by Fr. Tommy Lane
We are aware of the presence of God in many ways and meet God in many ways, but the sacraments are special ways in which we meet Jesus. When you receive a sacrament, although you hear the priest saying the words, it is Jesus himself who is talking to you and giving you grace in the sacrament. So, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation when you hear the priest say, “I absolve you from your sins” it is really Jesus who is saying to you, “I absolve you from your sins” and you receive the forgiveness from Jesus. When you hear the priest say, “I baptize you…” it is really Jesus who is speaking and baptizing. When the bishop will say during Confirmation, “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit” it is really Jesus who speaking.
In each sacrament there is something visible which is pointing beyond itself to God and a prayer accompanying that sign. In Baptism, it is the pouring of water, and the prayer is “Name, I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” In the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the visible is the bread and wine until the consecration (and afterwards the Body and Blood of Jesus) and the prayer is the words of the consecration. In Confirmation, it is the bishop anointing on the forehead with the oil of chrism and the prayer is, “Name, Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.” For each of the seven sacraments—and the sacraments were given to us by Jesus—there is something visible pointing beyond itself and there is an accompanying prayer.
Each sacrament gives us a grace that we receive only in that sacrament. The sacrament of Baptism removes original sin, unites us with Jesus, gives us the Holy Spirit and makes us adopted children of God. When we receive the Eucharist, we receive many graces which we could sum up as the grace of closer union with Jesus. The sacrament of Confirmation completes the grace we received in the Sacrament of Baptism and gives us the mission of witnessing publicly to Jesus. That is why sometimes we speak about the sacrament as making us an adult Christian. Just how important the sacrament of Confirmation is for us can be seen in that if a child is in danger of death, a priest will confirm that child. We want everyone to be confirmed in preparation for the next life. While every sacrament gives a grace that we receive only in that sacrament, it would be a pity to allow that grace to lie somewhat dormant or asleep. That is why staying close to Jesus and Mary, praying to them every day, is so important. Above all, we keep the grace of the sacraments by meeting Jesus at Mass every Sunday. After all, it is what Jesus asks of us. Keep holy the Lord’s Day. We do that by going to Mass. It is part of witnessing to Jesus like someone confirmed.
Three sacraments leave a permanent mark on our souls and so we receive those sacraments only once: the sacrament of Baptism, the sacrament of Confirmation, and for priests the Sacrament of Holy Orders in which they are ordained priests. After you were baptized, you had a mark or seal put on your soul. At Confirmation another mark or seal is put on your soul again. It doesn’t disappear but as I said, it would be a pity to let it go dormant or go to sleep.
To receive a sacrament, we want to be in a state of grace, having our soul clean to meet and receive Jesus since it is Jesus who comes to us in a special way in every sacrament. For the same reason, I suggest to couples getting married, to prepare for their wedding with a good confession so that they are able to receive fully the grace of the sacrament of matrimony on the day of their wedding. That is why the children will have a retreat before Confirmation and an opportunity to go to confession.
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2022
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.