2 Timothy 1:6-7
I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control.
Very early in the history of the Church, the apostles adopted a particular gesture to symbolize the conferral of the Holy Spirit in a special way. That gesture was the laying on of hands and it is here referred to by St. Paul. It is a gesture that is used both in the sacrament of confirmation and in the sacrament of Holy Orders. It is an interesting thing that God has ordained the Holy Spirit to be given in fuller measure by various stages, yet it is a thing which corresponds remarkably well to all that we actually experience as human beings. Just as we do not feed babies beef and beer, so we do not expect from children prodigies of courage, strength or understanding. To be sure, children sometimes amaze us with bursts of insight and selflessness, but just as often they can astound us with the rawness of their selfishness and cruelty. And they are often deeply fearful and timid. Not being fools, they know themselves to be powerless in a world of enormously powerful adults. But they (and we) often carry that sense of powerlessness with us right into adulthood, when God calls us to take our place in the Kingdom and boldly approach him and the world. So God lays his hands on us like a Father reassuring his children and reminds us who we are in Christ—sons and daughters of God. Moreover, he not only reminds us who we are, he gives us new strength, gift and maturity in confirmation (and to his priests, special gifts for the pastoral office) so that we can literally do what we cannot, on our own, possibly do. Don’t forget to thank God today for the gifts he has given you in confirmation. And don’t forget to thank him for his priests as well. Tell your priest you are praying for him and thanking God for him.
