Are Catholics Sealed with the Holy Spirit During Confirmation?

There are seven sacraments acknowledged by the Catholic Church. The three considered most important are Baptism, the Eucharist (Holy Communion), and Confirmation. If you are unfamiliar with Catholicism, you may be wondering, “What is the purpose of Confirmation?” A Catholic website explains:

“In short it is the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost. Confirmation brings Catholics a deepening of baptismal grace and unites us more firmly to Christ. It increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit and leaves an indelible mark on the soul just like baptism.”[1]

Another writer, quoting the Catholic Catechism, shares:

“The Holy Spirit dwells within us at baptism. Confirmation completes the grace we receive at baptism, since we receive a ‘special strength of the Holy Spirit.’” (CCC 1285ff)[2]

A direct quote from the Catechism also insists:

“Like Baptism which it completes, Confirmation is given only once, for it too imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, the ‘character,’ which is the sign that Jesus Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of his Spirit by clothing him with power from on high so that he may be his witness.” (CCC 1304)[3]

Summarizing the primary points in these quotes, Catholics believe that five main things are imparted during Confirmation:

1. The full outpouring of the Holy Spirit as the apostles received,
2. A deepening of baptismal grace,
3. An awakening of the gifts of the Holy Spirit,
4. The seal of the Holy Spirit resulting in real Christian character,
5. Empowerment to be a more effective witness.

Is this true? Is there a spiritual outpouring, a supernatural reality, accompanying Confirmation that is historically-traceable, doctrinally-provable, and dramatically life-changing? Or is Confirmation just another religious ceremony that fails to deliver to adherents the reality of what is promised? Let’s humbly and sincerely explore this important issue together.

The sacrament of Confirmation

The Confirmation ceremony is simple. Though some minor details may differ, normally, it is performed after a Mass by the bishop of a diocese, though he may appoint a priest to take his place. The bishop normally wears red liturgical garments to represent the fire of the Holy Spirit that came on Pentecost. A homily is presented, and various recitations and prayers are offered. (You can look up the details online.)

Each candidate is brought to the bishop individually by a sponsor, or the bishop may go to them. The candidate announces his or her confirmation name. The bishop makes the sign of the cross on a worshipper’s forehead with special holy anointing oil, calls the candidate by his or her new name, and makes the proclamation, “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit” (a reference to Ephesians 1:13-14). The candidate says, “Amen.” The bishop proclaims, “Peace be with you” and the confirmation candidate responds, “And with your spirit.”

Back in the day when I was confirmed, the bishop would also give the candidate a soft slap on the cheek to represent a willingness to suffer for Christ. (I don’t think this is usually done anymore.) Also, prior to the Vatican II Council especially, it has been customary to kiss the bishop’s ring as a sign of humility, submission, and respect toward the holy One he represents. This traditional anointing ceremony is presented as the means of the gifts of the Holy Spirit being awakened in a Catholic’s life, and the impartation of greater strength to witness the faith.

When I was around about eleven years old, I went through this ritual with all sincerity—at Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church in Norfolk, Virginia. However, for me, it was no more than that—a ritual. There was no supernatural reality, no encounter with the power of God, no transformation, no change of character, no awakening of the gifts of the Spirit, and no deepening of spirituality. In fact, nothing happened at all. Well that’s not fully true. I did get slapped; I got to kiss a bishop’s ring, and I received an additional middle name.

My encounter with the Holy Spirit

When I prayed to receive Jesus into my heart and life, I was born again. At that moment, the Holy Spirit came to dwell within me. The Scripture says, “Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Romans 8:9). However, I longed for the enduement with the power of the Holy Spirit promised in the Bible. The wonderful things that were supposed to happen during the sacrament of Confirmation finally did occur—about nine years later under totally different circumstances. When I was twenty years old, about a year after my initial salvation experience, I was filled with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in a very remarkable and unforgettable way. I had been fervently seeking God for this Charismatic infilling and had not yet received it. Then, when I wasn’t even expecting God to move for me, He did so—powerfully.

It was an ordinary day. I had been working most of the day in a church office and was walking across the street to a Dairy Kreme restaurant to order a banana split. (That was before I got seriously health-minded concerning my diet.) I noticed a lady sitting at a concrete table outside the restaurant wearing a large back brace. I introduced myself as a minister, told her I believed in healing by laying on of hands, and asked if I could pray for her. She happily agreed, declaring that she, too, was a believer.

I laid my right hand on her forehead and lifted my left hand to heaven and began to intercede, declaring God’s promises to heal and praising God for a miracle. Suddenly, and much to my surprise, the power of God—like an intense spiritual fire—hit my left hand, moved down my arm, and exploded with intensity in my chest area. It was an indescribably heavenly ecstasy I had never experienced before (Peter called it “joy inexpressible” / 1 Peter 1:8). During that sacred moment, which was so much more powerful than the traditional ceremony of my younger years, I began speaking in tongues. This phenomenon, also called glossolalia, is an inspired language of worship and was a common sign of the infilling of the Spirit in the early church. (See Acts 2:1-7; 10:44-48; 19:1-7, 1 Corinthians 14:2.)

Speaking in tongues is a gift of the Holy Spirit, referred to in Scripture as “diverse kinds of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:10 KJV). This gift can manifest three ways:

1. Preaching in a known language of which the person speaking in tongues has no knowledge,
2. Giving a prophetic message that must be interpreted,
3. As already stated, a heavenly language of worship that Paul implied can be “tongues of men and of angels” that is only understood only by God (1 Corinthians 13:1; 14:2).

Up until that day, I had never experienced the power of God in such depth. But from that point forward, I have felt the reality of God’s presence in a very tangible way, every day for over fifty years. It changed my walk with God radically. Other gifts of the Spirit were also stirred up in my life, which normally should happen. (See 1 Corinthians 12:1-11.)

Ordinarily, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is imparted with the laying on of hands by anointed leaders who have received the encounter themselves. In my case, though, this empowerment came to me directly and personally from the Father above—and I am eternally grateful.[4] Since then, I have had the privilege of praying for thousands of people to receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit and have witnessed remarkable visitations of God’s presence and power—like the time, near Parkersburg, West Virginia, when I spoke to about fifty young Catholic men studying for the priesthood. They were so hungry for God. They all expressed a desire to be born again, so they asked Jesus to come and dwell within their hearts. Most of them were filled with the Holy Spirit as well. I often wondered what kind of fruit resulted from that glorious prayer meeting in the years following.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit

When the baptism with the Holy Spirit is poured out on a sincere believer, God usually awakens other gifts. Catholicism teaches there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit—wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.[5] Although these expressions of Christlikeness are valuable and to be desired, this is not the list nor the number of the primary gifts of the Spirit, as found in the Bible. According to 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 there are nine primary gifts of the Holy Spirit:

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. 

These are supernatural gifts. For instance, the gift of the word of knowledge and the gift of the word of wisdom are not naturally acquired through study. Once received, the two gifts awaken within recipients a sensitivity to inspired revelations about situations in their own lives or the lives of others, or other important matters, like the correct interpretation of God’s Word. Verses 28-31 of the same chapter (1 Corinthians 12) also mentions gifts like ministry positions (apostles, prophets, teachers) and administrative gifts. Even the gift of “helps” is referenced.

If “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” as the Bible teaches, then the manifestations of the Holy Spirit should also be the same (Hebrews 13:8). The way the Holy Spirit moved in the early church is being replicated in our day among those who believe, both Catholics and non-Catholics. God doesn’t change and there is no indication in His Word that His power stopped manifesting among believers after the original apostles died. Authentic New Testament Christianity should include the same supernatural reality that it did in the very beginning. Those who adhere to Cessationism dishonor God, by failing to promote His true work in the earth.

My Confirmation name (my patron saint)

There is another important aspect of Confirmation that I have not yet fully examined. Participants in this sacrament always receive a new name—a Confirmation name—which the bishop or officiating priest affirms. It is the name of a patron saint with whom the confirmed person is supposed to have a special relationship the rest of his or her life. This new name is placed after the first and middle name and before the last name.

A person’s patron saint is expected to be a source of faithful intercession and personal spiritual guidance. Candidates for confirmation are encouraged to review the lives and characters of various saints to see which one they relate to the best. Each saint is described as having a unique area of expertise in which he or she is most effective. There is even a patron saint of television (St. Clare of Assisi / 1194-1253 A.D.) and a patron saint of the Internet (St. Isidore of Seville / died 636 A.D.) who both lived quite a long time before television and the Internet came into being. Isn’t that paradoxical?

Even Catholics admit that choosing a confirmation name is not biblical and does not come from the official Catholic liturgical book. Long lists are available of the primary fields, careers, or areas of influence assigned to specific saints. (You may peruse a lengthy list at this link.[6])

As I already mentioned earlier in the book, I took the name Christopher as my Confirmation name, because I was captivated by the intriguing story of this saint whose image on jewelry is very popular even among non-Catholics and non-religious people. As the legend goes, Christopher was a tall, muscular man (some accounts say over seven feet) who wanted to be dedicated to God but did not feel he could consecrate his life in a priestly or monk-like fashion of fasting and praying. Instead, he devoted himself to the unselfish task of carrying travelers across a dangerous river on his shoulders, especially the weak, the young, or the physically challenged. As the story unfolds, one day, as he was carrying a child, mysteriously, the weight of his little passenger kept getting heavier, to the point where he barely made it to the other side and feared they both would drown.

Once on the other side, the Child revealed Himself as Jesus, then explained that the increase in weight Christopher experienced was the heavy burden of a fallen and lost world that He, the Son of God, carried. After revealing the meaning behind the visitation, the Christ Child vanished. Though his name was originally Offerus, at some point, the name Christopher, which means “Christ-bearer,” was conferred on this saint. It is believed that later in his life, Christopher was martyred for his faith.

That’s the name I embraced, because in my pre-teen years, before I even knew the Lord, I had a deep desire to bear Jesus’ name to the world and share the burden of lost humanity. I seriously considered becoming a priest or a monk. I prayed to Christopher for several years, expecting his intervention and guidance, until I became more irreligious during my teen years. Ironically, about the same time, the Church released a statement that Christopher was, quite possibly, no more than a fictitious, legendary figure. So, was there any value in the petitions I presented to him? At best, it was a waste of my time and a fruitless attempt to communicate with a being in heaven (if he even existed). At worst, it was similar to the occult, New Age practice of contacting a “spirit-guide” to navigate life successfully.[7]

Participating in that kind of practice was prohibited in the Old Testament, so why would it be allowed during New Testament era? It was even called “an abomination.” (See Deuteronomy 18:9-14.) When King Saul tried to contact the prophet Samuel (who had passed on to the next world), he knew enough about the things of God not to attempt praying to that saintly representative of God himself. Instead, he attempted to penetrate the spirit world illegitimately, appealing to a witch (a spiritist, a woman with a familiar spirit) to contact Samuel. Ignoring God’s rules this way did not benefit Saul at all. It may have even hastened his demise, for his life came to an end within a day’s time. (See 1 Samuel 28:1-25.)

If people (Catholic or non-Catholic) think they are attempting to receive guidance from entities other than God Himself, most likely, they have opened themselves up to the influence of demonic beings called “familiar spirits.” (See Leviticus 19:31; 20:6, 27.) These are evil spirits who are familiar with the individuals being addressed, and because of that, are able to impersonate them. Remember, the devil and his evil underlings are masters of deception. “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14 ESV). So, apparitions, voices, and spiritual sensations can be completely false, if what happens is not according to the biblical standard. I know this may sound hard to receive, but I assure you, I am not being overly critical. Quite the contrary, I am deeply concerned for any person who trusts in this non-biblical practice. It is infinitely more important to seek the face of God and call on the name of Jesus. That’s all you really need.

The real deal (the real seal)

The Bible does teach about the “seal of the Holy Spirit” being given to believers. However, it describes this grace being poured out at salvation, not with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Read the following passage carefully:

     In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

This passage indicates that when we hear the Gospel, positively respond to it, and are genuinely saved, at that moment, God seals us with the Holy Spirit.

A seal is given as a sign of authenticity and authorization. For instance, a document is verified as being “authentic” when it bears the seal of a notary public, and often, that same document “authorizes” the person possessing it to do a certain thing, claim a certain benefit, or function on certain level.

A seal transfers an image that is unique to, and identified with, the owner of the seal. The transferred image is an exact replication of the original image when the seal is pressed into foil, paper, wax, or some other malleable substance that is soft enough to receive an impression. All those details are highly symbolic.

Jesus revealed that He had been “sealed” by God, the Father (John 6:27). That means the image of the Father’s character was fully expressed in the Son—so much so that He proclaimed:

“He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

Jesus was and ever will be “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). So, a “seal,” in one sense, is an image transfer, as well as an authorization or proof of authenticity. In like manner, when repentant and believing people surrender to Jesus, inviting Him to be Lord of their lives and to live in their hearts, at that moment, the image of the character of Jesus is, in a sense, ‘pressed’ into their regenerated spirits—so that these newly saved individuals experience a character change and begin to love what God loves and shun what He would shun. No wonder 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares:

  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 

God’s preservation plan

A seal can also be a means of protection from outside influence. Because the world continues to pull at those who convert to true Christianity, God seals those individuals with the character of Jesus. That way, hopefully, the divine nature in their hearts will be stronger than the lower nature in their flesh and the lure of a lust-driven world.

For the “sealed” believer, the love of God on the inside is stronger than the hate, anger, and prejudice on the outside. The peace of God on the inside is stronger than the stress, anxiety, and tension on the outside. The joy of God on the inside is stronger than the depression, shame, and discouragement on the outside. The holiness on the inside is stronger than the wickedness, immorality, and perversion on the outside. The divine wisdom on the inside is stronger than the foolishness, twisted logic, and deceptive beliefs on the outside, that pervade the human race.

That’s God’s preservation plan. Those He saves, He seals—because those He rescues from sin, He intends to keep for time and eternity. For this, those who are born again should be eternally thankful. (See Psalms 121, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 4:30, Revelation 7:3.) For an in-depth study of the “seal of God,” see the article on this website titled “The Mystery of the Seal of God.”

My final plea

My final appeal to those reading this article is simple: please seek God for a real, born-again, salvation encounter with the Lord Jesus, receiving Him into your heart and life. (There is an article on “The Wonder of Being Born Again” on this site that will help you immensely.)

After that initial step, I urge you to then prayerfully pursue the impartation of the baptism of the Holy Spirit according to the biblical pattern. (There is an article on my comparative religion “True Light” website titled “The Baptism with the Holy Spirit” that fully explores this subject.)

Finally, if you want to pray with someone for these things to happen to you personally, contact me and my staff at info@toCatholicswithlove.org. We would be happy to seek God with you, if at all possible.

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Endnotes

[1] https://www.aboutcatholics.com/beliefs/catholic-confirmation-explained/, accessed 4/21/2022.
[2] https://www.catholic.com/qa/we-receive-the-holy-spirit-at-baptism, accessed 4/21/2022.
[3] http://rclbsacraments.com/confirmation/walkthrough-confirmation-rite, accessed 4/21/2022.
[4] For an in-depth explanation, go to the article titled “The Baptism with the Holy Spirit” in the biblical teaching section of www.ToCatholicsWithLove.org or www.thetruelight.net.
[5] https://www.youcat.org/credopedia/gifts-of-the-holy-spirit/ accessed 10/20/2021.
[6] https://www.olqoa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Choosing-a-confirmation-saint-name-.pdf, accessed 4/17/2022. The list of saints at this link shares supposed areas of influence or expertise various saints possess. This is supposed to help a Catholic choose the best patron saint, most fitted to intercede for him/her and most effective as a guide through life.
[7] For further insights into this practice, see the article on this website: “Is Praying to the Saints Biblically Correct?”