I know The Catholic Church teaches when your baptized you recieve the Holy Spirit. And I do believe in Confirmation, but I really don't know how to explain it if someone asked. I mean I could, but for me it seems the scriptures are not clear!

I know of the verses for confirmation, but none I know of says anything about getting the Holy Spirit in a deeper or fuller effect. They just say that some DID NOT hear of any Holy Spirit but was only baptized in Christ. So the apostles laid on their hands and they RECIEVED the Holy Spirit, but it doesn't say IN A DEEPER EFFECT. It just says THEY RECIEVED the Holy Spirit.

Can anyone help me? I do believe in it as ALL Catholic doctrines, but this sacrament has just always been hard for me to understand, at least in the Bible.

Are there any examples at all in the Bible where it says someone recieves the Spirit in a fuller effect, ANYWHERE?

Thanks brothers and sisters.

-- Jason (Enchanted fire5@aol.com), May 17, 2004

Answers

The Apostles were undoubtedly baptized at some point after coming to Christ, before they set out baptizing others. At that time they received the Holy Spirit. However, they certainly received the Holy Spirit in a far fuller way at Pentecost. Confirmation is the Pentecost sacrament, by which we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill our mission as adult members of Christ's Church.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), May 17, 2004.

Good questions Jason. I've had similar struggles fully understanding Confirmation. I still do.

I have heard Paul M's explanation before and that helps me. The way I understand Confimation, it is a maturing in the faith that strengthens us to witness and testify to the Gospel in the world. Baptism makes us members of the Body. Confirmation prepares us to go forth and spread the Good News (like what happened for the Apostles at Pentecost), increasing and strengthening the Body of Christ. If we were baptised as infants, someone spoke for us, in Confirmation, we stand up and speak for ourselves. In this respect, I guess most everybody who was baptised in Scripture in Acts and the Epistles, were also confirmed at the same time.

As far as Scriptural references go, if no one else posts the refernces and their implications, I guess its time for me to check it out myself anyway.

Weren't Baptism and Confirmation celebrated at the same time in the early church? I think this may have changed in time because of the length of time it took bishops to travel so they could confirm members. Priests (or any believer, if you're in dire straits)can baptise and are always readily available.

-- Andy S ("aszmere@earthlink.net"), May 17, 2004.

Hi Jason,

I've never had a problem with believing in the sacrament of confirmation. I guess a good comparison in Protestantism would be to someone who grew up going to church with their parents, and when he was old enough to discern for himself, decided to follow Christ (ie. "get saved"). I think the error in this Protestant line of thinking is that they typically see salvation as a one time event. Whereas Catholics see it as a process that begins as a certain point and continues over an entire lifetime, in which God is continually working on you and perfecting, molding you closer to the image of His Son.

Here is a good verse to support confession: Rom. 10 (NIV) 9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

We must decide to follow Christ and acknowledge Him as Lord of our lives, and confirmation affords the perfect opportunity to do this. Infant baptism is the initiation of God's grace on a person, based on the faith of the parents. At the point of confirmation, the child confirms this faith as his own.

God bless,

-- Emily ("jesusfollower7@yahoo.com), May 17, 2004.

Hi Jason,

I'm going to take a shot at an answer for you. I hope someone will correct my feeble attempt. I'll paraphrase some from Ludwig Ott's Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma entry on Confirmation and Scripture.

1. Confirmation is a sacrament because it was instituted by Christ. This can be proved indirectly from Scripture.

a. The Apostles communicated the Holy Spirit by the outward inposition of hands on those who were baptised. (see Acts 8:14-17; Acts 19:5-7)

In Heb 6:1-2 it is mentioned along with baptism. " Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God [baptism?], with instruction about ablutions, the laying on of hands, [confirmation?] the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment."

b. The Old Testament foretells of the outpuring of the Holy Spirit upon all of humanity in the Messianic era. (see Joel 2:28-29; Isaiah 44:3-5; Ezekial 39:28-29)

c. Jesus promised the Apostles (see John 14:16-17; John 16:7-15; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:5) and all the faithful (see John 7:38-39) the Holy Spirit.

2. There is also evidence from the early church fathers for confirmation as separate from baptism.

Some Christians interpret Scripture as referring to one baptism, baptism in the Holy Spirit. I think the Catholic position is that there is one baptism (of water and through the power of the Holy Spirit), but infusion of the Holy Spirit itself occurs with the laying on of hands, in Confirmation. One can argue from Scripture that this is an event separate from the water baptism in which we are baptised into Christ.

-- Andy S ("aszmere@earthlink.net"), May 17, 2004.

Acts 19:1-6 describes an occasion where Paul encounters a group of "believers" or "disciples" (depending on your translation). This description indicates that these people were certainly baptized. However they had not yet received the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Paul then ministers the sacrament of Confirmation to them, by the laying on of hands.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), May 18, 2004.

Jason,

Did we adequately answer your question?

-- Andy S ("aszmere@earthlink.net"), May 21, 2004.