One receives spiritual life in Baptism, which is a spiritual regeneration: while in Confirmation one arrives at the perfect age of the spiritual life.

- St. Thomas Aquinas

The Sacrament of Confirmation is traditionally the second Sacrament of Initiation. In Baptism, we become beloved sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father and in Confirmation we go to work in the Family business, which is Love. We need grace to lay down our lives for our friends and enemies in sacrificial love, and so God gives us this great Sacrament. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are poured out upon us, and we let Him work in us.

The Catechism of the Council of Trent describes a feature of the Rite which, although no longer present in the current practice, speaks to the purpose of Confirmation, "The person when anointed and confirmed next receives a gentle slap on the cheek from the hand of the Bishop to make him recollect that, as a valiant combatant, he should be prepared to endure with unconquered spirit all adversities for the name of Christ."