Confirmation!!!

If you haven't read my post about my Confirmation clothing, don't click here! Click here first!  If you have, read on. Well! It's official! (Well, it's been official since Friday night, but I've been too busy to say that it was official until it was officially really late...and...yeah....)But...  what has been made official?

I'm an adult member of the Holy Catholic Church! I have been confirmed!

Perhaps you would like some details on what Confirmation is, what the evening was like on and...everything. I have been prepared for that, and now attempt to answer some questions that people have been asking me frequently.

1. What is Confirmation?
Answer: Confirmation is a Sacrament of the Catholic Church in which the Holy Ghost comes to us in a special way, and enables us to become strong, perfect soldiers of Jesus Christ.The sacrament of confirmation is found in Bible passages such as Acts 8:14–17, 9:17, 19:6, and Hebrews 6:2, which speak of a laying on of hands for the purpose of bestowing the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 6:2 is especially important because it is not a narrative account of how confirmation was given and, thus, cannot be dismissed by those who reject the sacrament as something unique to the apostolic age. In fact, the passage refers to confirmation as one of Christianity’s basic teachings, which is to be expected since confirmation, like baptism, is a sacrament of initiation into the Christian life.
We read: "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment" (Heb. 6:1–2).
Notice how in this passage we are walked through the successive stages of the Christian journey—repentance, faith, baptism, confirmation, resurrection, and judgment. This passage encapsulates the Christian’s journey toward heaven and gives what theologians call the order of salvation or the ordo salutis. It well qualifies as "the elementary teachings" of the Christian faith.

The laying on of hands mentioned in the passage must be confirmation: The other kinds of the imposition of hands (for ordination and for healing) are not done to each and every Christian and scarcely qualify as part of the order of salvation.
As the following passages show, the Church Fathers and early Christian writers also recognized confirmation as a sacrament distinct from baptism, even though it was usually given simultaneously with baptism. Their words speak powerfully about this anointing and imposition of hands for reception of the Holy Spirit and the role it has in Christian initiation.
Theophilus of Antioch
"Are you unwilling to be anointed with the oil of God? It is on this account that we are called Christians: because we are anointed with the oil of God" (To Autolycus 1:12 [A.D. 181]). For more quotes from the early church fathers, click here...

2. Why do you take a Confirmation name?
Answer: According to Fr. J.Well you see the practice originally began in a small Midwestern town not too far from Fargo, North Dakota where all the young children by sheer coincidence had been named by their parents the same name, Gretchen. Now having an entire town with the generation of the children named, Gretchen, as lovely as that name is, was a bit confusing. They would call out their names in classrooms and all of them would raise their hands! It got out of control. So they came up with the idea that on their Confirmation they would each receive a different name, a name of a saint, and they would all be called by these new names and end the time of confusion. And so the town was saved and the people rejoiced. :D
Okay, real answer!
We take a different name because, all throughout the Bible, a name change means a significant change in one's life. For example, Simon-Peter, Saul-Paul, Abram-Abraham, Sari-Sarah.

3. What was your Confirmation name?

Answer: Maxine, the female version of Maximillian.  After a considerable amount of prayer, I took St. Maximillian Kolbe as my Confirmation Saint. St. Maximillian Kolbe was a Polish Priest who published a Catholic magazine called the Immaculata, which, during WW2, condemned the Nazi occupation of Poland. The Nazi soldiers arrested Fr. Kolbe, and threw him into the dreaded Auchwitz. When a prisoner escaped one day, ten men were chosen to die of starvation as punishment. One man who was  chosen fell to his knees, crying over his children, his wife. Fr. Kolbe, who had not been chosen, stepped out and said that he wished to take the place of that man. After two weeks without food or water, during which he always kept a smile on his face, and lead the other condemened men in prayer and song, the Nazis injected him with carbolic acid. Twelve witnesses testified that he died with the last words of the Hail Mary ("...pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen") and a grin on his face. He is venerated by Catholics, Anglicans and Lutherans alike. Since he has lots of time on his hands, all of eternity, being in Heaven and all, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind praying for me a few times. :)

4. (This was from my mom three hours before the ceremony.) How are you doing on the sewing of your veil?

Answer: Well...I'm almost finished. :D

Yes, I finished it, and even had time to take pictures in full costume before heading off to the Dress Rehearsal. Here we are:

Notice how the pictures turned out while I was trying to fight off butterflies. I'm being an ELF!! An excited, even (I admit) nervous Caroline is not something to be taken lightly.

Oh, notice here how I smelled the lavender that I am allergic to.

I'm sneezing, in case you want to know, and Molly was very excited when she found that she'd caught me in the act.

Anyway, at the ceremony that evening, as we processed into the church for the dress rehearsal, I found that I had the longest veil, so I had to warn the person behind me not to step on it. Needless to say, it had footprints all over the hem by the end of the evening. Still, it was fun. Here we are heading into the church. (If you look very closely, you can see what I'm talking about with the length. Also, do you notice that I look at all...different from everybody else? I'm all done over in Lord of the Rings. :D)

And here I am when I'm in the aisle, waiting for my turn with Bishop Jamie Soto of the Diocese of Sacramento. I cannot tell you how incredibly nervous, excited, and happy I was. (My hands were shaking so much that my friend asked if I was going to faint!)

Now here I am with the bishop. We had a slight mishap with my veil just before. My Confirmation sponser (I love you so much Mrs. Torres! Thank you!) who is the person who promises to watch over me, and make sure that I continue to remain a Catholic, accidentally stepped on my veil just as I was about to approach the bishop. I had to go back a little, since it was pinned to my head, and then, when we extracted it from under her foot, I headed up and took my turn. Now, here's how the proccess works. The sponser gives the bishop a card with the Confirmandi's (the person about to be confirmed) name on it. (Like, the saint name.) The bishop first lays his hands on the Confirmandi's head, (remember, it's in the Bible) then dips his finger in Holy Oil, or Chrism, (they use Oil because it seeps into your skin, also because Oil is symbolic in its meaning of cleanliness, and health,) and traces it in a cross on the Confirmandi's forehead, saying the words of Confirmation in Latin. Then, he gently slaps the Confirmandi on the cheek (I don't think our Pastor will ever stop joking about how hard the Bishop should have hit us. :D) to symbolize that we will suffer for Christ, ("If the world hate ye, know that it hath hated me before you." John 15:18) and says "Pax Tecum/Peace be with you." 

This is me with the during the Holy Chrism part                And this is me during the 'slap'.

 

And this is me afterward, feeling all jumpy and faint and incredibly happy.

Over all, it was a truly awesome experience. I now have an indelible mark printed on my soul which can never be erased, were I to go to Heaven or (God Forbid!) Hell. I have a more intimate relationship with the Holy Ghost, I have a special Confirmation name, and I also have a new nickname!
 :Reader: "Wait, what?"
 Um, yes. The Bishop saw my dress afterward and instantly named me Guinevere, like the wife of King Arthur. That was fun. :D