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Chapter 16. Confirmation: Consecrated for Mission • 205
fort” (CCC, no. 1294). The Oil of Catechumens is used in Baptism. The
Oil of the Sick is used for the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.
The Recipient of Confirmation
Each baptized person not yet confirmed can and should receive the
Sacrament of Confirmation. In the Latin Church, it is customary to con-
firm candidates between the age of discretion, also called the age of rea-
son, and about sixteen years of age. It is not uncommon that Catholics
not confirmed during this period of their lives for a variety of reasons are
confirmed as adults, often on Pentecost Sunday. The candidate should be
in the state of grace (that is, without serious sin), be well prepared by
prayer and catechesis, and be committed to the responsibilities entailed
by the Sacrament.
The Essential Rite of Confirmation
In continuity with the New Testament custom of laying hands on those
who would receive the gift of the Spirit, the bishop extends his two
hands over all those to be confirmed. He recites a prayer that begs the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and
for the seven gifts traditionally associated with the Spirit. These gifts are
permanent dispositions that move us to respond to the guidance of the
Spirit. The traditional list of the gifts is based on Isaiah 11:1-3: wisdom,
understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety (reverence), and fear
of the Lord (wonder and awe in God’s presence).
The essential rite then follows. In the Latin Rite, “the Sacrament
of Confirmation is conferred through the anointing with Chrism on
the forehead, which is done by the laying on of hands, and through
the words, ‘Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Introduction
to the
Rite of Confirmation
, no. 9). In the Eastern Churches, after a
prayer for the presence and action of the Holy Spirit, the priest anoints
the forehead, eyes, nose, ears, lips, chest, back, hands, and feet of
the candidate with
Myron
(holy oil). With each anointing he says,
“The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The Eastern Churches call
Confirmation “Chrismation.”