Do you think the Confirmation age is too young?

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I was in another thread when I started thinking of this. I remember being Confirmed when I was about 11 yrs old, but the thing is I hardly knew much about my faith, and I feel that I didn’t really know at the time the importance of the Sacrament. I didn’t even pick my name for the right reasons I think. I’m not sure, but I don’t know if I even knew Paul was a saint’s name!

Why does the Church such a low age to be Confirmed. When you want to be confirmed in something (under the general meaning) don’t you need to be at an age when you really know what you are doing?

How often have I heard or noticed people that have moved into their teens or adulthood and leave the faith because they didn’t understand the meaing of going to Mass, or they didn’t really know what Catholicism is all about. In light of that, doesn’t it mean that the Confirmation age is too young?

Also, why does Confirmation take place at such an age, when you have been alreafy Baptised as an infant (hopefully)?

Obviously, this question doesn’t apply to those who are converts, and are able to receive the first three Sacraments at once, or at least I think that’s the case.

Your thoughts are appreciated
 
In this diocese the confirmation age is 13-14 (8th grade). I think it makes sense for it to be younger, because too many kids (and parents) see it as meaning that the child now has an ‘adult’ faith so they stop going to CCD/ youth group/ even Mass if they can get away with it.

No one would expect that an 11 yo has an ‘adult’ faith, so hopefully that child would continue in faith formation. And in reality, confirmation and baptism are 2 parts of the same sacrament, so Eastern Catholics and Orthodox often administer both at the same time (to babies).
 
MH84 said:
I was in another thread when I started thinking of this. I remember being Confirmed when I was about 11 yrs old, but the thing is I hardly knew much about my faith, and I feel that I didn’t really know at the time the importance of the Sacrament. I didn’t even pick my name for the right reasons I think. I’m not sure, but I don’t know if I even knew Paul was a saint’s name!

Why does the Church such a low age to be Confirmed. When you want to be confirmed in something (under the general meaning) don’t you need to be at an age when you really know what you are doing?

How often have I heard or noticed people that have moved into their teens or adulthood and leave the faith because they didn’t understand the meaing of going to Mass, or they didn’t really know what Catholicism is all about. In light of that, doesn’t it mean that the Confirmation age is too young?
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Not really.
It means that the Catechisis is absolutely horrible.

There’s really no excuse for it either.
I understand that it was fine before Vatican II and Vatican II gave us the new Catechism which is amazing.
I don’t know why the Faith hasn’t been properly taught to any great extent in my lifetime.
MH84 said:
Also, why does Confirmation take place at such an age, when you have been alreafy Baptised as an infant (hopefully)?
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One of the reasons for the separation is so that the faithful can recieve further instruction in the Faith (ironic, isn’t it?).
MH84 said:
Obviously, this question doesn’t apply to those who are converts, and are able to receive the first three Sacraments at once, or at least I think that’s the case.
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That is true.

Also, those in the Eastern Church often receive the three Sacraments of Initiation at once, as infants (and you thought 11 was young! ;-). So actually, the Roman Catholic Church has greatly increased the age at which the Sacrament of Confirmation was recieved
 
i think it depends on the parish. i was raised in a small rural parish
and we only had confirmation every 4 or 5 years, so the ages ranged
from 12 - 18 and adults.
was your parish large enough to have a good sized class each year?
 
I wish it we let “kids” be confirmed at a younger age here! We have to wait until they are 17-18 yrs old!! Much too old! Part of the sacrament is receiving the Gift of the Holy Spirit to strengthen and guide us. Why keep that away from high school kids who are in the most need of the Holy Spirtit’s guidance? I think our young kids, entering the years where they begin to break away from parents, need the gift of the Holy Spirit desperatly. 8th grade would be perfect! I wish our diocese would change the age. 😦
 
Greg72: Not really.
It means that the Catechisis is absolutely horrible.
Click to expand...
There’s really no excuse for it either.
I understand that it was fine before Vatican II and Vatican II gave us the new Catechism which is amazing.
I don’t know why the Faith hasn’t been properly taught to any great extent in my lifetime.
Click to expand...
I was thinking about the quality of the Catechisis being a huge factor as well.
nerdad: i think it depends on the parish. i was raised in a small rural parish
and we only had confirmation every 4 or 5 years, so the ages ranged
from 12 - 18 and adults.
was your parish large enough to have a good sized class each year?
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To be honest, Im not sure, I guess I never took notice even though it was my home parish. I think the Bishop visits once every couple of years maybe, probably depending mainly on the number of people being confirmed of course.

Then again, I think it couldn’t be longer than every couple of years because the Catholic school children have to be confirmed as they approached the end of their time in primary school.
 
Because confirmation is not meant to be a sacrament of maturity and adult faith, it’s meant to be reception of the Holy Spirit and the graces associated with that.

In the Latin Rite, Canon Law says that babies in danger of death should be both baptized and confirmed; OTOH, children, even in danger of death, are not to be given Communion unless they can distinguish between Communion and regular food. Obviously, the Church has a different vision of which one is the sacrament of maturity, one that is far from “Late Confirmation to keep kids in religious ed” philosophy that has developed in the last 40 years.
 
MomaMary8 said:
I wish it we let “kids” be confirmed at a younger age here! We have to wait until they are 17-18 yrs old!! Much too old! Part of the sacrament is receiving the Gift of the Holy Spirit to strengthen and guide us. Why keep that away from high school kids who are in the most need of the Holy Spirtit’s guidance? I think our young kids, entering the years where they begin to break away from parents, need the gift of the Holy Spirit desperatly. 8th grade would be perfect! I wish our diocese would change the age. 😦
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I was wondering, what is lacking in the Sacrament of the Eucharist that we receive from Confirmation? (besides the hopefully good quality catechisis). What does God the Holy Spirit provide that is unique?
 
MH84 said:
I was wondering, what is lacking in the Sacrament of the Eucharist that we receive from Confirmation? (besides the hopefully good quality catechisis).
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Nothing, which is why Confirmation before Communion was the norm until 1910.
 
MH84 said:
I
Why does the Church such a low age to be Confirmed. When you want to be confirmed in something (under the general meaning) don’t you need to be at an age when you really know what you are doing?
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no that is not the theology of the sacrament, which is intimately linked with baptism and canonically could be received at the same time (as was done in the early church for centuries, and is still done in the Eastern Church) with infants receiving both under the profession of faith of their parents and godparents.

for adults, which for the purposes of initiation sacraments is the age of discretion (generally around age 7) yes they must understand enough of the effects of the sacraments to desire and request them, and enough of doctrine to make a profession of faith, and consequently their preparation is according to their age and level of understanding.

you might be interesting in looking back over the many past threads discussing age for the sacrament of confirmation on this forum

If young Catholics (or those of any age) do not understand the Mass it usually means they do not attend Mass, do not actively participate when they do attend, and have not been catechized properly, which has more to do with parents, godparents, sponsors and parishes not fulfilling their duty than it does with the age for Confirmation.

You also bring out a very important point, adult mature faith formation begins with Confirmation, does not end with reception of the sacraments. Initiation sacraments are just that, gateway to Christ’s grace and beginning the Christian life, not graduation.
 
Our Archbishop recently raised the age in our archdiocese to 16. I agree this is the best age, since this is right at the time that a good many of them are getting drivers licenses and starting to become more independent. I think at this age children are ripe for what confirmation classes have to teach, and subjects such as chastity can be addressed as well. Peer pressure really intensifies at this age, so getting this age group to focus on what God thinks of them rather than whatever their friends think of them I think is most important.

11 is too young. My older brother was confirmed at 11, and has been fallen away since he was 16.
 
my personal opinion, in preparing children youth and adults for initiation sacraments in dioceses where the age for youth confirmation varies from grade 4 to grade 12, is that for every year we delay this sacrament, which properly belongs with baptism where it originates, we lose a percentage of youth who desperately need the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are conferred in baptism and perfected in confirmation, and that the original order of the sacraments should be restored, as in the Eastern Church. Our current practice of artificially delaying the age to late high school results in de facto denial of the sacraments, a canonical abuse and a scandal. If we fully initiate infants and children, and new adult Catholics, we can focus our energies on the mystagogical and post baptismal catechesis where it belongs.
 
Here’s a nice explanation of things:

americancatholic.org/Newsletters/YU/ay0497.asp

an excerpt from the site:

“The Holy Spirit is God’s breath in us. God’s breath gives our bodies a special (divine) life, energy and enthusiasm. The Spirit makes us not only like the members of a team, but also makes us much more. We become the members of one body, Christ’s body. The Holy Spirit unites us in the Body of Christ so that, with him, we can call God our Father, actually “Abba,” which is more like daddy. It is this Holy Spirit that gives us our identity, that tells us who we are: the Body of Christ.”

I also recommend Leo J Trese’s book, The Faith Explained

Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation are all sacraments of initiation.

“We are born in order to grow, and in growth our birth is perfected.” This fact can help us understand the relationship between baptism and confirmation. They are distinct sacraments in their own right, but the purpose of the sacrament of Confirmation is “to perfect in us that which was begun in Baptism” (The Faith Explained, Leo J Trese, p.335)

“The CCC says that Confirmation is the sacrament which gives the Holy Spirit in order to root us more deeply in the divine filiation, incorporate us more firmly into Christ, strenghten our bond with the Church, associates us more closely with her mission, and help us bear witness to the Christian faith in words accompanied by deeds.” (p. 337)

Acts 1:8 “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,and you shall be witness for me…even to the very ends of the earth”

Confirmation strengthes and deepens our faith for our own needs and for the needs of others with whom we try to share our faith. Confirmation makes the path to Heaven easier and hopefully strengthens one’s faith so that it becomes less easy to lose one’s faith.
 
MH84 said:
I was in another thread when I started thinking of this. I remember being Confirmed when I was about 11 yrs old, but the thing is I hardly knew much about my faith, and I feel that I didn’t really know at the time the importance of the Sacrament. I didn’t even pick my name for the right reasons I think. I’m not sure, but I don’t know if I even knew Paul was a saint’s name!

Why does the Church such a low age to be Confirmed. When you want to be confirmed in something (under the general meaning) don’t you need to be at an age when you really know what you are doing?

How often have I heard or noticed people that have moved into their teens or adulthood and leave the faith because they didn’t understand the meaing of going to Mass, or they didn’t really know what Catholicism is all about. In light of that, doesn’t it mean that the Confirmation age is too young?

Also, why does Confirmation take place at such an age, when you have been alreafy Baptised as an infant (hopefully)?

Obviously, this question doesn’t apply to those who are converts, and are able to receive the first three Sacraments at once, or at least I think that’s the case.

Your thoughts are appreciated
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I was confirm at age 2. I believe it was May 7, 1977.
 
MH84 said:
I was in another thread when I started thinking of this. I remember being Confirmed when I was about 11 yrs old, but the thing is I hardly knew much about my faith, and I feel that I didn’t really know at the time the importance of the Sacrament. I didn’t even pick my name for the right reasons I think. I’m not sure, but I don’t know if I even knew Paul was a saint’s name!

Why does the Church such a low age to be Confirmed. When you want to be confirmed in something (under the general meaning) don’t you need to be at an age when you really know what you are doing?

How often have I heard or noticed people that have moved into their teens or adulthood and leave the faith because they didn’t understand the meaing of going to Mass, or they didn’t really know what Catholicism is all about. In light of that, doesn’t it mean that the Confirmation age is too young?

Also, why does Confirmation take place at such an age, when you have been alreafy Baptised as an infant (hopefully)?

Obviously, this question doesn’t apply to those who are converts, and are able to receive the first three Sacraments at once, or at least I think that’s the case.

Your thoughts are appreciated
Click to expand...
The idea of the person having to understand is why Baptists won’t baptise infants. Of course, the baptists are in error.
 
I think it should be at baptism or right before first eucharist.
 
Where I live, confirmation and communion take place together at age 8. I have prepared children for this in school and have found that for the majority, this is too young. They just do not understand that it is more than ‘just an excuse for a new dress and a party!’ I know that our priest agrees that it is too young but I think it is the bishop that makes these decisions. It makes me quite cross that the parents just go along with it all even if their kids don’t ‘get it’. I waited with my eldest until she was an age to understand. She is 12 and is preparing for the sacraments now. She fully understands and wants to learn what it all means but she is having to work through the same books as the 7/8 year olds as opposed to books that challenge and extend her faith because there is nothing in our parish to educate 12 year olds about the sacraments. They are all expected to have been confirmed and had their 1st Communion.
I guess it is easier just to follow the system even if it seems to be ‘not best’ for the children. Our other kids will do it at school at age 7/8 because we will not patronise them by making them do age inappropriate prep work.
 
I am still upset that Confirmation for the Latin Rite has become a Catholic bar or bat mitzvah, and all the hoops that are required to ensure a young Catholic, already baptized, can be confirmed.

My vote: The younger, the better. Catch them while they are babies! If the bishop permits, the Western priests can chrismate just as easily as any Eastern priest. If the bishop wants to be the conferer of the sacrament and not deputize his priests, he should have Confirmation at the cathedral at least once a season, with ALL the newly baptized being brought to him.
 
Yes and no. To me, what is more important is the desire to be confirmed and not necessarily the age. A child should be doing it because they want to do it and not because they are being forced by their parents.

By saying this, I am not advocating that parents neglect their responsibilities and not bring their children up in the faith. They should fufill what they promised at their baptism. If the parents fufill their duty, I think kids would eventually want to be confirmed and you wouldn’t have the problem of fallen away confirmed Catholics.
 
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