The Rite according to Blessed John XXIII :

The Rite of Confirmation

I. Preparatory Ceremonies

The Invocation
Turning to the candidates, the Bishop or delegated priest sings or says:
May the Holy Spirit come down upon you, and the power of the Most High keep you from all sin.
Spiritus Sanctus superveniat in vos, et virtus Altissimi custodiat vos a peccatis.
R. Amen

The Bishop or priest then makes the Sign of the Cross and says:
V. Our help + is in the Name of the Lord.
V. Adjutorium + nostrum in nomine Domini.
R. Who made Heaven and earth.
R. Qui fecit caelum et terram.
V. O, Lord, hear my prayer.
V. Domine, exaudi orationem meam.
R. And let my cry come unto You.
R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat.
V. The Lord be with you.
V. Dominus vobiscum.
R. And with your spirit.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.

The Collective and Preparatory Imposition of Hands

The Bishop or delegated priest stretches out his hands over the candidates and says:
Let us pray. Almighty, everlasting God, You have been pleased to regenerate these Your servants by water and the Holy Spirit, and have given them remission of all their sins; send forth upon them from Heaven Your sevenfold Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Oremus. Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui regenerare dignatus es hos, famulos tuos ex aqua et Spiritu Sancto, quique dedisti eis remissionem omnium peccatorum: emitte in eos septiformem Spiritum tuum sanctum Paraclitum de caelis.
R. Amen.
V. The Spirit of Wisdom and understanding.
V. Spiritum sapientiae et intellectus.
R. Amen.
The Spirit of Counsel and fortitude.
Spiritum consilii et fortitudinis.
R. Amen.
The Spirit of knowledge and piety.
V. Spiritum scientiea et pietatis.
R. Amen.
Fill them with the spirit of Your holy fear, and sign them with the sign of the cross + of Christ in mercy for eternal life. Through the same Jesus Christ... in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, God, world without end.
Adimple eos Spiritu timoris tui, et consigna eos signo crucis + Christi, in vitam propitiatus aeternam. Per eumdem Dominum... in unitate ejusdem Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.

II. The Sacrament

The candidates may come up in two ranks with hands joined, carrying a card bearing their Confirmation names. Each sponsor places his right hand on the right shoulder of the candidate they are sponsoring.The Bishop, or delegated priest, stretching the fingers of his right hand over the head of each candidate, addresses each candidate by his Confirmation name and annoints each candidate's forehead with his thumb dipped in holy chrism. He confirms then with the words below
"N., I sign thee with the sign + of the Cross, and I confirm thee with the chrism of salvation; in the Name of the Father + and of the Son + and of the Holy + Ghost."
"N., signo te signo crucis + et confirmo te chrismate salutis, in nomine Patris + et Filii + et Spiritus + Sancti."
The newly-confirmed reply:
R. Amen.

The Bishop or priest then gently strikes each candidate on the cheek, symbolizing that the Christian is now a soldier for Christ and must endure suffering and the persecution that comes from conflict with the world. A hymn might now be sung if the candidates are numerous.

III. Concluding Prayers
When all have been confirmed, the following antiphon is sung or read:
ANT: Confirm, O Lord, what Thou has wrought in us, from Thy holy temple which is in Jerusalem. Alleluia.
ANT: Confirma hoc, Deus, quod operatus es in nobis, a templo sancto tuo, quod est in Jerusalem. Alleuia.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
V. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
R. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.


After the antiphon has been repeated, the Bishop or priest turns to the Altar and sings:
V. Lord, show up Your mercy.
V. Ostende nobis, Domine, misericordiam tuam.
R. And grant us Your salvation.
R. Et salutare tuum da nobis.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
V. Domine, exaudi orationem mean.
R. And let my cry come to You.
R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat.
V. The Lord be with you.
V. Dominus vobiscum.
R. And with your spirit.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
V. Let us pray. O God, You gave Your Holy Spirit to Your apostles, and willed that through them and their successors the same gift should be delivered to all the faithful: look graciously on the service we humbly render to You; grant that the same Spirit, coming down upon those whose foreheads we have annointed with the holy chrism, and signed with the sign of the holy cross, may by His gracious indwelling make them a temple of His glory, You Who are God, living and reigning with the Father and the Holy Spirit, world without end.
R. Amen.

The Bishop then gives to the confirmed a special blessing in this form:
V. Behold, thus shall every man be blessed who fears the Lord: May the Lord bless + you out of Sion, that you may see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of your life, and have life everlasting.
V. Ecce sic benedicetur omnis homo qui timet Dominum: Benedicat + vos Dominus ex Sion, ut videatis bona Jerusalem omnibus diebus vitae vestrae, et habeatis vitam aeternam.
R. Amen.

The Bishop sits down, and puts on his mitre. The newly confirmed recite aloud the Apostles' Creed, the Our Father, and the Hail Mary. The Bishop then gives the Pontifical Blessing to the entire congregation. A Te Deum or the Psalm Laudate pueri (Psalm 112) might be sung.

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I would not be honest if I did not say that I wish that is the Rite I will be confirmed with !

But the new Rite is also beautiful and powerful. From The Catechism :


"In the Roman Rite the bishop extends his hands over the whole group of the confirmands. Since the time of the apostles this gesture has signified the gift of the Spirit. The bishop invokes the outpouring of the Spirit in these words:
All-powerful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,by water and the Holy Spirityou freed your sons and daughters from sinand gave them new life.Send your Holy Spirit upon themto be their helper and guide.Give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding,the spirit of right judgment and courage,the spirit of knowledge and reverence.Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in your presence.We ask this through Christ our Lord.

The essential rite of the sacrament follows. In the Latin rite, "the sacrament of Confirmation is conferred through the anointing with chrism on the forehead, which is done by the laying on of the hand, and through the words: 'Accipe signaculum doni Spiritus Sancti' [Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.].

The sign of peace that concludes the rite of the sacrament signifies and demonstrates ecclesial communion with the bishop and with all the faithful."

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So what are my thoughts now, with a little over 4 hours to go ? Joy, and fear, and the feeling of great responsibilty. When the I am anointed, I become a new new creation. Officially, sacramentally, the Holy Spirit inhabits me. That must inspire awe as well as joy-- and it does. I know that this is the moment I have been preparing for my entire life up to this point; yet far from being an end, it is but The Beginning. I am reminded of that scene in the movie "Jesus of Nazareth", where the disciples are discussing what life will be like if they continue to follow the Lord. Their lives will be forever changed, and they know it; they are afraid as well as excited, but they follow anyway. I feel all those emotions, because although I've been sober for 3 1/2 years, and have actively tried to live the Christian life, for me this is the point of "no return". There may be others in my life, of course-- but this is the one that starts them all. As of tonight, I am finally and completely a full member of Holy Mother Church : Unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostalicam ecclesiam. And I reply with the great St. Augustine :

Te Deum laudamus:
te Dominum confitemur.
Te aeternum Patrem
omnis terra veneratur.
Tibi omnes Angeli;
tibi caeli et universae Potestates;
Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim
incessabili voce proclamant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus
Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra
maiestatis gloriae tuae.
Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus,
Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus,
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
Te per orbem terrarum
sancta confitetur Ecclesia,
Patrem immensae maiestatis:
Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium;
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.
Tu Rex gloriae, Christe.
Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.
Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem,
non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti
credentibus regna caelorum.
Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris.
Iudex crederis esse venturus.
Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni:
quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.
Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.
Salvum fac populum tuum,
Domine, et benedic hereditati tuae.
Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum.
Per singulos dies benedicimus te;
Et laudamus Nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi.
Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire.
Miserere nostri domine, miserere nostri.
Fiat misericordia tua,
Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te.
In te, Domine, speravi:
non confundar in aeternum.

(We praise thee, O God
we acknowledge thee to be the Lord
All the earth doth worship thee
the Father everlasting.
To thee all the angels cry aloud
the heavens and all the powers therein.
To thee cherubim and seraphim do continually cry
Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God of Sabaoth; heaven and earth
are full of the majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee.
The noble army of martyrs praise thee.
The Holy Church
throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee;
the father of an infinite majesty;
thine honourable true and only Son;
also the Holy Ghost the comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man,
thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death,
thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the hand of God
in glory to be our judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants.
whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them numbered with thy saints in glory everlasting
O Lord save thy people
and bless thine heritage
Govern them and lift them up for ever
Day by day we magnify thee;
and worship thy name, ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us, as our trust is in thee.
O Lord in thee have I trusted let me not be confounded.)

May the Peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep my heart and mind in the knowledge and love of God, and of His Son Jesus Christ Our Lord !!!