Confirmation: Are We Doing it All Wrong?
One of my favorite blogs is written by our own, Jennifer Fitz. She writes for Patheos and her blog is called “Sticking the Corners“. I began to read her April 19th post which was titled, “What’s Wrong with Age-Bracketed Sacramental Prep?” As I read, (get this) I gave her a “fist pump” and said, “You go girl.” That was because she quickly nailed it about her topic and also opened up my eyes to a fact I have thought about but never really paid any attention to. Her column made me pay attention. (Thanks, Jen.)
The subject discussed the practice of giving the Sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion to children who are usually around seven to eight years old. Then, for some reason, we give the Sacrament of Confirmation to these same kids at unspecified times in their lives, like at twelve, fourteen, maybe seventeen. Sometimes they just stop coming back. That all started my wheels spinning and my mind meandered back in time to when I was in third grade and my classmates and I received our Confirmation. Why third grade back then and teenagers and older now? (The RCIA “candidates” and Easter Vigil is another topic for another time.)
Back to our newly-confirmed teenagers. We all know that these young folks do not turn into Apostles with tongues of fire dancing over their newly baptized heads. They are not dashing out into the streets converting Muslims and Hebrews and Presbyterians and Scientolgists and atheists. Why? Because they are not ready. (In fact, I stink as an evangelizer and I received my Confirmation long, long ago.) To the point: maybe the Sacrament of Confirmation should NOT come later. Maybe it should come before, like in second or third grade like it was for me and my peers of the 1950s and into the 60s. We became Soldiers of Christ in 3rd Grade and what did we know? The answer is nothing, absolutely nothing.
Then why receive Confirmation so young? Jennifer’s blog made me realize that what they were doing back then was the right way. We needed a shield of armor and a shroud of protection as we began our journey toward fourth grade and being ten years old. The Sacrament of Confirmation is our spiritual armor against the evil that surrounds us. It is to protect us as we move on and grow. By the time a kid is seventeen his/her faith formation has been set in place. Isn’t receiving Confirmation after the fact somewhat like putting on the body armor after the explosion?
Would it not be better to have the Holy Spirit and His gifts given to a child so they might have that protection available to them as they grow and confront the world and its temptations? Would not the graces that flow from the Sacrament be available to them as the world they are growing into invades their lives? It makes sense to me.
Many of these kids do not receive religious education at home. Oftentimes they are sent off to CCD or Faith Formation by their parent(s) who think that is all they have to do to instill the faith in their kids. The problem is, the secular world has gobbled up so much of our lives that it takes a lot more than an hour or so a week to instill anything in anyone. It has to be an ongoing process with a base of operations. That base is home base and without the fortress of a spiritually guided home front, the struggle for these young people will be ongoing, frustrating, and long term.
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You and Jennifer have this absolutely right, Larry. I am also one of those who was confirmed in third grade and as a mother then saw the virtue of an earlier Confirmation age. Our kids need that protection and grace of the sacrament even earlier in this difficult era. The big trouble is selling it to the pastors and CCD Directors. For those of us involved Catholic parents we can seek out programs that offer Confirmation at a younger age and try to get our pastor’s permission for our children to participate. And keep praying (and writing) about it.
Thanks for your efforts, Larry!
Thanks Cindy. It is nice to be validated. The thing of it is, if the home is not the first “responder” to the faith it is virtually impossible to be an effective substitute.
God bless,
Larry
Spiritually and (to my understanding) doctrinally, the restored order of the Sacraments of Initiations is what we should be doing. The major hurdle I think is that everyone involved in parish children’s faith formation (i.e. outside Catholic schools) knows that at least initially once children have received Reconciliation/First Eucharist/Confirmation there would be many parents ending their children’s participation in parish religious education. I am a 2nd grade catechist and even now I have had a few children not come back for 3rd grade because in 2nd they received First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Sad but true. The ones that have the least faith formation at home will be the ones to leave and suffer. I wish I had the answers. I think the answer is all the talk I hear about a more family/parent-centered model–catechizing the parents so they can catechize their children. We all know that parents are the ‘first and best’ to pass on the faith to their children. But even if we offer faith formation for parents will the vast % even participate, unless it is compulsory for their children to receive the sacraments? It will be interesting to see the results in the dioceses where the Bishops have decided to celebrate Confirmation before First Eucharist.
I also agree that you and Jennifer have it right. In my graduate class on the Sacraments and their history taught, the order of the Sacraments of Initiation should be Baptism, Confirmation and then Eucharist. What is more, the reasons for splitting them up no longer hold true– travel is easy to do. What is more, Eastern Catholics and Orthodox respect and maintain the original order of the Sacraments. Taking it along further, the canon law on the Right of Christian Initiation of Adults, restores the order and timing of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist by giving them together for any person over the age of reason (for us Romans that is usually considered age 7); this has caused some interesting gymnastics because there will be youngsters who enter as converts who are confirmed years before their peers– that seems rather off to me. Some Bishops solve this by allowing parishes to decide to deny the full initiation to children of converts in order to keep them on the same track as the other children.
I had to do a paper on the theology of Confirmation. My conclusion after months of reading and note taking and thinking was that the only way Confirmation makes sense is when it is given after Baptism and before Eucharist, preferably at the same time. I think the ancient pattern needs restored.