Confirmation is a
sacrament that completes our bond with
Christ and His Church: that’s what Pope
Francis told tens of thousands of pilgrims
gathered Wednesday for the weekly General
Audience 29.01.2013. The Pope, bundled up
in a white winter coat on this frigid and
overcast
day, continued his catechesis on the seven
Sacraments, telling the crowds gathered in St.
Peter’s Square that Confirmation is “linked
inseparably to Baptism.” These two
sacraments, together with the Eucharist, the
Holy Father said, “form a unique salvific
event: Christian initiation” in which we
become living members of the Church.
Through our anointing with the sacred
chrism, Confirmation strengthens and
"confirms" us in the grace of our Baptism,
uniting "us more firmly to Christ."
Confirmation "completes our bond with the
Church," he noted, and “grants us a special
strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and
defend the faith, to confess the name of
Christ and to never be ashamed of his cross."
The working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, he
noted, is reflected in the seven spiritual gifts
of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude,
knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.
Departing from his prepared remarks, Pope
Francis several times urged families to
ensure their children receive the sacrament
of Confirmation, without which, he stressed,
they’ve only come "half-way." When we
welcome the Holy Spirit in our hearts, Christ
Himself becomes present in us and takes form
in our lives, the Pope said. Through us and our
actions, it will be He "who prays and
forgives, hope and consolation, serves our
brothers, helps those in need," and helps
spread communion and peace. In remarks
following his catechesis, Pope Francis
challenged authorities to make employment,
"a source of dignity, everyone’s central
concern." He also condemned all forms of
usury, saying that when families cannot eat
because they have to pay off loan sharks, “it
is not Christian it is not human."