Confirmation

As a sacrament of Initiation, Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. Through this sacrament, the baptized are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. As true witnesses of Christ, they are more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.

On several occasions Christ promised an outpouring of the Spirit, a promise which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at Pentecost. Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began to proclaim "the mighty works of God," and Peter declared this outpouring of the Spirit to be the sign of the messianic age. Those who believed in the apostolic preaching and were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit in their turn. In fulfillment of Christ's will, the apostles imparted to the newly baptized through the laying on of hands the gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of Baptism. To emphasize the connection of Confirmation to this outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the hands of the apostles, Confirmation is usually conferred by a bishop, successor to the apostles.

Youth or adults who are already baptized and would like more information about receiving the sacrament should contact our Religious Education office at ibarry@lfparish.org for more details.

Adults who are not baptized or in full communion with the Catholic Church are invited to visit our Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) page.