How Does A Christening Prepare For A Catholic Confirmation?
In Christianity’s faith, there are seven sacraments that are essential pillars to the religion and are necessary to follow to live the life Christ intended for us to live. There are 3 out of these seven sacraments, which are the foundation of one’s faith as they are the ones that initiate a person and make him part of the family of Christ. These three sacraments are Christening or Baptism, Communion and Confirmation.
These three sacraments have different purposes and procedures, but at the same time, they work in synergy and cannot function without the others. That is to say, starting with Christening, then the First Communion and then the Confirmation, this is one whole procedure of initiating yourself. Here you can get your confirmation invitation cards.
Christening/Baptism
Derived from the Greek word bapto, which means to wash or immerse Baptism, is the very first ritual to initiate yourself in the family of Christ. The ritual symbolizes the washing away of sins and the soul’s cleansing by immersing it in water.
Not only is this ritual a must for anyone converting to Catholic Christianity, but it is also necessary for newborns to initiate themselves. The Baptism of water itself is an act that personifies obedience and symbolizes the forgiveness and unity with Christ and The Holy Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Being an essential part of the faith, this is the first step to entering the family of Christ.
First Holy Communion
The CommunionCommunion is a ceremony that pins a child or adult’s first reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is an incredibly important and grand ritual for Catholic Christians and is carried out through family gatherings, festivals and ceremonies dedicated to the process.
The events involve the exchange of gifts and usually have a dress code of special white clothes. The color white symbolizes purity and novelty. In most instances, this Communion takes place when a child is 7 or 8 newborn Christians.
Confirmation
After the Christening and Baptism are carried out, the last ritual necessary to initiate yourself as a faithful Catholic Christian Confirmation is necessary.
Carried out as a coming-of-age ceremony for young adults, the Confirmation’s purpose is to strengthen the faith given to the individual during his/her Christening. This ritual can be carried out in privacy or with a mass crowd around. It begins with a Bishop dressed in red vestments, which symbolize the red flames dazzling over the apostles’ heads at Pentecost.
Every person that wants to get confirmed needs to bring forth a sponsor who may or may not be the chosen god-parents during Baptism. The process goes as follows;
- You kneel before the bishop while your sponsor lays a hand on your shoulder and speaks the name chosen for your Confirmation.
- The bishop then anoints you with the oil of Chrism by making the sign of the Holy Cross on your forehead all the while saying your Confirmation name and ‘Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.’
- Next, you respond ‘Amen’ while the bishop says ‘Peace be with you’ and you further respond with ‘And with your spirit’ or ‘And also with you.’
