At Confirmation we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and confirm our baptismal promises. Greater awareness of the grace of the Holy Spirit is conferred through the anointing of chrism oil and the laying on of hands by the Bishop.
Confirmation perfects Baptismal grace; it is the sacrament which gives the Holy Spirit in order to root us more deeply in the divine filiation, incorporate us more firmly into Christ, strengthen our bond with the Church, associate us more closely with her mission, and help us bear witness to the Christian faith in words accompanied by deeds. (CCC 1316)
Through the Sacrament of Confirmation we renew our baptismal promises and commit to living a life of maturity in the Christian faith. As we read in the Lumen Gentium (the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church) from the Second Vatican Council:
Bound more intimately to the Church by the sacrament of confirmation, [the baptized] are endowed by the Holy Spirit with special strength; hence they are more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith both by word and by deed as true witnesses of Christ. (no. 11)
Scriptural Foundation for Confirmation
In the Acts of the Apostles we read of the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. While baptism is the sacrament of new life, confirmation gives birth to that life. Baptism initiates us into the Church and names us as children of God, whereas confirmation calls us forth as God’s children and unites us more fully to the active messianic mission of Christ in the world.
After receiving the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the Apostles went out and confirmed others, showing confirmation to be an individual and separate sacrament: Peter and John at Samaria (Acts 8:5-6, 14-17) and Paul at Ephesus (Acts 19:5-6). Also the Holy Spirit came down on Jews and Gentiles alike in Caesarea, prior to their baptisms. Recognizing this as a confirmation by the Holy Spirit, Peter commanded that they be baptized (cf. Acts 10:47).
Ordinarily, youth make their Confirmation in the tenth grade.
Youth need to have two years of preparation, usually beginning in the ninth grade.
Preparation entails classroom instruction, liturgical service, and community service.
Confirmation preparation begins in mid-September.
Confirmation brings to fullness that life in the Holy Spirit into which we were first initiated at Baptism. To that end the Confirmation Program at St. Thomas Church seeks to integrate the basic elements and tenets of the Catholic Faith previously received.
Those preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation will engage in class lessons and discussions. Lessons will include such topics as: God’s revelation to mankind, the human person as imago Dei, review of Sacramental theology, moral decision making, the Church as agent of salvation, the manifestation of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, discussion of Old Testament in light of New Testament teaching, the various forms of prayer and its necessity in the life of the Christian, and issues of social justice as they apply to the Christian in the modern world.
Program components in addition to class attendance include, community service, and attendance at a one-day retreat. Regular attendance at Holy Mass is the heart of Catholic life and from which all programs find their source. Therefore weekly attendance at Holy Mass is expected of all Confirmation candidates.
All forms are on-line. Please click on the link below.
Office phone at St. Thomas: 802-899-4632
Office phone at St. Mary’s: 802-644-5073
Fax: 802-899-5120