Confirmation Age (Hypothetical Change)

[Brendan]

I see no reason to deny children the Graces that Confirmation brings.

It should be restored to it’s traditional position of following just prior to Holy Communion.

 

[RyanBlack]

It seems returning to giving all three sacraments of initiation together for all (infants and adults) as it is done in the Eastern Rite would help eradicate all these erroneous ideas about confirmation.

I could not agree more.

 

[RyanBlack]

Confirmation is a Sacrament which requires understanding of the Faith.

This is not correct. There is no such requirement for confirmation.

 

[RyanBlack]

I can’t in my mind justify the Confirmation of infants.

The Church has no such problem. The Eastern Catholics regularly confirm/chrismate infants. The Roman Catholic regularly confirmed infants for much of the history of the Church, and still does so when infants are in danger of death.

 

[RyanBlack]

By receiving Confirmation, you are confirming that you are taking a position as a soldier for Christ; a lifetime commitment that you must make for yourself (unlike baptism when your parents and Godparents made your baptismal vows for you) and understand the importance of.

This is not at all part of the theology of the sacrament of confirmation. In confirmation, the confirmand confirms nothing. This sort of language about confirmation distorts the true nature of the sacrament, which is the bestowing of the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

 

[RyanBlack]

Honestly, I think it needs to follow the first time one receives the Eucharist. You should receive Jesus’ body before you receive the Holy Spirit to guide you.

The traditional ordering of the sacraments, from the times of the ancient Church, is baptism, confirmation, then Eucharist. This order is still followed in the Eastern Catholic Churches, and there is a strong movement within the Latin Church to restore the ancient, traditional ordering, which was only recently changed.

 

[Phemie]

The traditional ordering of the sacraments, from the times of the ancient Church, is baptism, confirmation, then Eucharist. This order is still followed in the Eastern Catholic Churches, and there is a strong movement within the Latin Church to restore the ancient, traditional ordering, which was only recently changed.

Certainly I’ve heard many priests opine that they would like us to return to the same practice as our Eastern brothers.

 

[maryjk]

It would eliminate the two years of confirmation “Preparation” which in reality has little to do with preparing children to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

-Tim-

 

[brigid12]

Seems to me the age that we confirm children differs according to how we perceive the Sacrament. If we see it as mostly one that confers Grace then infant or pre-Holy Communion age make sense. If we see it as mostly a time when youth learn about the teachings of the RCC then we choose the older grades.

I see it mostly as one that confers Grace and therefore I prefer the age to be infant, like the eastern Catholic Church. If not I would prefer pre-Holy Communion.

 

[NekoNecro]

I received holy communion and confirmation at the same time, so I said that.

To receive Communion before confirmation always struck me as really quite odd, as in you should be fully within and of the church before partaking in the body of christ no?

 

[brigid12]

I received holy communion and confirmation at the same time, so I said that.

To receive Communion before confirmation always struck me as really quite odd, as in you should be fully within and of the church before partaking in the body of christ no?

I would have never thought of it that way, 'course there are a lot of things I haven’t thought about.

 

[SMHW]

I would have never thought of it that way, 'course there are a lot of things I haven’t thought about.

While Confirmation after the age of reason has long been a Latin tradition I believe Confirmation after First Communion is fairly recent (in the grand scheme of things.)

 

[Phemie]

While Confirmation after the age of reason has long been a Latin tradition I believe Confirmation after First Communion is fairly recent (in the grand scheme of things.)

About 114 years old, in fact. Pius X allowed children to receive Communion at the age of 7 or 8 and the lowering of the age of Confirmation didn’t always follow. Though I must say that in 1961 I was confirmed at the age of 7. It was after I’d made my first Communion, which I did at the age of 6 at the end of grade 1. Since the bishop only came to our community for Confirmation every 2 or 3 years, everyone who was unconfirmed and who had received their First Communion was confirmed when he came.

 

[Casilda]

CIC Canon law specifies the minimum:Can. 891 The sacrament of confirmation is to be conferred on the faithful at about the age of discretion unless the conference of bishops has determined another age, or there is danger of death, or in the judgment of the minister a grave cause suggests otherwise.
Following are two examples of restored order in the Latin Catholic Church.

1. 2005On May 15, 2005 Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted promulgated the new Policy and Guidelines concerning the restoration of the order of the Sacraments of Initiation in the Diocese of Phoenix. …
   **
2. Why is the Diocese of Phoenix changing the age of Confirmation?**
   By placing Confirmation at this age, the Diocese of Phoenix will be following the natural sequence of the Sacraments of Christian Initiation: Baptism, Then Confirmation, and then reception of First Eucharist. Pope Paul VI stated the following:
   The sharing in the divine nature given to men through the grace of Christ bears a certain likeness to the origin, development, and nourishing of natural life. The faithful are born anew by Baptism, strengthened by the sacrament of Confirmation, and received in the Eucharist the food of eternal life. By means of these sacraments of Christian initiation, they thus receive in increasing measure the treasures of the divine life and advance toward the perfection of charity (CCC 1212).
   It should also be noted that this is the sequence followed by RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) which requires that children and adults in the catechumenate receive all three sacraments together, even if the children are younger than the age at which the Catholic children of the parish are routinely confirmed and by the Eastern Catholic Churches for infants and adults alike (CCC 1232).
   ​

In addition, by placing Confirmation prior to the reception of First Eucharist it makes it easier to view the Eucharist as the “summit” of Christian initiation (CCC 1233).

Therefore, all baptized persons who have reached the age of reason should be appropriately prepared and receive the Sacrament of Confirmation before the reception of the Holy Eucharist.
​

ewtn.com/library/BISHOPS/ordsacinit.htm

1. 2012
   Rome, Italy, Mar 8, 2012 / 03:58 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo said he is delighted to have first-hand papal approval for changing the order by which children in his diocese receive the sacraments. …

Over the past seven years the Diocese of Fargo has changed the typical order of the sacraments of initiation. Instead of confirmation coming third and at an older age, it is now conferred on children at a younger age and prior to First Communion.

Bishop Aquila said he made the changes because “it really puts the emphasis on the Eucharist as being what completes the sacraments of initiation” and on confirmation as “sealing and completing baptism.”

When the sacraments are conferred in this order, he said, it becomes more obvious that “both baptism and confirmation lead to the Eucharist.” This sacramental assistance helps Catholics live “that intimate relationship of being the beloved sons and daughters of the Father in our daily lives,” he added.

The Bishop of Fargo said the changes have also distanced the Sacrament of Confirmation from “some false theologies that see it as being a sacrament of maturity or as a sacrament for ‘me choosing God.’”

Instead, young people in Fargo now have “the fullness of the spirit and the completion of the gifts of the spirit” to assist them in “living their lives within the world,” especially “in the trials they face in junior high and high school.”
…
catholicnewsagency.com/ne…ng-sacraments/

I pray this trend continues! I do not see anything but positive results!

 

[otjm]

Confirmation is a Sacrament which requires understanding of the Faith. Before I was confirmed, I had to stand before the priest of the parish and explain the reason why I chose the saint who I chose to honor with my confirmation name. It’s far more than Baptism (which is in place to cleanse one of original sin), so I can’t in my mind justify the Confirmation of infants. By receiving Confirmation, you are confirming that you are taking a position as a soldier for Christ; a lifetime commitment that you must make for yourself (unlike baptism when your parents and Godparents made your baptismal vows for you) and understand the importance of. Also, nowhere is it written that Confirmation is a prerequisite for Heaven, and no seven year olds have been denied Heaven because they hadn’t been confirmed yet; Baptism, on the other hand, is a prerequisite because until one is baptized, he/she has the stain of original sin.

Honestly, I think it needs to follow the first time one receives the Eucharist. You should receive Jesus’ body before you receive the Holy Spirit to guide you. Whether that means 4th grade or not until high school is a debate topic.

To the contrary, the Eastern rites provide the first three sacraments of initiation at birth.

Just as the sacrament of Baptism is given at birth, the “understanding of the Faith” is the parents’.

 

[Sunbreak]

I picked with First Communion but there wasn’t really an option for my choice. I would have chosen moving it back to when it was in the late 50s - early 60s which is 4th grade.

 

[Phemie]

I picked with First Communion but there wasn’t really an option for my choice. I would have chosen moving it back to when it was in the late 50s - early 60s which is 4th grade.

That varied by diocese. 2nd grade in some, 4th in others, and still later in others – and that was in Canada and the US. In other countries it varied even more. In some places it was whoever had not been confirmed since the bishop’s last visit. One of our former pastors was confirmed when he was 5, as part of a normal Confirmation in his hometown in the Philippines during the late 60s, early 70s.

 

[mikeeh]

So far about 74% of the people polled prefer Confirmation before late elementary. And 79% prefer it before high school. At this moment there have only been 35 voters, but I wonder if this poll already reflects a preference by most Catholics to prefer Confirmation be given to their children prior at an early age.

On May 15, 2005 Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted promulgated the new Policy and Guidelines concerning the restoration of the order of the Sacraments of Initiation in the Diocese of Phoenix. …
**
5. Why is the Diocese of Phoenix changing the age of Confirmation?**
By placing Confirmation at this age, the Diocese of Phoenix will be following the natural sequence of the Sacraments of Christian Initiation: Baptism, Then Confirmation, and then reception of First Eucharist. Pope Paul VI stated the following:

The sharing in the divine nature given to men through the grace of Christ bears a certain likeness to the origin, development, and nourishing of natural life. The faithful are born anew by Baptism, strengthened by the sacrament of Confirmation, and received in the Eucharist the food of eternal life. By means of these sacraments of Christian initiation, they thus receive in increasing measure the treasures of the divine life and advance toward the perfection of charity (CCC 1212).

​

ewtn.com/library/BISHOPS/ordsacinit.htm

Sorry, I should have mentioned the Diocese of Phoenix changed the age of Confirmation to restore the original order of Christian Initiation. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[phil19034]

So far about 74% of the people polled prefer Confirmation before late elementary. And 79% prefer it before high school. At this moment there have only been 35 voters, but I wonder if this poll already reflects a preference by most Catholics to prefer Confirmation be given to their children prior at an early age.

I think this is a little skewed number. My Archbishop feels that there are many who want earlier Confirmation so they can stop sending their kids to Catholic School. There are many (not all) parishes in the Archdioceses of Philadelphia which only have CCD (or whichever program they are using) during the week. So many parents send their kids to Catholic School because they can’t get them to CCD. Then, as soon as the child is Confirmed, they go to public school. The Archbishop said you can tell who these people are because they don’t attend Mass.

But I do think that the real reason why Confirmation started happening much later was an attempt by the Parishes to keep children in faith formation classes much longer (as Catholic children started attending public school).

Personally, after reading many posts, I would prefer to see Confirmation and First Communion happen on the same day (of course with Confirmation happening first). When I attended CCD 25-30 years ago after First Communion, there was a lot of “fluff” until my first of three years of Confirmation Prep. Then, for my 2nd year of Confirmation prep, they changed the system and made it less formal. Finally, for my 3rd year of Confirmation prep (in 9th Grade) many kids didn’t want to be there.

So I voted with First Communion.

 

[SecretGarden]

I see no reason to deny children the Graces that Confirmation brings.

It should be restored to it’s traditional position of following just prior to Holy Communion.

Sacraments are beautiful ways that God shows his graces but there are some such as confirmation that should be best left until the person is of age to understand it. For example in the United Church of Canada, (a main line Protestant denomination in Canada which is similar to Methodist and Presbyterian) the age of confirmation begins at age 13 and continues into adulthood. By delaying this sacaremebt, means one waiting for their hearts for something that is wonderful and a gift from God when they are ready to receive it. I have helped to prepare children for their confirmation and I have seen that age does not act as a qualifier for readiness.

People who are confirmed later in life tend to stick with the faith because they understand the promises they make during confirmation. These days, children don’t understand the these promises nor does the Catholic church have a universal education program which educates the children about the faith well into early adulthood. If most parishes did, then I could see the ages for confirmation remaining as it is. Until then, children will appear for their First Communion and Confirmation and disappear until they decide to get married in a church. We need to do more to keep these children inside the parishes otherwise, most parishes will disappear in the next 20 years.