The
Sacrament of Confirmation and the Unity of the Spirit
"[B]eing
diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one
body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope
of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one
God and Father of all ...." (Ephesians 4:3-5)
In
this verse St. Paul tells us that there is one baptism. Elsewhere St. Paul
tells us that through baptism the Holy Spirit incorporates us into the Body
(cf. 1 Corinthians 12:13; Rom 6:3; Gal 3:27). Since baptism incorporates us into
the one Body, therefore baptism is essential for ecclesial unity. Here in
the fourth chapter of his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul also tells us that
at least part of what it means to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with
which we have been called is to be diligent (i.e. to strive) to preserve the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. He obliquely explains what he means
by "unity of the Spirit" when he says subsequently, "There is
one Body and one Spirit." How does there being one Body and one Spirit
explain the meaning of the "unity of the Spirit"? Because the Holy
Spirit is the soul of the mystical Body of Christ. St Augustine writes,
"What
the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which
is the Church." (Sermo 267,4)[1]
Pope
Pius XII, adds:
"To
this Spirit of Christ, as an invisible principle, is to be ascribed the fact
that all the parts of the body are joined one with the other and with their
exalted head; for the whole Spirit of Christ is in the head, the whole Spirit
is in the body, and the whole Spirit is in each of the members." (Mystici
Corporis Christi, 57)
The
Catechism of the Catholic Church, citing Lumen
Gentium, adds:
"The Church is one because of her
"soul": "It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who
believe and pervading and ruling over the entire Church, who brings about that
wonderful communion of the faithful and joins them together so intimately in
Christ that he is the principle of the Church's unity."[2]
In
any living body, the soul of that body causes that body to be one living
body. It is in virtue of the unity of the soul that there is one life present
in a living organism. There are various molecular, metabolic, systemic, and
kinetic activities in various parts of the body; yet there is one overall
activity, i.e. the life of the organism. In the same way, since the Spirit is
the soul of the mystical Body of Christ, the Spirit causes the mystical Body to
be one. The "unity of the Spirit" is the unity that the Spirit, as
the soul of the mystical Body, effects between all the members of the mystical
Body.
I
have discussed [here]
the nature of baptism and the Spirit's operation in baptism. So here I want to
look at the role of confirmation in ecclesial unity. Consider again what St.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:13:
"For
by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether
slaves or free, and of one Spirit we all were given to drink." (1
Corinthians 12:13)
Notice
that we are first baptized into the Church by the Spirit, and then we are given
to drink of the Spirit. What does it mean, "of one Spirit we all were
given to drink"? It is helpful, I think, to remind ourselves of what Jesus
says:
"He
who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow
rivers of living water.' But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who
believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because
Jesus was not yet glorified." (John 7:38-39)
The
reference is to a filling (to the point of overflowing) of the Holy Spirit.
Where do we get this filling of the Spirit?
I
was raised a Pentecostal and I remained in that tradition until my early
twenties. I learned much in that tradition, and I still have great respect for
the devotion and love for God that I experienced and developed there, including
the love of Scripture and the deep desire to be filled with and led by the Holy
Spirit. So I have much in common with my Pentecostal brothers and sisters, and
a treasury of formative experiences and memories among them.
In
the process of becoming Catholic, I realized that my Pentecostal brothers and
sisters had seen something that other Protestants had not recognized (Anglo-Catholics excepting): that the
filling of the Spirit is something truly distinct from baptism per se. (See,
for example, the statement of the Assemblies
of God on baptism in the Holy Spirit.) In the early Church the laying of
hands for the filling of the Spirit directly followed baptism. We can see that
clearly in Acts 8:14-17.
"Now
when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God,
they sent them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they
might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they
had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they began laying
their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit."
That
remains the practice of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and also for adults
entering the Catholic Church. (In the Catholic Church children are confirmed
when they have reached the age of discretion.) At some point very early,
consecrated oil was used with the laying on of hands, to signify the anointing
of the Holy Spirit. This sacrament came to be called chrismation (by the
Greeks) and confirmation (by the Latins). We can see it described in multiple
places in the fathers.
St.
Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386 AD) writes:
"You
have anointed my head with oil. (Psalm 22:5) With oil he anointed your head
upon your forehead, for the seal
which you have from God; that you may be made the engraving of the signet,
Holiness unto God. ... But beware of supposing this to be plain ointment. For
as the Bread of the Eucharist, after the invocation of the Holy Spirit is mere
bread no longer, but the Body of Christ, so also this holy ointment is no more
simple ointment, nor (so to say) common, after invocation, but it is Christ's
gift of grace, and, by the advent of the Holy Spirit, is made fit to impart His
Divine Nature. Which ointment is symbolically [i.e. as a symbol] applied to
your forehead and your other senses; and while your body
is anointed with the visible anointment, your soul is sanctified by the Holy
and life-giving Spirit. ... And to you, after you had come up from the pool of
the sacred streams, was given an Unction, the antetype of that wherewith Christ
was anointed; and this is the Holy Spirit." (Catechesis 22:7; 21:3)
Tertullian
(c. 160 – c. 240 AD) writes:
"After
this, when we have issued from the [baptismal] font, we are thoroughly anointed
with a blessed unction [i.e. oil], -- [a practice derived] from the old
discipline, wherein, on entering the priesthood, [men] were wont to be anointed
with oil from a horn, ever since Aaron was anointed by Moses; whence Aaron is
called 'Christ,' from the 'chrism,' which is the 'the unction'; which, when
made spiritual, furnished an appropriate name to the Lord, because He was
'anointed' with the Spirit by God the Father; as [we have it] in the Acts; 'For
truly they were gathered together in this city against Your Holy Son whom You
have anointed' (Acts 4:27). Thus, too, in our case, the unction runs [down our
flesh] carnally, but profits spiritually, in the same way as the act of baptism
itself too is carnal, in that we are plunged in water; the effect spiritual, in
that we are freed from sins. In the next place the hand [of the bishop] is laid
on us, invoking and inviting the Holy Spirit (through the words of
benediction)." (On Baptism, Chptr 7,8)
St.
Cyprian bishop of Carthage (d. 258) writes:
"And
therefore, because [the Samaritans] had obtained a legitimate and
ecclesiastical baptism, there was no need that they should be baptized any
more, but only that which was needed was performed by Peter and John; viz.,
that prayer being made for them, and hands being imposed, the Holy Spirit should
be invoked and poured out upon them (Acts 8:14ff.), which now too is done among
us, so that they who are baptized in the Church are brought to the prelates of
the Church, and by our prayers and by the imposition of hands obtain the Holy
Spirit, and are perfected with the Lord's seal."
St.
Theophilus bishop of Antioch (fl. ~170 AD) writes:
"Are
you unwilling to be anointed with the oil of God? Wherefore we are called
Christians [lit. anointed ones] on this account, because we are anointed with
the oil of God."
St.
Jerome (340 – 420 AD) writes:
"Don't
you know that the laying on of hands after baptism and then the invocation of
the Holy Spirit is a custom of the Churches? Do you demand Scripture proof? You
may find it in the Acts of the Apostles. And even if it did not rest on the
authority of Scripture the consensus of the whole world in this respect would
have the force of a command. For many other observances of the Churches, which
are due to tradition, have acquired the authority of the written law." (Dialogue
against the Luciferians, Chptr 8)
This
sacrament confirms and strengthens baptismal grace, hence its name
"Confirmation". It is defined as that sacrament that perfects
baptismal grace by the sealing with the gift of the Holy Spirit. We see it
prefigured in the Old Testament when the Old Testament prophets announced that
the Spirit would be poured out on the entire messianic people (cf. Joel
2:28-29; Ez. 36:25-27)
We
find it taught in the New Testament as well. For example, in the gospels we see
the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at His baptism by John. (Matt 3:13-17)
Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit. (John 7:37-39; 16:7-15; Acts 1:8) And,
as I have pointed out above, the filling of the Spirit is shown to be distinct
from baptism in Acts 8:15-17. Notice there that deacons cannot confirm,
otherwise Philip could have done it himself.[3]
This is why, in the Catholic Church only the bishop can administer
confirmation, though if the need arises the bishop can grant this faculty to
priests. (CCC 1313) Why only
the bishops? Because the bishops are the successors of the Apostles. The
sacrament is administered by the bishop applying the consecrated oil to the
forehead of the recipient, in the sign of the cross, while the bishop says,
"Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit."
This
sacrament signifies and effects the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon us and
our being sealed by the Holy Spirit.
"Now
He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who
also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a
pledge." (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
"In
Him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
and have believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit."
(Ephesians 1:13)
"And
do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for
the day of redemption." (Eph 4:30)
"And
they were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green
thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal
of God on their foreheads". (Revelation 9:4)
Confirmation
also binds us more firmly to Christ and to the Church.[4]
We are bound more firmly to the Church through the sacrament of confirmation
because the Spirit is the soul of the Church. To be filled with the Holy Spirit
is therefore also to be filled with the soul of the Church, that which animates
and unifies the Body of Christ. For that reason, the more we are filled with
the Spirit, the greater will be our passion for the unity of the Body of
Christ. Not only that, but the more deeply will we be incorporated into that
one life of the Body. For this reason, confirmation is closely connected to our
responsibility to observe St. Paul's exhortation to preserve the "unity of
the Spirit", for the Spirit, through confirmation, helps the Church to
resist schism and pursue and preserve the full unity of the Body.