Why do we have Confirmation? What does this sacrament do for us?

The basic effects of Confirmation are: a) It roots us more deeply in our relationship with God; b) it unites us more firmly with Christ and reminds us that every sacrament we receive is an encounter with Jesus himself; c) it increases in us the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, piety, fortitude and fear of the Lord; d) it strengthens our bond to the Church; e) finally, it gives us strength to spread and defend the faith by word and deed. If you consider what strengths we need simply to live our Christian, Catholic lives in our present society and to make moral decisions in the face of serious temptation, it is easy to see how we need wisdom and strength. For example, a married couple raising children need to be able to counsel and encourage them to live their lives not by following the way of least resistance, but by taking the basic gospel message ("Love God and your neighbour") and making it a part of their lives. No matter what our vocation, married, religious, priesthood or single, we need the strength of the Spirit in our lives.