Confirmation questions

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Eversearching

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Hi everyone,

I want to go throught the confirmation process. I have a few questions about it I would like to have answered first. I have made a list of the main questions:

1.) How long does the process take? I have been wanting to get confirmed for a few years and I took a break from my faith for a while, but now I would like to finish the process, especially since I am planning to get married (not now, but later 🙂 ). Do I need to get reconfessed and recommuned all over again?

2.) How do I choose my confirmation name? Does it HAVE to be after a Saint?

3.) Who do I approach about getting confirmed? My priest?

That was all I remembered off the top of my head. If you all could help my out with this it would be wonderful! 😃 Thanks.

~Eversearching
 
Hi eversearching! I would contact my parish for information about Confirmation. Usually classes start in the fall. They run with the school year and Confirmation takes place sometime in the spring.

You choose the name of someone you want to emulate and I can’t think of anyone better than a saint!

Good luck and welcome home!
 
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Eversearching:
Hi everyone,

I want to go throught the confirmation process. I have a few questions about it I would like to have answered first. I have made a list of the main questions:

1.) How long does the process take? I have been wanting to get confirmed for a few years and I took a break from my faith for a while, but now I would like to finish the process, especially since I am planning to get married (not now, but later 🙂 ). Do I need to get reconfessed and recommuned all over again?
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It takes as long as it takes. If you are uncatechized, then you will need to go through catechesis (probably with RCIA, although technically you are not a convert). This is usually about 9 months to a year. Don’t rush it. Yes. You will need to make a confession. Confession will become a regular part of your life.
2.) How do I choose my confirmation name? Does it HAVE to be after a Saint?
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You may or may not be asked to choose a confirmation name. It can be a theological virtue or concept as well as a Saint. It can’t be “Tiffany.”
3.) Who do I approach about getting confirmed? My priest?
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Of course.

That was all I remembered off the top of my head. If you all could help my out with this it would be wonderful! 😃 Thanks.

~Eversearching
Godspeed. Let the adventure begin!
 
In some dioceses,they have adult confirmation prep classes in addition to the RCIA classes. The Adult confirmation prep classes may be as long as 12 weeks with confirmation being confirmed for several parishes at one time, and not necessarily at the Easter vigil time. But you must officially inquire by starting first at your parish that you regularly attend.
 
when making my confirmation i was also very unsure about what name i would take. I was addament that i would have a confirmation name, but i did not think about what relevance to me the name would bear.

I then looked on the web at different saints names, i was suprised at how many there were, and found it very easy to pick a name. There are loads of names that you could take and a patron saint of nearly everything, you wont struggle to find a name.

Also talk to your priest if you have any unanswered queries, i did and it made the process far more understanable.
🙂
 
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Eversearching:
Hi everyone,

I want to go throught the confirmation process. I have a few questions about it I would like to have answered first. I have made a list of the main questions:

1.) How long does the process take? I have been wanting to get confirmed for a few years and I took a break from my faith for a while, but now I would like to finish the process, especially since I am planning to get married (not now, but later 🙂 ). Do I need to get reconfessed and recommuned all over again?

2.) How do I choose my confirmation name? Does it HAVE to be after a Saint?

3.) Who do I approach about getting confirmed? My priest?

That was all I remembered off the top of my head. If you all could help my out with this it would be wonderful! 😃 Thanks.

~Eversearching
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You are what is known as a “Returning Catholic”. The process for you is one of Reconciliation. Since you are Baptized and have already received your First Holy Communion. You will need to examine your faith and your understanding of Catholic Faith and Practice. This should take from 6 to 8 weeks to maybe a few months. You will then go to Reconciliation (Confession) and be able to return to the Sacraments at that time. Confirmation will take a few months more and will generally be when the Bishop visits the parish or another area parish. A pastor can also Confirm with the Bishops permission but usually there needs to be a very good reason why. You should speak with the pastor to begin the process.
 
As for having to be a Saint’s name, a better response would be that it gets to be a Saint’s name.

Our patron Saint, properly understood is a saint to whom we are drawn, whether to particular virtues exhibited by the Saint, or certain life problems overcome by the saint.

My daughter recently took the name “Antoinette” in honor of St. Anthony of Padua. Our pastor okayed it, and the Bishop asked her if it was for St. A of Padua, which it was. She has always been the one in our family who was able to find lost items from the time she was a toddler on. We often joked about how St. Anthony had chosen her from so young an age. Even today, we pray to St. Anthony for help in finding items that are not important in terms of salvation, but important to us as children’s toys are to them. Sure enough, she is the one who still finds them.

The thought of having a saint you can ask to intercede for you, and one who will pray for you and support you is a beautiful living reminder that God IS the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Sometimes we forget that we are part of the Church not only on earth, but also in Purgatory, and in Heaven. Having a friend to look out especially for us, is just as important as having earthly friends pray for us in times of need. Grace is freely given, but as our Blessed Mother told St. Catherine, the fingers from which no rays emanate (on the Miraculous Medal) symbolizes the graces not gven because we forget to ask for them. God is always there for us, but He never forces Himself on us. We must open the door to Him.

May you always respond to God’s call, and may the saints intercede for you and us all especially when we forget to ask them to. It is a wonderful journey that you are continuing, and I pray that you are always surrounded by God’s grace, and by the prayers of all of our brothers and sisters who have gone before us.

In Christ’s peace and joy,

Robin L. in TX
 
In my parish a Catholic adult who has received first communion, is practicing the faith, attending Mass regularly and in general living in accordance with Catholic moral teaching, including that on marriage and family, and has a good basic understanding of the faith can probably complete Confirmation class in one year. Confirmation is normally conferred in the Easter season or at the time designated by the Bishop. It is the Bishop who confirms the candidate’s baptism, by the way, not the candidate who confirms his decision to remain Catholic. The initiative is with the Church. If a baptized Christian otherwise uninstructed in the faith wishes to become Catholic and be confirmed, the study may take longer, at least two years.

An unbaptized person generally spends several months in the inquiry period asking basic questions, and if he makes the decision to enter the Church, embarks on the RCIA process, preparation for the Rites of Christian Initiation, which lasts a minimum of one year. If your parish offers classes only during the school year, it may take much longer.

It takes as long as it takes. Some people may have more questions, marriage situations that must be resolved, or other reasons to extend the process. See your pastor for an interview with him, or the person he has designated to prepare adults for the sacraments. They want to get to know you, where you are in your faith life, how the parish can best meet your needs.
 
I know the name can’t be something like “Tiffany”. 🙂

Part of the reason I was concerned about how long it takes is because I would like to have it done by 1.) the time I go to college next year after I graduate and 2.) sometime before I get married (two years apprx.)

Before I took my break, I was just starting to go through the prepartion process of confirmation…Then my family MOVED! 🙂 (Out to the middle of nowhere. 😉 (nice out here though). I wasn’t sure if I’d have to start ALL over again. I’m not completely sure where I left off…I don’t rememeber going through the catechism though.

I’m feeling WICKED stressed about this…confirmation isn’t supposed to be stressful. It’s supposed to be joyful isn’t it? 🙂 I’m beginning to feel like I’m drowning. 😦 And not to mention pretty stupid and far behind :banghead:

Not far behind my friends or anything because our walk with Jesus is personal, but I feel like I have to run to catch up…like He’s walking to fast and I can’t keep up. I feel like I’m behind because I should be confirmed already and I feel like time is running out for me to get confirmed. :crying: I’m feeling horribly overwhelmed.

~Eversearching (and stressing)
 
If you completed most of your preparation in high school, you could ask your former parish director of religious education to send a letter to your new parish, describing the course you took and indicating what steps you still need for Confirmation. This could cut way down on the time this will take. You will also need a recent baptismal certificate showing all sacraments received, you get this from your baptismal parish, you need a sponsor, an adult over 16, practicing Catholic, not a parent, if married must be married in the Church. A Confirmation name is not necessary, your baptismal name is great, if it is a saint. you will probably have to attend some kind of candidate/sponsor meetings, and a retreat, and possible do some service project for the parish. Again, see your pastor right away, this is a good time to start working on it, so you can get confirmed next Easter season when the bishop comes around.
 
All that makes sense, its a logical series of tasks. There is one little problem, I don’t have any way to contact the person running the program and the Priest who resided over my confession and communion ceremonies retired the year I left. I guess that leaves me at square one even if I speak to my priest doens’t it?

At this point banging my head against the wall doesn’t quite cut it. Part of my frustration is this has been a long time coming and I’d rather not drag it out any longer. 😦 Am I a lost cause in this? Is it foolish for me to continue persuing this after 6 years? I would think the answer to that is a huge resounding YES. I want this badly, I just feel like the work I’m doing is not doing anything and I feel as though I am walking against a wall getting no where.

Its been six years because when we moved my parents did not want to place me in any more Catholic religious classes to prepare me for confirmation because one of the teachers threatend to throw me out of class for asking why we say our Rosaries and told me I was going to hell for asking and I would be damned to hell for certain if I breathed wrong. Demented huh?

~Eversearching
 
so you go to class for a year, big deal, go for it, you might learn something, sounds like you still have a lot of questions that you did not get good answers for back then, and you still want answers know.

are you looking for encouragement to complete your Christian initiation through accepting the Sacrament of Confirmation, or are you looking for excuses to give up? We have given you a lot of help toward the former, but if it’s the latter, we are not going to let up on you.

they don’t have phones where you live so you can’t call your former parish?
 
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Eversearching:
At this point banging my head against the wall doesn’t quite cut it. Part of my frustration is this has been a long time coming and I’d rather not drag it out any longer. 😦 Am I a lost cause in this? Is it foolish for me to continue persuing this after 6 years? I would think the answer to that is a huge resounding YES. I want this badly, I just feel like the work I’m doing is not doing anything and I feel as though I am walking against a wall getting no where.

Its been six years because when we moved my parents did not want to place me in any more Catholic religious classes to prepare me for confirmation because one of the teachers threatend to throw me out of class for asking why we say our Rosaries and told me I was going to hell for asking and I would be damned to hell for certain if I breathed wrong. Demented huh?

~Eversearching
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I’ve decided to pursue my Confirmation after twenty-one years and I’ve only been Baptized Catholic. I never received First Communion.

I had a similar experience to yours in CCD back in 1978 or so. The “instructor” got really angry with me after I asked a simple question like yours. Don’t remember what I asked, but the unforgiving way that the person behaved made me think that a Christian was defined as a person who loved Jesus but hated everyone else. These are the same kind of people you hear say, “God forgives you, but I won’t!” It made me very angry with Catholics for quite some time. My first experiences with the Church were most unpleasant and only now have I come back to pursue my faith. Don’t give up, there’s nasty people everywhere, especially amongst Catholics, but they’re not all bad. 😉
 
go for it, you can’t keep a good man down

you both highlight something which is a truth we all have to deal with, most people’s problems with the Catholic Church are really problems with individuals in the Church, not the Church per se.

one of the biggest sins a catechist can commit is failing to answer questions, failing to admit when they don’t know the answer and then doing the homework to get the answer.

after several years with HS Confirmation classes, however, I can testify that many so-called questions are really excuses to disrupt class, which is proven by the fact that usually the questioner refuses to shut up long enough to listen to the answer, so it’s a two-way street. The beauty of adult confirmation classes is that everybody wants to be there, hope you both enjoy the experience.
 
I contacted the religious educator at my parish in mid-November of last year. She said that since I already had a strong christian background (I was Baptized Catholic but ended up being raised Assembly of God) that I could go ahead and join the class - I started in late November and received First Communion/was confirmed this past Easter. I’m sure they bent the rules for me a little bit. I have to say, though, I had done a lot of research on Catholicism for the last few years before deciding to convert and I had also read the catechism cover to cover - so all in all I guess I was ready. 🙂

I have to add that going to confession for the first time was my biggest fear. I literally almost threw up before going “in”. Afterwards it was the best feeling imaginable!! Now I go once every week or two. 🙂

In closing, I did get stressed out by the process. Working and going to a 2 hour class every Thursday night wasn’t easy, but I presevered and got through it and now I couldn’t be happier. I know its hard to have to possibly go through everything again, but think of it like this: Maybe you will learn something you might have missed? Its all worth it in the long run. I’m actually considering sitting in on the classes at my Church when they start up in August - we can never learn enough when it comes to this wonderful religion. 🙂
 
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Lorrie:
I contacted the religious educator at my parish in mid-November of last year. She said that since I already had a strong christian background (I was Baptized Catholic but ended up being raised Assembly of God) that I could go ahead and join the class - I started in late November and received First Communion/was confirmed this past Easter. I’m sure they bent the rules for me a little bit. I have to say, though, I had done a lot of research on Catholicism for the last few years before deciding to convert and I had also read the catechism cover to cover - so all in all I guess I was ready. 🙂
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Returning to the practice of the Catholic Faith even a faith that was only beginning as a young adult or teen is different from someone “converting” from another Christian tradition. And is really different from someone seeking Baptism coming from a non-Christian background. These are three totally different situations.
 
Br. Rich SFO:
Returning to the practice of the Catholic Faith even a faith that was only beginning as a young adult or teen is different from someone “converting” from another Christian tradition. And is really different from someone seeking Baptism coming from a non-Christian background. These are three totally different situations.
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I was just simply sharing what I went through - every reply helps - helping either the poster or someone else.
 
  1. More than likely, if you have been away from the faith for a few years, you will have to take adult education or RCIA classes which usually last anywhere from 8-12 months, with confirmation taking place on Easter Vigil…but I have heard of people being confirmed at other times as well. Trust me…the time is very necessary and will only scratch the surface of Catholicism…You will never learn everything about our wonderful even in your entire lifetime 🙂 There is so much to learn…I learn something new everyday. 🙂 As far as your marriage is concerned, in order to be married within the Catholic Church, you and your fiancee will be required to go to at least 6 months of Pre-Cana classes before you can be married in the Church…but don’t worry, you can go through these classes while you are going through RCIA/adult eduction classes. But one thing is for sure, confession will be required before confirmation, receiving of The Eucharist, etc.
  2. I believe it does have to be a canonized Saint you choose…all you simply do is find a Saint in the history of the Church that you feel a special attachment to and pick their name. I chose St. Michael, Defender of Heaven…but I also really like St. Peter and St. Jude.
  3. Go talk to your Priest or director of Religious Ed.
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Eversearching:
Hi everyone,

I want to go throught the confirmation process. I have a few questions about it I would like to have answered first. I have made a list of the main questions:

1.) How long does the process take? I have been wanting to get confirmed for a few years and I took a break from my faith for a while, but now I would like to finish the process, especially since I am planning to get married (not now, but later 🙂 ). Do I need to get reconfessed and recommuned all over again?

2.) How do I choose my confirmation name? Does it HAVE to be after a Saint?

3.) Who do I approach about getting confirmed? My priest?

That was all I remembered off the top of my head. If you all could help my out with this it would be wonderful! 😃 Thanks.

~Eversearching
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