frequently in prayer: “Ask, and it will be given you,” Jesus said. One simple prayer we should say often is this: “Inspire me in all my decisions, Lord, and never let me neglect even one of your inspirations.”
For five minutes every day let your imagination be quiet, close your eyes to everything they see, and shut your ears to all the world’s noise so that you can withdraw into your soul where God lives. And say to the Holy Spirit:
Holy Spirit, soul of my soul,
I adore Thee.
Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen and comfort me.
Tell me what I ought to do and order me to do it.
I promise to submit to anything you require from me,
and to accept everything that you allow to happen to me.
Just show me what your will is.
If you do this your life will be peaceful even in troubles. For grace will be given to match any trial, together with the strength to bear it.
Then throughout the day – slow down – pause a moment – ask the Holy Spirit what to do – then give the Spirit some space and time and listen – pay attention and you will begin to notice the Holy Spirit prompting you – then act on those inspirations the best you can.
God will see your desire and effort to be docile to the Spirit and do His will and He will quickly come to your aid.