A Little Frustrated

[Maybeasister]

Well, I’m thirteen and I haven’t had the two sacraments of initiation required to have by my age yet. So, my mother and I went to the deacon and he said I had to wait a whole year for the sacraments. Well, we didn’t like that so we called the secretary of another church and they told us to speak to my religion teacher, which we did. Then we emailed the priest and he said with a letter of permission from my priest that he could perform the sacraments. I’d like all the other priests to give my family and I their blessings and the rest of you to pray for me. Thanks y’all!

God Bless y’all,
Jessica :nun1:

 

[KarenElissa]

Well, I’m thirteen and I haven’t had the two sacraments of initiation required to have by my age yet. So, my mother and I went to the deacon and he said I had to wait a whole year for the sacraments. Well, we didn’t like that so we called the secretary of another church and they told us to speak to my religion teacher, which we did. Then we emailed the priest and he said with a letter of permission from my priest that he could perform the sacraments. I’d like all the other priests to give my family and I their blessings and the rest of you to pray for me. Thanks y’all!

God Bless y’all,
Jessica :nun1:

First, a question, are you saying you have never been baptized? Or that you haven’t received First Communion and Confirmation? Different places do confirmation at different ages, so depending on where you are at…

If you have never been baptized, then you would (hopefully) be part of the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) process, which will take about a year, maybe even a bit more. You would then receive baptism, confirmation, and first communion at the Easter Vigil, probably next year, maybe even the year after that.

If you have already been baptized then there is some kind of sacramental “catch-up” program in your parish that you would attend and at the end, receive the sacraments appropriate to your age in your diocese/parish.

Either way, there is a time of preparation. If you are just walking into a parish and expecting them to allow you sacraments right away, it isn’t going to happen. They want to make sure that you understand exactly what you are getting into. They want you to be an actual part of the community. You may very well have an understanding of the sacraments, but they don’t know this and it takes time to get to know you. Or maybe you just have a very basic understanding and this time allows you to learn and grow more in your faith.

I will also point out that the coming week is the CRAZIEST in the whole year, the priests (and everyone else in the church) are extremely busy right now. If you wait a couple of weeks until after Easter (and maybe another week to allow them to catch up on sleep ) it will probably be a bit easier to sit down and have a conversation about whatever is required in your diocese/parish to help you prepare for whichever sacraments you will receive.

 

[Maybeasister]

I’ve never been baptized. The priest from the other church said that he could give me the sacraments on June 12th. I just need a letter of permission from my pastor/priest.

 

[KarenElissa]

I’ve never been baptized. The priest from the other church said that he could give me the sacraments on June 12th. I just need a letter of permission from my pastor/priest.

If you have never been baptized, really the proper time for that is the Easter Vigil, it is the BIG celebration of new life in the Church, both the first celebration of the resurrection and the time for baptizing adults. And yes, for this purpose, you would be considered an adult. For the purpose of baptism, you are either an infant or an adult, and since you are older than 7(ish) you get to be an adult.

Adults go through the RCIA process (kids / teens generally have their own class, but it is the same process) and are baptized, confirmed and receive first communion at the Easter Vigil. I would highly encourage you to be patient and go through the whole process. There is a good reason for it. It allows you to get to know the Church and the Church to get to know you before you make a HUGE and life long commitment.

 

[Maybeasister]

The only reason I don’t have to go through the process is that I go to a Catholic school that has sisters that can give me private lessons after school. Maybe even in their convent which I was in once very briefly right after Attrition. I think that’s it, pronounced, a-tur-ay-tion? Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. It was so cool! Even though I only went into this little room with the counter right by the door…But still I can get lessons, in the classroom most likely though.

 

[PolyphonyChick]

The only reason I don’t have to go through the process is that I go to a Catholic school that has sisters that can give me private lessons after school. Maybe even in their convent which I was in once very briefly right after Attrition. I think that’s it, pronounced, a-tur-ay-tion? Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. It was so cool! Even though I only went into this little room with the counter right by the door…But still I can get lessons, in the classroom most likely though.

You’re thinking adoration right? It’s the best !!!
That is super frustrating. You’re definitely in my prayers though I hope you can get baptized soon!

 

[PerfectTiming]

The only reason I don’t have to go through the process is that I go to a Catholic school that has sisters that can give me private lessons after school. Maybe even in their convent which I was in once very briefly right after Attrition. I think that’s it, pronounced, a-tur-ay-tion? Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. It was so cool! Even though I only went into this little room with the counter right by the door…But still I can get lessons, in the classroom most likely though.

It is important to get the lessons and go through the processes to ensure you’re properly instructed. Some parishes only do certain sacraments at certain times of the year - at my old parish we had infant baptisms four times a year but confirmation was only done once. Depending on when your parish do the sacraments and when their classes start that may be why you were told you’d have to wait. There’s nothing wrong with waiting, I didn’t take confirmation until I was 17 and I had to take a year of classes before I could do that. The priests have a responsibility to make sure you are properly instructed before you take the sacraments. It can be frustrating but it’s honestly worth it.

 

[Maybeasister]

The one priest said he can make an exception just like he is doing with two fifth graders at my school and baptize me on the pentacost (JUNE 12).

 

[ChadS]

It seems to me that a reason is always being found to delay either baptizing or having people enter the church. If we really truly believe what the Church teaches about baptism then when somebody says I want to be baptized the priest should say “Let’s go now,” not come back in two months.

The same goes with confirmation too. I understand that for the adult preparation takes a while and learning needs to be a process. But there is this over reliance on RCIA to solve this problem. When I was ready to convert I went to church with a friend of mine and she told the priest I wanted to be Catholic and the response was that Easter is a few weeks so it’s too late now, he’ll have to come back in September, which I did, but I feel I could’ve better spent the time from early April through September doing something else other than waiting. I however did find out that the Cathedral here has RCIA instruction throughout the year and will work with people in private and in classes to prepare them for entrance to the Church.

I understand that priests are extremely busy and the days of having four or five assistant priests in every parish is a thing of the past (for now I hope), but I still can’t help but believe that the sacraments need to be treated as something more than an administrative concern.

I knew a priest at the local Newman center that said his job is for the care of people’s souls and his primary concern is to see that they get the sacraments when needed. He would drop whatever he was doing to hear confessions or baptize somebody – even if it meant leaving dinner or a meeting. He said that if a person’s request for baptism was sincere he’d take them into the chapel and do it then. He said he couldn’t live with himself if he turned somebody away and told them to come back later and something happened to them.

ChadS