My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

This past May 7 was my 50th anniversary of receiving the sacrament of confirmation. Most people probably don’t remember the date of their confirmation. I know mine because I looked up my records when I was named bishop in 2003.

The bishop who confirmed me, Bishop Aloysius Wycislo, was still living at the time. He was auxiliary bishop of Chicago when he confirmed me and later was named bishop of Green Bay. When I was appointed auxiliary bishop of Chicago in 2003, I called Bishop Wycislo in Green Bay, who was then 97 years old. I told him that he probably wouldn’t remember, but he confirmed me when I was in sixth grade in 1964. I thought he would like to know that one of the students he confirmed had become a bishop! He was planning to come to my consecration as a bishop, but unfortunately he fell and broke his hip a couple of weeks prior to the ordination. So later that year, I drove up to Green Bay with a copy of my confirmation certificate and took him out for lunch to celebrate. It was a wonderful visit and also very timely, since he died just a few months after that.

Administering the sacrament of confirmation is an important part of a bishop’s ministry, including the bishop of Rome. Last year on April 29, 2013, Pope Francis spoke to 100,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for a “Day of Confirmands” Mass. The pope invited the faithful to see the transformation of the Holy Spirit in our lives as a calling from God to transform the world. By allowing ourselves to be guided by the Spirit, we “allow God’s constant help to make us new men and women, inspired by the love of God which the Holy Spirit bestows on us!”

The Holy Father exclaimed, “How beautiful it would be if each of you, every evening, could say: Today at school, at home, at work, guided by God, I showed a sign of love towards one of my friends, my parents, an older person! How beautiful!”

The Holy Father then directed his attention to the confirmandi, those youth who were to receive the sacrament of confirmation, exhorting them to remain steadfast in the journey of faith. The pope encouraged the youth to “swim against the tide” with the courage given to them by the Lord.

“Pay attention, my young friends,” the Holy Father said, “to go against the current; this is good for the heart, but we need courage to swim against the tide. Jesus gives us this courage! There are no difficulties, trials or misunderstandings to fear, provided we remain united to God as branches to the vine, provided we do not lose our friendship with him, provided we make ever more room for him in our lives.”

Inviting the confirmation candidates to trust in the mercy of God, Pope Francis encouraged them to commit themselves to great ideals. “We Christians,” the pope concluded, “were not chosen by the Lord for little things; push onwards toward the highest principles. Stake your lives on noble ideals, my dear young people: the new things of God, the trials of life, remaining steadfast in the Lord.”

Earlier this year, in his Wednesday audience on Jan. 29, Pope Francis reflected on the sacrament of confirmation as part of his continuing catechesis on the seven sacraments. He explained that, during confirmation, “through the sacramental sign of anointing with sacred chrism, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in order to be more closely conformed to Christ, God’s ‘anointed one.’ We are also strengthened — ‘confirmed’ — in the grace of our baptism and in our mission of bearing daily witness to Christ and his love,” the Holy Father continued, adding, “confirmation is God’s work,” as is every sacrament.

This particular sacrament, said the pope, “ensures that our life be embodied in the image of his Son, for us to love like him, infusing his Holy Spirit. This Spirit acts with strength within us, within all people and during one’s whole life.” He emphasized that, “when we receive him in our hearts, Christ makes himself present and takes shape in our lives. It is he who prays, forgives, infuses hope, serves the brothers most in need, creates communion and seeds peace in our lives. It is he who does that,” the pope said.

Encouraging all present to “thank the Lord for the grace of our confirmation,” the pope told them to ask “that, filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, we may always mirror Christ’s presence in our relations with others, our openness to those in need and our living witness to the Gospel message of joy and peace.”

May God give us this grace. Amen.