Confirmation

Confirmation is the perfection of Baptism and although it is usually received as a teenager, several years after making First Communion, the Catholic Church considers it the second of the three Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism being the first and Communion the third). Confirmation is regarded as the perfection of Baptism, because, as the introduction to the Rite of Confirmation states: "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Its effects are to:

• Root us more deeply in divine filiation (being children of God)
• Unites us more firmly to Christ
• Increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us
• Strengthens our bond with the Church
• Associates us more closely to her mission of bearing witness to Christ
• Helps us and more strictly obliges us to spread and defend the faith by word and deed

The catechesis for the sacrament of Confirmation for the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia is a two year process.  The two-year course (Called to be Faithful: A Confirmation Journey) is built upon the structure of the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA): 

• Invitation
• Formation
• Reflection
• Mission

It is highly interactive and allows for the students to grow in their faith as they approach Confirmation.