To confirm is related to the word “firm” as in to strengthen and reinforce. God confirms our faith so we can withstand a certain amount of force, to stand in opposition to the falsehoods and challenges manifested by the devil, and more positively, to witness to the Gospel.
e.g. Owen Phelps said that when his granddaughter Anna returned from her first day of school, her mother was eager to quiz her. When she asked Anna if she made any friends, she replied “no.” My daughter was shocked. Anna was a social butterfly. “Why not?” My daughter wondered aloud. “Because no one would do what I told them to do,” Anna replied.
Using Anna’s boldness as an example, don’t be “Holy Spirit shy.”
That applies to the sacrament of matrimony, holy orders, and all baptismal ministry for the confirmed because there is a connection between states of life and the charismatic gifts which you received at your confirmation.
Even children can be confirmed in strength.
A CCD teacher asked an 11-year-old, “Why do we go to Mass?” “For the history,” the kid said. When asked to explain what he meant, the student said, “to fill up the blank page of history that we must write.”
One man said that in the year the doctor expected him to die, he renewed his baptismal and confirmation faith in Jesus and felt born again. Later when he recovered, he felt called to witness to others and simultaneously God gave him a deep love for the lost. He begged God to allow him to be in the middle of what He was doing in the lives of others. He said that a gift of evangelism flowed, but there was one problem:
He was an introvert and therefore seemingly not the biggest personality in the room. Some introverts seem to be shy but they speak with intention, and they often have a meaningful reason to interrupt someone’s day that feels genuine.
So, confirmed by God through confirmation does not mean being naturally talkative or having a dramatic testimony to share.
Just as St. Paul wanted people’s faith to rest on the power of God and not in himself (1 Cor. 2:1-5) it’s the Holy Spirit’s empowerment that confirms us by the fruits of the Spirit: gentleness, self-control, patience, generosity.
You can be an introvert and not be “Holy Spirit shy,” because the key is the realization that when the charis or gift of God is received, then the charismata should be in evidence.
e.g. Pentecost is a call to prophesy, Peter demonstrates in our First Reading. Don’t let the word “prophesy” scare you. It’s a message of truth, of warning, of hope that everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord will be saved, a phrase which may be a baptismal ceremony image some scholars say.
e.g., a waiter brings an order of food to your table. You tell him or her, “I am going to say grace and thank God for this food before I eat, which you have likely seen many other customers do before. What is going on in your life that I can add to my prayer?” He said that some waiters even start to cry before he or she shares their prayer request.
Acts 2:4 says that at Pentecost, “Everyone was filled with the Holy Spirit” and we see a vertical representation chain of the Holy Spirit descending from God the Father and Jesus to the Apostles with Mary to you!
Don’t be Holy Spirit Shy: witness to your faith in Christ. Amen.
