such the long process? when i am provided with verses such as: Acts 8:14–17, 9:17, 19:6 all i can conclude from those is that confirmation is quick and powerful move of the holy spirit into ones life/body. why is it that the catholic church makes the process a several month process?
First, welcome to the board.
Several points:
• Confirmation mirrors a Jewish tradition of Bar (& Bas) Mitzvah. The terms are modern inventions but the ceremonies existed in ancient times.
• Jews are (or were) trained from birth about their religion. Not just months.
Bar/Bas loosely translates to son/daughter. Mitzvah is a rule, teaching, or “Law”. At the age of reason, normally around 12 a Jewish boy/girl would undergo their Bar/Bas Mitzvah, meaning they were old enough and trained enough to become an adult member of the community. The saying during the Bar Mitzvah is “today I am a man”. So the Bar Mitzvah or Confirmation is an affirmation of not only age but also training. They pronounce that they are adult members of the community. Sons and daughters of the Law.
Remembering Scripture where Jesus is 12 years old and found at the Temple speaking to the Rabbis. This is the trip where Jesus would have received His Bar Mitzvah. Had He not been considered an adult member of the community, He would never have been allowed to address the Rabbis in this manner.
In ancient Israel, religion was a huge part of your life. You lived it on a daily basis. The months, even years, of training we today go thru would have seemed a joke to an ancient Jew.
My gripe with the training is not the time, but the substance we teach. It does not prepare a youth to defend his or her faith.