Confirmed people share more fully in the mission of the Church
In society, important tasks are entrusted to mature and adequately prepared people. You also want to be an adult and have all the rights, which the elders have. However, you do realize, that one must prepare for living among people. That's why you are learning, you wonder, what profession to choose, you get to know your future rights and obligations.
And how is it in the Church ? Or do you have to be mature, to have all rights ? What tasks does a mature Christian participate in? ?
A closer relationship with the Church
At the time of baptism, St.. Christ joined us together and introduced us to the People of God, that is, to the Church. “So, by baptism into death, we were buried with Him for this, that we too may enter a new life…” (Rz 6, 4). From now on, the Christian is to work with Christ to save himself and the whole world. He was summoned, to participate in the mission of Christ in communion with the Church : to preach the word of God, worship the Father and work to improve the world.
In the sacrament of Confirmation, the Christian receives the power of the Holy Spirit, that is, he becomes gifted, to fulfill the mission of Christ in a mature and responsible way. As a mature Christian, he has full rights in the Church. Filled with the Holy Spirit is "ordained in power", that is, as if consecrated to the apostleship.
Participation in the mission of Christ
Christ, when he was about to begin his mission, he received "anointing with the Holy Spirit" after baptism in Jordan. Likewise, when His Church was about to begin its activities, on Paschal Pentecost he received the Holy Spirit (by. Catechism Vol. II, unit. 25).
Christ made this known to the Apostles : …..when the Holy Spirit will come upon you, you will receive His power and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all over Judea, and in Samaria, to the ends of the earth " (Dz 1, 8). The mission of the apostles is thus linked by Christ with the granting of the Holy Spirit and His power.
Through the "anointing with the Holy Spirit" in the sacrament of Confirmation, a Christian becomes a participant in Christ's triple mission in the Church : priestly, prophetic and royal.
The confirmed person participates more than the baptized person in the priestly mission of Christ. For he is called and gifted not only for this, to save yourself, but also this, to work with Christ for the salvation of all people.
A mature Christian participates more fully in Christ's prophetic mission, that is, in the teaching of the Church. Indeed, he receives the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim publicly and spread faith in union with Christ.
He can do this by word and example. The Christian "anointed with the Holy Spirit" also participates in Christ's royal mission. He does it then, when with your life attitude, that is, by your behavior, helps others to overcome evil, and it strengthens them in doing good, thus building the Kingdom of God in the world.
Thus, by actively participating in the threefold mission of Christ, the confirmed person testifies, that Christ has saved us and that he continues his work of salvation through the Church.
How will I answer God ?
On the day of your baptism yours was completed ,,new birth ". Now you are preparing for this moment, when you become a mature Christian through Confirmation, even more closely connected with the Church and participating in the fulfillment of her mission in the world. How are you preparing for this mission ? Are you striving for your own sanctification, then to contribute to the sanctification of others ? How you try to find out the truths of faith, so that you can then proclaim them to others ? How do you overcome evil in yourself, to be able to overcome them later in your environment ?
You can express your request for help from the Holy Spirit in words :
"O Holy Spirit, You who are one with the Father and the Son,
Please choose an apartment in us
Penetrating the heart into the heart.
Let the mouth, language, thought, mind
The strength of your glory resounds
Let love shine
And he pours his fires into his neighbors.
0. make it, Father the best,
The Son, the Father is glorified
And with the Comforter Spirit
Ruling for all eternity ".
(St.. Ambroży : Hymn ,,now, Saint, we, spirit…"Transl. L. Staff).
■ Think :
1. Co dokonało się w nas w chwili chrztu św. ?
2. Co św. Paul writes about the sacrament of baptism in the Letter to the Romans ?
3. W jakiej misji Chrystusa uczestniczy bierzmowany ?
■ Remember:
27. Czym Chrystus obdarza chrześcijanina w sakramencie bierzmowania ?
In Confirmation, Christ gives the Christian the power of the Holy Spirit.
28. Jakie zadania otrzymuje chrześcijanin w sakramencie bierzmowania ?
In the sacrament of Confirmation, the Christian is given a task : testify to salvation, which Christ did, and which is realized in the world through the Church.
■ Task :
Consider, what you can help your parish with ? (Here are some suggestions : visit a sick person, help the elderly, defective, lonely ; help the catechist, cooperate with the parish priest - you can invent others yourself).