Confirmation Question

[anon47]

My granddaughter is going to be Confirmed on April 3. Her parents are not practicing Catholics, but to her credit she has insisted on being Confirmed. I want to give her some advice about how to deal with spiritual issues going forward, and I want to be sure she understands that this is not a ticket to be punched and forgotten, but rather a commitment to being a Catholic Christian.

I don’t want to be preachy or judgmental. Any advice on how to proceed? She is 16 and I know it will be very difficult for her to stay the course, given all the distractions young people are subjected to.

Thanks for your help

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

My granddaughter is going to be Confirmed on April 3. Her parents are not practicing Catholics, but to her credit she has insisted on being Confirmed. I want to give her some advice about how to deal with spiritual issues going forward, and I want to be sure she understands that this is not a ticket to be punched and forgotten, but rather a commitment to being a Catholic Christian.

I don’t want to be preachy or judgmental. Any advice on how to proceed? She is 16 and I know it will be very difficult for her to stay the course, given all the distractions young people are subjected to.

Thanks for your help

Why more concern for her faith than your own child’s?

 

[pianistclare]

My granddaughter is going to be Confirmed on April 3. Her parents are not practicing Catholics, but to her credit she has insisted on being Confirmed. I want to give her some advice about how to deal with spiritual issues going forward, and I want to be sure she understands that this is not a ticket to be punched and forgotten, but rather a commitment to being a Catholic Christian.

I don’t want to be preachy or judgmental. Any advice on how to proceed? She is 16 and I know it will be very difficult for her to stay the course, given all the distractions young people are subjected to.

Thanks for your help

Let her know that you pray for her daily and that you are willing to talk anytime.
Just knowing that someone understand your issues at times means the world to young people. And it would wonderful if YOU were the one she turned to.

 

[revelations]

I would just let her know when there are times of difficulty that she can always come to you for support and with questions. The best thing you can do is to be an example to her, going to mass regularly, and be a spiritual resource. St-Francis had a saying that went something like: “Preach always…and if necessary use words”. Basically continue to be a good example by your actions and what you do, and use a few words of encouragement.

As always, pray for her, and for her parents (your children) that Jesus may work in and through them. She is clearly receiving graces to express a desire to progress in the sacraments. Positive reinforcement is probably better than warning her that problems are on the way.

I will pray for you family.

 

[Rbaker]

Why more concern for her faith than your own child’s?

Oh come on… if this person is concerned for their granddaughter, don’t you think they have probably been concerned for their child? They just asked for some advice, why you have to come in here and judge them? We are all brothers and sisters in Christ anyway.

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Oh come on… if this person is concerned for their granddaughter, don’t you think they have probably been concerned for their child? They just asked for some advice, why you have to come in here and judge them? We are all brothers and sisters in Christ anyway.

I think it’s worth exploring. One probably would want to avoid things that caused the child to fall away. Plus a grandparent is generally much less influential than a parent. But honestly if we are talking about souls here, the granddaughter seems to be in better shape than the adult child. I think many times grandparents act out of guilt with grandchildren. Faith and guiding a person on faith is more than an engraved confirmation bible gift. Parents are the primary educators of the faith. Receiving a sacrament like confirmation puts the grandchild in a better isotope than the adult child. Plus reverting the adult child would help the grandchild. Otherwise things could get pretty futile.

 

[Catholic4Christ]

I think it’s worth reminding young folks what Confirmation is - the gifts of the Holy Spirit are sealed upon the soul. It’s sort of the “part 2” of Baptism. It isn’t the Catholic version of a believer’s baptism (after all, the older tradition was to Confirm Roman Catholics before First Communion, and many Eastern Catholics are Confirmed as Infants).

While the way she faces challenges hereon out is of utmost importance, I think the best advice you can give her is to remind her that the Spirit’s Gifts will always be accessible to her when she needs them if she merely asks Him through prayer and continues to participate faithfully in the other sacraments.

I was Confirmed almost five years ago as a freshman in college. My parents didn’t consistently take me to church as a kid and didn’t push for me to be Confirmed in middle school (when others that I knew were doing it), and I didn’t have the time in high school. My formation for Confirmation (at my campus ministry) was decent, but the priest was mostly uninvolved until the day I was actually Confirmed, and sometimes the focus was more on our “choice to be Christians” than the sacrament as a gift from God. I have to relearn that lesson all the time: I can’t succeed in spiritual struggles by choice and personal effort nearly as much as by the grace of that sacrament.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

My granddaughter is going to be Confirmed on April 3. Her parents are not practicing Catholics, but to her credit she has insisted on being Confirmed. I want to give her some advice about how to deal with spiritual issues going forward, and I want to be sure she understands that this is not a ticket to be punched and forgotten, but rather a commitment to being a Catholic Christian.

I don’t want to be preachy or judgmental. Any advice on how to proceed? She is 16 and I know it will be very difficult for her to stay the course, given all the distractions young people are subjected to.

Thanks for your help

The best advice you can give her, in my estimation, is telling her that you will always be there to help her in her faith journey. Beyond that, encourage her to always stay close to the Mass and to the sacraments and to always make a place for daily prayer in her life. Encourage her as well to find saints with whom she can identify in a special way and to be close to them and allow them to inspire her, especially in difficult and trying moments.

 

[servantofall]

I always start the beginning of the with my confirmation class by explaining that confirmation is not graduation but the beginning of their life as a catholic. Confirmation awakens the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we received at baptism to give us the strength to live, defend, and spread the faith. I also use the Catechism of the Catholic church , which they keep at the end of the class,to supplement the curriculum and encourage them to use it to continue learning the faith. I stress that whenever they have a question about the faith that they can ask me and refer to the catechism.