Confirmation

Today I will be sponsoring a young lady from the Parish as she is confirmed. Today my husband will be assisting the Bishop on the altar. Confirmation means a lot of things but to a Catholic it primarily means that you have received the gifts of the holy spirit
What is Confirmation?
When you  confirm something means it means you establish the truth or correctness of (something previously believed, suspected, or feared to be the case). It also means that you state  with assurance that a report or fact is true. So if that is what the word means in plain English what does that have to do with being Catholic?
For Catholics, Confirmation is one of the Seven Sacraments, and one of the Sacraments of Initiation. During Confirmation the candidates are confirming their belief in God and Jesus and reaffirming the baptism vows made on their behalf by their parents and Godparents.  During Confirmation the candidate receives the Holy Spirit and the gifts that it brings.
Why do Catholic Confirm?
Catholics find their foundation for Conformation in scripture  Acts of the Apostles 8:14-17:

Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

Confirmation is typically performed by the local Bishop. That is because the bishop through has received his authority from the Pope, who can trace his authority back to the first Bishop of Rome – Peter the Apostle. It is though the laying on of hands that have that Confirmation is passed on to the Candidate. No candidate stands alone however, since no of us are alone in Christ. Each candidate has a sponsor to help guide them on their way to the full richness that faith can deliver.

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