Most Rev. Valerian Okeke, Archbishop of Onitsha has administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to a total of 1,472 candidates in a colorful event on Saturday, February 12, 2022 at St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Church, New Heaven (Okpoko).
Archbishop Okeke urged the newly confirmed to bear greater fruits in their new position as confirmed Catholics who have been solidified to support the progress of evangelization.
“I pray that the Holy Spirit they received today may bear greater fruits in their lives.”
While encouraging the newly confirmed to maintain their faith, he also admonished the faithful to pray for God’s spirit to remain fresh and to serve him zealously.
“I pray that the Holy Spirit you have received today may bear greater fruits in your lives,” he prayed.
Archbishop Okeke further encouraged the confirmants to constantly walk in the light, choose and make sensible decisions, and listen to their parents’ guidance.
He also urged parents to continue giving their children sound guidance.
“Parents should always give good advise to their children in the way the bible teaches us and in the way Jesus wants us to live,” the Archbishop said.
Confirmation is a Catholic sacrament that signifies a mature Christian commitment and the development of baptismal talents. For Catholics, it is one of three sacraments of initiation.
The Holy Spirit’s talents are frequently associated with it.
Confirmation produces a Pentecost-like outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
This outpouring leaves a permanent mark on the soul and leads to an increase in Baptismal grace. It deepens the recipient’s sense of divine sonship, strengthens his ties to Christ and the Church, and rekindles the Holy Spirit’s gifts in his heart.
It provides you an extra boost when you’re trying to spread the gospel.
This sacrament, which can only be received once, is only available to persons who have already been baptized.
The applicant must be in a state of grace in order to receive Confirmation effectively.
The bishop is the first minister of Confirmation. The connection between the confirmed and the Church in her apostolic dimension is manifested in this way.
When a priest dispenses this sacrament, as is customary in the East and in rare situations in the West, the priest who is the bishop’s collaborator and the Sacred Chrism, consecrated by the bishop himself, express the link with the bishop and the Church.
By AGNUS-DEI MEDIA and STGEORGEAJ.COM
PICTURES: ARCHDIOCESE OF ONITSHA