Chapter VIII.
On the integrity of confirmation.
Concerning the Sacrament of confirmation, this is to be held: that for its integrity there is required a vocal form, which according to the more common usage is this: I sign you with the sign of the cross, I confirm you with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
There is also required chrism, which is made from olive oil and balsam, from which when through the hand of a bishop the sign of the cross is impressed upon the forehead under the aforesaid form of the words of confirmation, the Sacrament is received: through which a person is confirmed as a champion for boldly and publicly confessing the name of Christ.
Now the reason for understanding the aforesaid is this: because our restorative principle, namely the incarnate Word, just as it was eternally conceived in the heart of the Father and temporally appeared to man sensibly in the flesh, so it restores no one unless he both conceives it by believing in his heart and brings forth outwardly what is believed by confessing with due confession; of this kind is truthful confession full of truth, which is not only speculative truth but also practical. This moreover is that in which there is not only "an adequation of intellect, speech, and thing," but also that in which the whole person is conformed to truth according to the understanding of reason, according to the delight of the will, and according to the adherence of virtue, so that it may be with the whole heart, the whole soul, and the whole mind, and may be from a pure heart, a good conscience, and an unfeigned faith: and such is a confession that is whole, pleasing, and intrepid: so that it may be whole by reason of Him of whom it is; pleasing by reason of Him before whom it is made; intrepid by reason of him by whom that confession must be made. Since therefore the fainthearted person is not fit for this unless he is confirmed by the hand of grace from above, therefore for this purpose the Sacrament of confirmation was divinely instituted as immediately following baptism.
Since indeed "the end imposes necessity upon those things which are ordered to the end," therefore this Sacrament ought to be made whole according to the requirements of the aforesaid confession and its conditions, namely the three aforementioned. First therefore, since this confession ought to be whole: and the wholeness of confession does not exist unless one confesses Christ as true man crucified for humanity, and the same as the true Son of God incarnate, in the Trinity coequal in all things with the Father and the Holy Spirit: hence it is that in the vocal form there is expressed not only the act of confirming, but also the sign of the cross itself and the name of the most blessed Trinity.
Furthermore, since confession ought to be pleasing by reason of him before whom it is made, and it must be made before God and men; and it cannot please God unless there be present the light of understanding and the brilliance of conscience, nor one's neighbor, unless there be present the fragrance of good reputation and of an upright life: therefore, to signify these things, there is mixed into the exterior element oil of olives, which is bright, and balsam, which is fragrant: so that by this it may be signified that the confession, to which this Sacrament orders and disposes, ought to have joined to it the brilliance of conscience and understanding together with the sweet fragrance of both life and reputation, lest there be any contrariety between the tongue and the conscience, or between the tongue and reputation, on account of which such a confession would not be accepted by man nor approved by Christ.
Finally, since such a confession ought to be intrepid, so that one does not on account of either shame or fear fail to speak the truth, nor in time of persecution should one dread or blush to publicly confess the ignominious death of Christ on the cross, especially shrinking from incurring a similar punishment and ignominy of suffering: and this kind of fear and shame appears most of all in the face and especially in the forehead: therefore, to drive away all shame and dread, both the hand of authority is imposed, which confirms, and the cross is imprinted on the forehead, so that one may not blush to confess it publicly nor dread, for the confession of Christ's name, to sustain whatever punishment or ignominy may be necessary, as a true champion anointed for battle and as a valiant soldier, bearing on his forehead the sign of his king and the triumphal banner of his cross, with which he may be prepared to penetrate the enemy's ranks without fear. For the glory of the cross cannot be freely preached if the punishment and ignominy of the cross is dreaded, according to what Saint Andrew said: "If I dreaded the ignominy of the cross, I would not preach the glory of the cross."