Elise Harris
Pope Francis said today that Confirmation is the sacrament in which Catholics are marked with a seal that solidifies their belonging to Christ through the Holy Spirit, adding that this is God’s invisible gift to each person who receives the sacrament.
Referring to how candidates for Confirmation are told to “receive the seal of the Holy Spirit given to you as a gift”, the Pontiff that the Holy Spirit “is the invisible gift bestowed” on candidates, and the holy oil they are anointed with, called “chrism”, is the “visible seal” of this gift.
“In the image of Christ who bears on himself the seal of the Father, Christians are also marked with a seal that says to whom they belong,” he said, adding that “it is God himself who confirms us in Christ and who has given us the anointing, he has impressed us with a seal and has given us the deposit of the Spirit in our hearts”.
Pope Francis spoke to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly general audience, which this week focused on the sacrament of Confirmation as a part of the process of Christian initiation in the Catholic Church.
Confirmation, he said, “shines in the light of baptism” and is fulfilled in the reception of the Eucharist.
He noted how candidates, at one point during the Confirmation Mass, are asked to renew the promises made by their parents and godparents at their baptism. With Confirmation, “now it is they themselves who profess Faith in the Church, ready to respond ‘I believe’ to the questions asked by the bishop”.
The coming of the Holy Spirit requires that hearts be gathered in prayer, he said, noting that this is why after a moment of silence among the congregation, the bishop extends his hands toward the candidates and “asks God to infuse in them the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete”.
Pope Francis concluded his address saying the Holy Spirit is “an undeserved gift to be welcomed with gratitude, making room for his inexhaustible creativity”.
Catholic News Agency (CNA)