Confirmation Before Communion

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What arguments can be made for or against confirmation *before *first communion?

Some that occur to me:


  1. *]We typically have first communion at 7 and confirm at 14. Change is bad, therefore we should keep it that way 😃
    *]Delaying confirmation to 14 brings kids back to the Church at the age they would otherwise begin to drift away.
    *]Easterners confirm at the same time as baptism. Uniformity is good, therefore we should confirm at baptism.
    *]Confirmation goes hand-in-hand with spiritual maturity; therefore it should be delayed.
    *]Confirmation is a sacrament of strengthening; therefore it should be administered as early as possible, before age 7
    *]Confirmation is a sacrament of strengthening; therefore it should be administered when spiritual attacks are strongest, around age 14.

    Any others?
 
Here’s a few. Most are phrased in support of Confirmation before Communion, but you can kind of pick up on the counter-argument each is addressing. Upfront I will say that this can be a difficult issue for many and there are legitimate points on both sides of the question.
  1. The Eucharist completes Christian Initiation (CCC 1322). That doesn’t make as much sense when you receive First Communion years before Confirmation. 😉
  2. Everytime the Church speaks about the Sacraments of Initiation, they say “Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.” That’s the order they are spoken about in the Catechism. It’s the order they are spoken about in the Code of Canon Law. It’s the order that historically (prior to the last 100 years) they have been administered. It’s the order they are adminiastered to adults who are coming into the Catholic Church. And yet, for children we do things differently. Why?
  3. The sacraments are not carrots to be dangled in front of children in order to get them to come to CCD. They are instruments of grace. The sooner we can equip our children with that grace, the better.
  4. Understanding the sacrament does not need to precede reception of the sacrament. In the early Church, they did not caztechize on the sacraments at all until after the individual received them. I think it was St. Augustine (or maybe St. Ambrose) who said that one needed the grace of the sacrament in order to understand the sacrament.
FYI, in the Latin Rite, it would not be appropriate to confirm babies (unless there is danger of death). They do things differently in the Eastern Catholic Churches, but the Eastern Churches also have a different Code of Canon Law. For the Latin Rite, the Code of Canon Law puts Confirmation at the age of discretion (i.e. the age of reason, which is about 7 years old).
 
Restoration of the proper order of the Sacraments of Initiation, Baptism/Confirmation/First Eucharist.

Confirmation is the sealing of the Spirit received at Baptism. Kids need the Grace that is given though this sacrament at an earlier age today.

Both of these are reasons given to me by Bishop Olmstead of Phoenix as to why he has moved Confirmation to the age of 9. It now happens at the same Mass where a child receives First Eucharist.
 
Before converting I went through the RCIA program starting 1991 and ending Easter 1992 when I was formally accepted into the Catholic Church (baptism not needed as I was a validly baptised Methodist). That was when I received Communion for the first time.
For me and all the others who became Catholics that Easter our Confirmation took place in October 1992.
So for us Confirmation took place about 6 months after becoming Catholics and receiving Communion for the first time.
 
As an above poster said, the proper order is Baptism/Confirmation/First Eucharist. That is how it is at the easter vigil.
 
The “proper order” is most certainly NOT baptism/confirmation/first holy communion. In the Latin Rite, the proper order is at the discretion of the diocesan bishop. Simple as that. It’s what he decides is best for his flock.

I would love to see our youth receive Confirmation in conjunction with first Holy Communion, both being received at the age of reason. If the families were continuing catechesis after the reception of both sacraments, I’d be in favor.

However, our experience has been that this would work poorly in the families that we deal with. Catechesis of children and practice of the faith within the family is marginal at best. We require that children in CCD programs (sacramental and quincinera prep) attend weekly Mass and weekly classes. However, we’ve found that the majority of families, after first Holy Communion, simply stop taking the kids to Mass. We’ve found that the teens who come into Confirmation class have not received any faith formation within the family. In my class of 14 Confirmation II teens last year, only two had been to confession since receiving first Holy Communion, and most hadn’t been to Mass more than a few times a year.

In the large majority of families we see, if the kids received both sacraments at age 7 or 8, we would never see them again. As in “we the parish” not “we the religious ed people.” And in most of these cases, they would receive no catechesis or faith formation again after the age of 7 or 8.

Our rector has changed our catechetical focus; we will be aiming at the “whole family” starting this year. We will require that parents attend adult faith formation classes (we give them a roster of choices in English and Spanish). We will have homework assignments that the parents must help the kids with. The parents sign a registration form that indicates their understanding of these requirements.

Perhaps after several years of this “whole family” catechesis, it will be appropriate to confirm at the age of reason. In an ideal world, where families raise their children in the faith and teach them about the faith, this would be best.

In today’s world, kids need the grace at an earlier age. But if the parents won’t (or can’t) teach them, and won’t take them to Mass, the seed is being sown on rocky soil.
 
ByzCath said:
Restoration of the proper order of the Sacraments of Initiation, Baptism/Confirmation/First Eucharist.

Confirmation is the sealing of the Spirit received at Baptism. Kids need the Grace that is given though this sacrament at an earlier age today.

Both of these are reasons given to me by Bishop Olmstead of Phoenix as to why he has moved Confirmation to the age of 9. It now happens at the same Mass where a child receives First Eucharist.
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Yep, ITA and I think the Latin rite should return to the early Church tradition of this that has been maintained by the Eastern Catholics, and Orthodox.
 
Cider said:
Yep, ITA and I think the Latin rite should return to the early Church tradition of this that has been maintained by the Eastern Catholics, and Orthodox.
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But the council of Trent established the age of reason as the earliest age for Confirmation in the Latin Rite. I don’t think we’ll be going back to Confirmation in conjunction with baptism and first Holy Communion, which is what the Eastern Catholics and Orthodox do, any time soon. At least not without the ruling of another ecumenical council.

When, after the age of reason, is at the discretion of the diocesan bishop.
 
GwenL said:
The “proper order” is most certainly NOT baptism/confirmation/first holy communion. In the Latin Rite, the proper order is at the discretion of the diocesan bishop. Simple as that. It’s what he decides is best for his flock.

I would love to see our youth receive Confirmation in conjunction with first Holy Communion, both being received at the age of reason. If the families were continuing catechesis after the reception of both sacraments, I’d be in favor.

However, our experience has been that this would work poorly in the families that we deal with. Catechesis of children and practice of the faith within the family is marginal at best. We require that children in CCD programs (sacramental and quincinera prep) attend weekly Mass and weekly classes. However, we’ve found that the majority of families, after first Holy Communion, simply stop taking the kids to Mass. We’ve found that the teens who come into Confirmation class have not received any faith formation within the family. In my class of 14 Confirmation II teens last year, only two had been to confession since receiving first Holy Communion, and most hadn’t been to Mass more than a few times a year.

In the large majority of families we see, if the kids received both sacraments at age 7 or 8, we would never see them again. As in “we the parish” not “we the religious ed people.” And in most of these cases, they would receive no catechesis or faith formation again after the age of 7 or 8.

Our rector has changed our catechetical focus; we will be aiming at the “whole family” starting this year. We will require that parents attend adult faith formation classes (we give them a roster of choices in English and Spanish). We will have homework assignments that the parents must help the kids with. The parents sign a registration form that indicates their understanding of these requirements.

Perhaps after several years of this “whole family” catechesis, it will be appropriate to confirm at the age of reason. In an ideal world, where families raise their children in the faith and teach them about the faith, this would be best.

In today’s world, kids need the grace at an earlier age. But if the parents won’t (or can’t) teach them, and won’t take them to Mass, the seed is being sown on rocky soil.
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This is one of the reasons I like the way they do it in the Diocese of Tyler. They do first Confession in 2nd grade, the parents agree to attend Mass every Sunday and bring the child to Confession weekly during the following year when they have Sacrament prep for First Communion and Confirmation which they receive in the same Mass. They must have two solid years of catechesis to make it through the whole program.

Compare this to what we have now (similar to your situation). Parents bring their kids in second grade for FHC prep. They don’t darken the Chuch door until they come for Confirmation (10th grade). Their Confirmation prep isn’t really a second year of catechesis, it’s just reminding them of every thing they forgot since 2nd grade. So effectively, they only have one year’s worth of catechesis for 3 Sacraments. 😦 We “require” the parents to come to classes both during FHC year and Confirmation year but we can’t deny the child the Sacrament if the parent doesn’t go to class.
 
I think the bottom line solution is whole family catechesis. Arguing back and forth about whether kids should be confirmed at 8, or 10, or 17, is really a waste of time. If the parents aren’t going to take the kids to Mass and confession, and if the parents aren’t going to teach the faith, confirming the kids at 10 has little chance of success. Doesn’t matter how wonderful the CCD classes are.

We won’t “deny” the sacrament if parents don’t go to class, and take the kids to Mass while they are in CCD. But the pastor can surely “delay” the sacrament. We did this with a few kids last year–they weren’t coming to Mass and they weren’t going to to class. We had long discussions with the parents about the need to do both. No change in behavior or attendance. So we recommended that they start the same class again next year. The pastor has to recommend the confirmandi to the bishop, after all.
 
GwenL said:
I think the bottom line solution is whole family catechesis. Arguing back and forth about whether kids should be confirmed at 8, or 10, or 17, is really a waste of time.
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That works great for large parishes but ours is very small. We hardly have enough catechists for the regular CCE classes, let alone family catechesis.
If the parents aren’t going to take the kids to Mass and confession, and if the parents aren’t going to teach the faith, confirming the kids at 10 has little chance of success. Doesn’t matter how wonderful the CCD classes are.
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True but it has even less chance of success at 17. Just the numbers work against them. We get about half of the number of students for Confirmation as for FHC. That means the other half are probably not being Confirmed at all.
We won’t “deny” the sacrament if parents don’t go to class, and take the kids to Mass while they are in CCD. But the pastor can surely “delay” the sacrament. We did this with a few kids last year–they weren’t coming to Mass and they weren’t going to to class. We had long discussions with the parents about the need to do both. No change in behavior or attendance. So we recommended that they start the same class again next year. The pastor has to recommend the confirmandi to the bishop, after al.l
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Sure we delay if the kids aren’t going to class or Mass. What I meant was, if the childen are attending class, we aren’t allowed to penalize them due to the parents not attending the adult class. Because our bishop has set the minimum age for Confirmation at 16 and only allow us to have Confirmation in the parish every two years, telling a student to start over is effectively denying them since they will have graduated HS by the time Confirmation is offered again.
 
One of the problems of using later Confirmation to keep teens in CCD is the false understanding that 1) Confirmation is earned and 2) that Confirmation is some sort of adult choice of the Faith.

The second idea is just plainly wrong.

The first idea is a very bad understanding as we all know that no Grace can be earned.

While bishops’ can decide when Confirmation occurs that does not change the fact that the proper and traditional order of the Sacraments of Initiation are Baptism - Confirmation - Eucharist.

From the CCC;
1212 The sacraments of Christian initiation - Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist - lay the foundations of every Christian life. “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 receive 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.”

And know that I do not only get this from the Catechism nor is it only my opinion but it is what I have been taught in my studies for the priesthood.
 
Where to begin? Much agreement, some disagreement, and a few other comments:
Joe_5859 said:
Here’s a few. Most are phrased in support of Confirmation before Communion, but you can kind of pick up on the counter-argument each is addressing. Upfront I will say that this can be a difficult issue for many and there are legitimate points on both sides of the question.
  1. The Eucharist completes Christian Initiation (CCC 1322). That doesn’t make as much sense when you receive First Communion years before Confirmation. 😉 AGREE
  2. Everytime the Church speaks about the Sacraments of Initiation, they say “Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.” That’s the order they are spoken about in the Catechism. It’s the order they are spoken about in the Code of Canon Law. It’s the order that historically (prior to the last 100 years) they have been administered. It’s the order they are adminiastered to adults who are coming into the Catholic Church. And yet, for children we do things differently. Why? Good Question, I think your next point answers this to a large extent.
  3. The sacraments are not carrots to be dangled in front of children in order to get them to come to CCD. They are instruments of grace. The sooner we can equip our children with that grace, the better. THANK YOU! I couldn’t agree more.
  4. Understanding the sacrament does not need to precede reception of the sacrament. In the early Church, they did not caztechize on the sacraments at all until after the individual received them. I think it was St. Augustine (or maybe St. Ambrose) who said that one needed the grace of the sacrament in order to understand the sacrament.
    **Tell that to St. Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop circa 350-387 A.D. whose pre-sacramental catecheses fill two volumes. The only thing that was truly hidden from the catechumenate was the celebration of the Eucharist, but even Cyril himself admits that quite a few snuck into the liturgy anyway. Although I certainly do not disagree that the grace of the Sacrament is necessary to complete one’s understanding of it. **
FYI, in the Latin Rite, it would not be appropriate to confirm babies (unless there is danger of death). They do things differently in the Eastern Catholic Churches, but the Eastern Churches also have a different Code of Canon Law. For the Latin Rite, the Code of Canon Law puts Confirmation at the age of discretion (i.e. the age of reason, which is about 7 years old). The important point to take from this is that it’s a matter of discipline, not doctrine. It can change at any time.
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Personally, I would like to see the celebration of Confirmation restored to its earlier place along side Baptism at infancy. The grace of Baptism is a dying and rising with Christ, the grace of Confirmation is an anointing as “another Christ.” The Sacrament of “Christian Maturity” must be understood as it relates to this grace of transformation (becoming Christ) and in those dioceses such as mine where reception occurs at 13-14 year old, I see no reason to wait that long to provide such a grace, except as a “carrot on a stick”, which is quite frankly exploitation.
 
ByzCath said:
One of the problems of using later Confirmation to keep teens in CCD is the false understanding that 1) Confirmation is earned and 2) that Confirmation is some sort of adult choice of the Faith.

The second idea is just plainly wrong.

The first idea is a very bad understanding as we all know that no Grace can be earned.

While bishops’ can decide when Confirmation occurs that does not change the fact that the proper and traditional order of the Sacraments of Initiation are Baptism - Confirmation - Eucharist.

From the CCC;
1212 The sacraments of Christian initiation - Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist - lay the foundations of every Christian life. “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 receive 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.”

And know that I do not only get this from the Catechism nor is it only my opinion but it is what I have been taught in my studies for the priesthood.
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Agree 100% on your first two points. I don’t think anyone here has argued differently.

I’ll go with what the Holy Father has to say on the matter.

The is from his apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatas:

The order of the sacraments of initiation
  1. In this regard, attention needs to be paid to the order of the sacraments of initiation. Different traditions exist within the Church. There is a clear variation between, on the one hand, the ecclesial customs of the East and the practice of the West regarding the initiation of adults, and, on the other hand, the procedure adopted for children. Yet these variations are not properly of the dogmatic order, but are pastoral in character. Concretely, it needs to be seen which practice better enables the faithful to put the sacrament of the Eucharist at the centre, as the goal of the whole process of initiation. In close collaboration with the competent offices of the Roman Curia, Bishops’ Conferences should examine the effectiveness of current approaches to Christian initiation, so that the faithful can be helped both to mature through the formation received in our communities and to give their lives an authentically eucharistic direction, so that they can offer a reason for the hope within them in a way suited to our times (cf. 1 Pet 3:15).
The order of the sacraments of initiation is not dogmatic in the Latin Rite. It’s a pastoral choice. The pastor is the bishop.

The goal of the whole process isn’t to put confirmation in some perceived “traditional” or “proper” order. The goal is to put the Eucharist at the center.

Corki, regarding whole family catechesis. Our parish is quite small. We’re going to make it work because we have to. The state of adult catechetical knowledge is just abysmal. The state of the kids’ faith formation won’t get better until their parents’ gets better, no matter how hard we try in CCD. It’s painful, isn’t it? We’re having to make up for 40+ years of “cut, color, and draw” CCD.
 
When I was younger, I received the sacraments in this order:

Baptism: when I was an infant of nearly a month old

First Holy Communion: just after I turned 8 years old (2nd grade)

First Confession/Reconciliation: just after I turned 10 years old (4th grade)

Confirmation: a few months past my 17th birthday around the time of Pentecost (nearly my classmates were 16 or 17 like me, most of us were 11th graders)

I do remember going to CCD/Catechism/Religious Education classes from the time I was in the 1st grade till Confirmation in the 11th grade. We usually had them weekly for an hour or 2 at most. For the times we were to receive sacraments, the classes that year would be emphasis on receiving the Sacrament. My mother still has my books from a few of the sacrament preparation classes still. I went to Mass with my mother and sister on weekends, holy days, etc.

I would want to see the order restored like I had growing up which keeps the faith formation going. Its not good to read other posts where kids show up the year they are to get a sacrament like First Communion or even Confirmation where you should know and learn the basic tenets of your faith then not keep attending classes plus going to weekly Mass and Confession.

Even as an adult, its good to continue learning and understanding your faith even after Confirmation. I’ve attended a few seminar/class things (things like learning about the parts of the Mass) and also participated in some Bible study classes at my parish that are geared towards adults. If I can find something to go that does not conflict with my work schedule (which is hard as my schedule is not normal Monday to Friday, 9-5), I will simply get some books and/or watch programming on EWTN (or EWTN.com)
 
MissRose73 said:
When I was younger, I received the sacraments in this order:

Baptism: when I was an infant of nearly a month old

First Holy Communion: just after I turned 8 years old (2nd grade)

First Confession/Reconciliation: just after I turned 10 years old (4th grade)

Confirmation: a few months past my 17th birthday around the time of Pentecost (nearly my classmates were 16 or 17 like me, most of us were 11th graders)

I do remember going to CCD/Catechism/Religious Education classes from the time I was in the 1st grade till Confirmation in the 11th grade. We usually had them weekly for an hour or 2 at most. For the times we were to receive sacraments, the classes that year would be emphasis on receiving the Sacrament. My mother still has my books from a few of the sacrament preparation classes still. I went to Mass with my mother and sister on weekends, holy days, etc.

I would want to see the order restored like I had growing up which keeps the faith formation going. Its not good to read other posts where kids show up the year they are to get a sacrament like First Communion or even Confirmation where you should know and learn the basic tenets of your faith then not keep attending classes plus going to weekly Mass and Confession.

Even as an adult, its good to continue learning and understanding your faith even after Confirmation. I’ve attended a few seminar/class things (things like learning about the parts of the Mass) and also participated in some Bible study classes at my parish that are geared towards adults. If I can find something to go that does not conflict with my work schedule (which is hard as my schedule is not normal Monday to Friday, 9-5), I will simply get some books and/or watch programming on EWTN (or EWTN.com)
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I had a similar time line as you did. We Confirmed every other year so my sister, who is a year younger than me was in 3rd grade for Confirmation while I was in 4th. Of course, we had First Confession before First Communion. There was a short time, at least in the US when parishes were experiementing with FHC before First Confession. That, of course makes no sense if you teach children they need to be in a state of grace to go to Communion. Fortunately, the Church has made it clear that FHC is always to come after First Confession now.
 
GwenL said:
The “proper order” is most certainly NOT baptism/confirmation/first holy communion. In the Latin Rite, the proper order is at the discretion of the diocesan bishop. Simple as that. It’s what he decides is best for his flock.

I would love to see our youth receive Confirmation in conjunction with first Holy Communion, both being received at the age of reason. If the families were continuing catechesis after the reception of both sacraments, I’d be in favor.

However, our experience has been that this would work poorly in the families that we deal with. Catechesis of children and practice of the faith within the family is marginal at best. We require that children in CCD programs (sacramental and quincinera prep) attend weekly Mass and weekly classes. However, we’ve found that the majority of families, after first Holy Communion, simply stop taking the kids to Mass. We’ve found that the teens who come into Confirmation class have not received any faith formation within the family. In my class of 14 Confirmation II teens last year, only two had been to confession since receiving first Holy Communion, and most hadn’t been to Mass more than a few times a year.

In the large majority of families we see, if the kids received both sacraments at age 7 or 8, we would never see them again. As in “we the parish” not “we the religious ed people.” And in most of these cases, they would receive no catechesis or faith formation again after the age of 7 or 8.

Our rector has changed our catechetical focus; we will be aiming at the “whole family” starting this year. We will require that parents attend adult faith formation classes (we give them a roster of choices in English and Spanish). We will have homework assignments that the parents must help the kids with. The parents sign a registration form that indicates their understanding of these requirements.

Perhaps after several years of this “whole family” catechesis, it will be appropriate to confirm at the age of reason. In an ideal world, where families raise their children in the faith and teach them about the faith, this would be best.

In today’s world, kids need the grace at an earlier age. But if the parents won’t (or can’t) teach them, and won’t take them to Mass, the seed is being sown on rocky soil.
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This is really the rub, isn’t it? To me, from a theological standpoint, it makes the most sense to have the kids confirmed first, at the age of reason. But the practical, pastoral implications of such a choice are not something to be casually dismissed.

I think that’s why there is such variation in the age of Confirmation even just across the U.S. Heck, even just within my diocese, the Confirmation age varies from 7 to 17 (and nearly everything in between). The USCCB leaves it rather open-ended:

Complemenary Norm: The National Conference of Catholic Bishops, in accord with the prescriptions of canon 891, hereby decrees that the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Latin Rite shall be conferred between the age of discretion and about sixteen years of age, within the limits determined by the diocesan bishop and with regard for the legitimate exceptions given in canon 891.

That’s a pretty large window.

I guess if the bishops cannot come to an agreement over a precise age, then we shouldn’t be surprised if we cannot either. :o
 
My mother was raised Pre-Vatican II, and was baptized as an infant. She had her First Communion, First Confession, and Confirmation all completed by the time she was no older than 10 or 11. Same order/ages for her sister who is nearly 2 years older than her. Both her and her sister attended Catholic school for elementary school (through 6th grade) before they moved to a new place, and went to public schools for 6th/7th to 12th grades. Not sure if they went to religion classes or CCD once entering their teen years.

My sister plus my 2 cousins (the daughters of my mom’s sister) all received the sacraments in the age ranges I listed in my previous post about myself. Us 4 girls were born in the 1970’s as well.
 
I was 6 at the end of grade 1 and received my First Communion that May, 1960. The next May I was confirmed. My dad was born in 1913 and that’s how it was when he was growing up too. Of course had he been born 20 years earlier he wouldn’t have been confirmed until he was 12 or 13 and he would have had to wait until after that to receive Communion.
 
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