Confirmation, together with Baptism and Eucharist, form the Sacraments of Initiation that are all intimately connected. In the Sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized person is “sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit” and is strengthened for service to the Body of Christ.


Jesus’ entire mission occurred in communion with the Spirit. Before He died, Jesus promised that the Spirit would be given to the Apostles and to the entire Church. After His death, He was raised by the Father in the power of the Spirit.

 

Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:
-it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation [becoming adopted sons and daughters of God]
which makes us cry, “Abba! Father!”;
-it unites us more firmly to Christ;
-it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
-it renders our bond with the Church more perfect;
-it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word
and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly,
and never to be ashamed of the Cross

  -CCC, no. 1303                                          

As the words of the liturgy indicate the person being confirmed is sealed with the Holy Spirit. This seal is called a character, marking the person forever as called to fulfill the Church’s mission in all the circumstances of life.

Confirmation deepens our baptismal life that calls us to be missionary witnesses of Jesus Christ in our families, neighborhoods, society, and the world. Through Confirmation, our personal relationship with Christ is strengthened. We receive the message of faith in a deeper and more intensive manner with great emphasis given to the person of Jesus Christ, who asked the Father to give the Holy Spirit to the Church for building up the community in loving service.

The Holy Spirit bestows seven gifts
– wisdom, understanding, knowledge, fortitude, counsel, piety, and fear of the Lord –
to assist us in our mission and witness. The impact of these gifts accompanies us in the various
stages of our spiritual development.

• Wisdom enables us to see the world from God’s viewpoint, which can help us come to grasp the purpose and plan of God.
• The Spirit’s gift of knowledge directs us to a contemplation, or thoughtful reflection, of the mystery of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – as well as the mysteries of the Catholic faith.
• The gift of understanding stimulates us to work on knowing ourselves as part as our growth in knowing God. It is what St. Augustine meant when he prayed, “That I may know You, may I know myself.”
• When the Spirit pours fortitude or courage into our hearts, we can trust that we will be prepared to stand up for Christ and the Gospel when challenged.
• As the gift of counsel or right judgment grows in us, we can sense the quiet teaching that the Spirit gives us about our moral lives and the training of our consciences.
• The gift of piety or reverence is an act of respect for the Father who created us, for Jesus who saved us, and for the Spirit who is sanctifying us. We learn reverence for God and people from our parents and others who train us in virtue. The Spirit fills us with this gift at liturgy, which is a masterful school of reverence, as well as through popular devotions and piety.
• Finally, the gift of fear of the Lord or wonder and awe in God’s presence can infuse honesty into our relationship with God, a frankness that places us in awe before the majesty of God. Yet the gift also imparts an attitude of grateful wonder that God loves us and that we can share in His life.

When we are responsive to the grace of Confirmation and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, we begin to bear the fruits of the Spirit. The tradition of the Church names twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity. (cf. CCC, no. 1832; Gal 5:22)

-taken from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults