Guide to Confirmation for non-Catholic family

[kage_ar]

My son is preparing for Confirmation this spring, and the entire non-Catholic Christian family is planning on being there (15+ people). This group will include his devout Methodist Great Grandmother and his non-denominational Evangelist Grandpa as well as his other Grandfather who recently became a Christian after 50+ years of agnosticism.

Most of these family members have never attended a Mass before, (in case you did not guess, DH and I are adult converts).

I plan on putting together some documentation for each family member, explaining the different parts of Mass, the Guidelines for Reception of Holy Communion, etc. There is much good material out there. I’d also like to provide some information on Confirmation. I did locate the Confirmation sheet here at Catholic Answers Library section – and that is about it.

Does anyone else have a recommendation for a pamphlet, essay, booklet, etc. that explains Confirmation to a loving, Evangelical family? If not, anyone out there wanna compose one for me

 

[BlestOne]

This is from one of my favorite books…Catholicism for Dummies

Soon after the kids are born and get fed, they start to grow. Growth is as vital to human life as nourishment. The body and mind must grow to stay alive. Catholics believe that the soul also needs to grow in the life of grace. Just as the human body must grow through childhood, adolescence, and then adulthood, the human soul needs to grow into maturity. Catholics believe that Confirmation is the supernatural equivalent of the growth process on the natural level. It builds on what was begun in Baptism and what was nourished in Holy Eucharist. It completes the process of initiation into the Christian community, and it matures the soul for the work ahead. The Byzantine Church confirms (chrismates) at Baptism and gives Holy Eucharist as well, thus initiating the new Christian all at the same time.

So what occurs during Confirmation? The Holy Spirit is first introduced to a Catholic the day that she’s baptized, because the entire Holy Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — are invoked at the ceremony. During Confirmation, God the Holy Spirit comes upon the person, accompanied by God the Father and God the Son, just as he did at Pentecost. The Feast of Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit from heaven to earth upon the 12 apostles and the Virgin Mary, occurring 50 days after Easter and 10 days after Jesus’ Ascension (Acts 2:1–4).

This sacrament is called Confirmation, because the faith given in Baptism is now confirmed and made strong. Sometimes, those who benefit from Confirmation are referred to as soldiers of Christ. This isn’t a military designation but a spiritual duty to fight the war between good and evil, light and darkness — a war between the human race and all the powers of hell.

Confirmation means accepting responsibility for your faith and destiny. Childhood is a time when you’re told what to do, and you react positively to reward and negatively to punishment. Adulthood, even young adulthood, means that you must do what’s right on your own, not for the recognition or reward but merely because it’s the right thing to do. Doing what’s right can be satisfying, too. The focus is on the Holy Spirit, who confirmed the apostles on Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4) and gave them courage to practice their faith. Catholics believe that the same Holy Spirit confirms Catholics during the Sacrament of Confirmation and gives them the same gifts and fruits.

 

[BlestOne]

continued from above
Traditionally, the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit are charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, long-suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, and chastity. These are human qualities that can be activated by the Holy Spirit. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. These gifts are supernatural graces given to the soul.

The following occurs during the Sacrament of Confirmation:

* The ceremony may take place at Mass or outside of Mass, and the bishop wears red vestments to symbolize the red tongues of fire seen hovering over the heads of the apostles at Pentecost.

* Each individual to be confirmed comes forward with his sponsor. The same canonical requirements for being a godparent in Baptism apply for sponsors at Confirmation. At Baptism, Junior's mom and dad picked his godfather and godmother; for Confirmation, he picks his own sponsor. The sponsor can be the godmother or godfather if they're still practicing Catholics, or he may choose someone else (other than his parents) who's over the age of 16, already confirmed, and in good standing with the Church. One sponsor is chosen for Confirmation. (Most people have two sponsors, one godparent of each gender, for Baptism.)

* Each Catholic selects his own Confirmation name. At Baptism, the name was chosen without the child's consent because the child was too little to make the selection alone. Now, in Confirmation, another name — in addition to the first and middle names — can be added, or the original baptismal name may be used. It must be a Christian name, though, such as one of the canonized saints of the Church or a hero from the Bible. You wouldn't want to pick a name like Cain, Judas, or Herod, for example, and no secular names would be appropriate.

  The Catholic being confirmed stands or kneels before the bishop, and the sponsor lays one hand on the shoulder of the one being confirmed. The Confirmation name is spoken, and the bishop puts Chrism Oil on the person's forehead, says his name aloud, and then says, "Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit." The person responds, "Amen." The bishop then says, "Peace be with you." And the person responds, "And with your spirit" or "And also with you."

 

[Forest-Pine]

Don’t forget to mention what they should do when it ends. Have a family cue or gathering spot. You don’t want them thinking it is over and heading out when there is more left to come. If there is to be a celebration at the church or at home, then say what they should do. For instance, “After Mass is over, please stay seated and wait for Mary to guide you where to go. There will be several people present so we don’t want anyone to get lost!” or whatever is pertinent to your situation.

Perhaps put a cell phone number on it in case they get lost on the way to or from.

My advice: don’t spend much time evangelizing in the document. They won’t read it. Give them the outline of the program and the information where to follow along in the hymnal (look at wedding programs for guidance). Make sure to note where they can sit (a pew is reserved for our family on the right side of the church). And be specific about what you expect of them. When appropriate, make such notations as “All Stand.” “All sit” “You may sit or kneel.” “Catholics will approach the altar for communion. If you are not Catholic, please use this time to pray in unity with us.” “Response: Amen.” “Response: Lord, hear our prayer.”

You might also introduce the program with a paragraph thanking them for their attendance and saying how much it means to you and your son that they are there for this important event. (You could elaborate on what confirmation is for a line or two.) And say something to the effect of that many people in attendance will be from other faith backgrounds so you want to give them this program to assist them in following along.

 

[kage_ar]

Thanks Blest for that! (You know, I’ve had that book on my “to buy” list for quite some time…)

And Forest, you know, the logistics planning kept me up til 1 AM this morning – apart from getting everyone in, seated and out of the actual Mass and Reception, I have to find lodging for all these folks (my teeny house will only hold about of the 6 guests) – a place to for a big family dinner.

I am so thankful that we don’t have an anti-Catholic family (on either side), they are all excited to come be a part of this important day. When relating the Sacraments to our fellow Christians from the Evangelical world, they understand baptism – and the similarities/differences between us, just as they do with Holy Communion, Marriage, etc. The one thing that is a bit confusing is confirmation – they simply do not have this as part of their “world”.

I’ve had no less than 5 recent conversations with different groups of the family, and they all want to be educated about Confirmation - I am praying that I don’t come off as trying to evangelize, simply to inform.

Again, I appreciate the answers, and ask for your prayers for our son, and his entire Confirmation class. (BTW – bragging mom here, DS scored highest on the class’ Confirmation test last week AND he finished his essay!)