The Sacrament of Confirmation

What is Confirmation, what happens in it, & why does It matter?

The Catholic sacrament of Confirmation gives us grace and a share in the mystery of Pentecost. Through the sacrament of Confirmation, the same Holy Spirit who has comforted and guided the Catholic Church throughout the centuries is given to each of us in a personal way. In this sacrament, we receive the very same gift of the Holy Spirit which made the Apostles ready to preach Christ to the ends of the earth at Pentecost. In this Aquinas 101 video, join Fr. Innocent Smith, O.P., a Catholic priest and Dominican friar from the province of St. Joseph, as he explains the powerful gift of grace Catholics receive in the sacrament of Confirmation, according to St. Thomas Aquinas.

The Grace, Character, & Mission of Confirmation

The Catholic sacrament of Confirmation gives us grace and a share in the mystery of Pentecost. Through the sacrament of Confirmation, the same Holy Spirit who has comforted and guided the Catholic Church throughout the centuries is given to each of us in a personal way. In this sacrament, we receive the very same gift of the Holy Spirit which made the Apostles ready to preach Christ to the ends of the earth at Pentecost. In this Aquinas 101 video, join Fr. Innocent Smith, O.P., a Catholic priest and Dominican friar from the province of St. Joseph, as he explains the powerful gift of grace Catholics receive in the sacrament of Confirmation, according to St. Thomas Aquinas.

The Holy Spirit & the Sacrament of Confirmation

Why does Confirmation matter? In the Catholic Church, the sacrament of Confirmation is far more than a rite of passage — it’s a powerful encounter with the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles at Pentecost, so too does He come to each of us in our own personal Pentecost through this sacrament.

In this Aquinas 101 video on Confirmation, Fr. James Brent, O.P., a priest and Dominican friar of the Province of St. Joseph, explains the Catholic theology behind Confirmation according to St. Thomas Aquinas and how it strengthens the grace of baptism, forming us into bold witnesses of Christ. Through this sacrament, we receive not just the Gift of the Holy Spirit, but the power to live out the fruits of the Spirit and the beatitudes — becoming more like Christ.

The Sacramental Character of Confirmation

If you're preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Catholic Church, you need to know about the sacramental character of Confirmation, one of the sacraments of initiation. As the sacrament of Christian maturity, the sacrament of Confirmation has a special sacramental character character in which the faithful are prepared to witness to Christ. In this video, you'll learn from Fr. Cajetan Cuddy, O.P., a Catholic priest and Dominican friar from the Province of St. Joseph, as he explains what the sacramental character of Confirmation is and how the sacrament of Confirmation equips you to witness to Christ, citing St. Thomas Aquinas and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 

The Beatitudes & the Fruits of the Holy Spirit

What really happens when you're confirmed? In the sacrament of Confirmation, the Holy Spirit comes to complete the work God began in your baptism. The Holy Spirit also helps you to live out the beatitudes: a portrait of the very heart of Jesus Christ.

By inspiring us to practice the beatitudes, the Spirit reproduces the heart of Jesus in you and in me more and more. When the work of the Spirit comes to full realization in us, the results are called the fruits of the Spirit: a taste of the Lord's goodness you were made for.

In this Aquinas 101 video on the sacrament of Confirmation, join Fr. James Brent, O.P., a priest and Dominican friar of the Province of St. Joseph, as he explains how the Holy Spirit helps us to live out the Beatitudes and brings the likeness of Jesus to full stature in us—forming us into true, free, bold witnesses to Christ.