Anointed in the Spirit Candidate Handbook - Saint Mary's Press

Confirmation during the Teen YearsJesus of Nazareth1It was Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph andMary, who called Zacchaeus down fromthe tree. Jesus wasn’t just an ordinary guypassing through Jericho, even though hemay have looked like one. He had a humannature, like ours. He experienced pain, joy,loneliness, and love. He laughed and cried.He went through childhood, adolescence,and all the periods of human development,like us. We can imagine him as a youthhanging out with friends and learning carpentryfrom Joseph.Jesus is fully human, like all of us, excepthe did not sin. But there is muchmore to understanding Jesus’ identity. Heis a divine Person, the second Person ofthe Trinity, who took on a human nature.That doesn’t mean he is half man and halfGod. “He became truly man while remainingtruly God. Jesus Christ is true God andtrue man” (Catechism of the Catholic Church[CCC], 464).22 Anointed in the Spirit: Chapter 1Most Confirmation candidates in the United States celebrated Baptismas babies and the Eucharist at around age seven or grade two,and then celebrate Confirmation during the middle school or highschool years. The celebration follows the Rite of Confirmation, whichis what the Church calls the official Confirmation ceremony. TheAnointed in the Spirit program will help you prepare by walking youthrough various parts of the Rite of Confirmation and helping youexplore its rich meaning and significance. Our walk-through of therite begins in this chapter with the Presentation of the Candidates.Presentation of the CandidatesConfirmation is normally celebrated within the Mass. This helps toshow the connection between Confirmation and the other two Sacramentsof Christian Initiation, Baptism and the Eucharist. Whethercelebrated within or outside of the Mass, however, there is a celebrationof the Word, called the Liturgy of the Word, before the Riteof Confirmation. Hearing the Word is important because the HolySpirit flows out among all the people gathered and makes God’swill known in their lives.After the proclamation of the Gospel, the Confirmation Rite itselfbegins with the Presentation of the Candidates. The bishop sitsdown instead of immediately beginning the homily, and the candidatesare then presented to him by a leader in the community, suchas a priest, deacon, or catechist.