Thomas K. Sullivan - Called to Knighthood: The Sacrament of Confirmation in the Kingdom Family of God

CALLED TO

KNIGHTHOOD:

The Sacrament of Confirmation in the Kingdom Family of God

Thomas K. Sullivan

Tom Sullivan embodies the apostolic zeal that every Catholic adult should share. It's a pleasure to encourage him in his important work.

-- Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M Cap

Archbishop of Denver

Finally, a book that unlocks the power of confirmation in a practical, life-transforming way! In an era when confirmation is not well-understood by many Catholics, Called to Knighthood: The Sacrament of Confirmation in the Kingdom Family of God is an excellent resource for parents, priests and catechists who want to make this sacrament come powerfully alive for young people and adults preparing to be confirmed. I have recommended this to my graduate students preparing for catechetical work, and it is easily readable for the average lay person as well.

--Edward Sri, S.T.D.

Provost & Professor of Scripture and Theology

The key to holiness is learning how to harness the power of God's grace which is available when we seek it. Tom Sullivan has done each of us a great service with Called to Knighthood: The Sacrament of Confirmation in the Kingdom Family of God. The Sacrament of Confirmation is always important, but never more so than when the vibrancy and power of Christianity seems to dim in a culture. The grace of Confirmation and a proper understanding of its power will unleash the capacity for spiritual awakening in our world.

--Curtis Martin

President and Founder of FOCUS

The Catholic Church tells us Confirmation is the sacrament that empowers us to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses (CCC 1303), which is why every Christian's job description is to be nothing less than a soldier of Christ. Tom Sullivan writes like a drill instructor preparing recruits to fight and win the battles of everyday life, and to engage in the spiritual warfare that makes us saints. Here is an inspiring summary of 2000 years of basic training from Scripture, the early Fathers, and the Church's official teaching.

--Scott Hahn

Professor of Scripture and Theology

Franciscan University of Steubenville

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture citations used in this work are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Second Catholic Edition (Ignatius Edition), copyright 2006 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America, copyright 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. Libreria Editrice Vaticana . Used by Permission. All rights reserved.

Every reasonable effort has been made to determine copyright holders of excerpted materials and to secure permissions as needed. If any copyrighted materials have been inadvertently used in this work without proper credit being given in one form or another, please notify Simon Peter Press, Inc. in writing so that future printings of this work may be corrected accordingly.

Copyright 2013 Thomas K. Sullivan

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ISBN-13: 978-1-9361-5960-4

Cover and Interior design by Jacinta Calcut, Image Graphics & Design

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my father and mother, Thomas Andrew and Pauline Sophia Sullivan. To my father, for always demonstrating the true character of a man and teaching me by his example what it means to be a godly man, a loving husband and a strong father. To my mother, for her unwavering love, patience, faith and endless hours she spent on her knees in prayer for me throughout the course of my life, especially in the most difficult of times. It is with the deepest of love and devotion I dedicate this book to them.

PART I

PREFACE

The following study of the Sacrament of Confirmation is the result of much research into the Churchs continued teaching on the Sacrament over the past 2000 years, as well as my experience as a Confirmation Coordinator at St. Cyprian Parish in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. It is in no way an exhaustive explanation nor is it a complex theological thesis. It is simply a summary of the many hundreds of hours of research and study on my own journey to discover the meaning of the Sacrament of Confirmation. It is written in laymens terms for the understanding of lay people.

I think it is true to say that the Sacrament of Confirmation is probably the least understood and most underrated sacrament of them all. For this reason, I will begin our investigation by first looking at the Biblical framework of the family of God and then, with this as background, review the Churchs teaching on the meaning of Confirmation, the strict obligation that comes with Confirmation, and the indescribable gift that God bestows on the one confirmed.

From there I will attempt to deal with current misconceptions about the Sacrament of Confirmation; what it IS and, what it IS NOT; the current confusion over the age of Confirmation; and finally, some practical suggestions for the restructuring of many of the religious education programs in our country.

INTRODUCTION

The magnitude of the Sacrament of Confirmation can be grasped somewhat when one looks at what the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship stated in its 1971 Rite of Confirmation:

One of the highest responsibilities of the people of God is to prepare the baptized for Confirmation. (DOL. 2512)

What is it about the Sacrament of Confirmation that puts such a high degree of responsibility on the people of God to prepare the baptized for this sacrament? This question and others will be answered as we go on.

The Sacrament of Confirmation has been known by many different names over the centuries:

A. Mystical Chrism. (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 350 A.D.)

B. Sanctification by Chrism.

(Pope St. Leo the Great, 440-461 A.D.)

C. Laying on of the Hands. (Innocent III, 1198-1216)

D. The Anointing of the Forehead with Chrism.

(Innocent IV, 1243-1254)

E. The Holy Chrism of Confirmation. (Council of Trent, 1545-1563)

F. Rite of Confirmation.

(Vatican Council II, 1962-1965)

G.Rite of Chrismation. (Eastern Rite Churches)

H.Sacrament of Christian Maturity. (Modern Times)

Regardless of what name the sacrament has been called, the official teaching of the Church has never changed in terms of what the sacrament confers upon the baptized. Now there are many aspects to Confirmation, all of which result from this sacrament. But the primary aspect from which all the others originate is the fact that Confirmation strengthens us as Soldiers of Christ and strictly obligates us to spread and defend the faith by both word and deed . (See Biblical Origins and Implicit References at the end of Part One for support of this statement.)

In order to better understand what Confirmation really is, we must first understand who, and what, the family of God is. But this understanding cannot be in 21 st Century (modern day), social structural terms. We must understand the family of God in the terms that God chose to use when He identified Himself as our Father and we became His children. Therefore, to begin this, we must refer to the written Word of God, Sacred Scripture, and see just how God fathered His chosen family, Israel, and see how its family structure was organized.