United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

Chapter 16. Confirmation: Consecrated for Mission • 211

permanent relationship with God and indicate that these Sacraments may be received only once. • “When Confirmation is celebrated separately from Baptism, its con nection with Baptism is expressed, among other ways, by the renewal of baptismal promises. The celebration of Confirmation during the Eucharist helps underline the unity of the Sacraments of Christian Initiation” (CCC, no. 1321). MEDITATION There are those who have said that courage in witnessing our faith is one of the best proofs for the existence of God. Confirmation is the Sacrament that makes possible courageous witness. The never-ending stories of martyrs and other Christian heroes and heroines throughout the centuries to the present provide ample evidence of the Holy Spirit’s gift of courage. Today, there are plenty of opportunities to act coura geously on behalf of the teachings of Christ and the Church, to promote the stability of marriage, to support the ideals of family life, to be brave in defending human life from conception to death, to be steadfast in seeking justice for the oppressed, and to be determined that the light of Christ’s compassion and peace will shine everywhere on earth.

PRAYER Come, Holy Ghost (A Hymn to the Holy Spirit)

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest, and in our hearts take up thy rest. Come with thy grace, and heavenly aid to fill the hearts which thou hast made. •

Breathe on me breath of God, my soul with grace refine, Until this earthly part of me, glows with your fire divine.

—Edwin Hatch