“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control” (2 Tm 1:7).¹ According to Catholic doctrine, the consummate reception of this Spirit of power takes place in the sacrament of Confirmation. But in what does this power, which St. Paul associates with love and self-control, consist? This question is a thought-provoking one in our age. We have been living in an age of weak thinking, which could also be called an age of weak will. Yet now, after a long period in which suspicion of power and strength has been dominant, we are witnessing an increasing acknowledgment of the importance of strong ideals. At the same time, however, it is also an...

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