Is confirmation manadatory?

[upbeatjonm]

My son has opted out of confirmation, as he sort through his lack of faith. Question; suppose 10 years from now he returns to the church, can he immediately go to confession, begin attending Mass and receiving Eucharist, and live the “Catholic” life without going through confirmation? How mandatory is confirmation, and what are you precluded from doing if you aren’t confirmed?

Jon

 

[englishredrose]

that be upto him if he chooses that route. no one can enforce confession onto anyone and no one can know if anyone else has been etc. at the most you will know if you happen to be in church at the same time and think you can visibly see, you don’t know what gets said in or out of the confessional box.

I know people have different view points but that is what they are, different view points. Not mandatory per se. If it was mandatory how would priests check if you have been etc…

Just let your son know the church door is always open etc.

 

[superamazingman]

My son has opted out of confirmation, as he sort through his lack of faith. Question; suppose 10 years from now he returns to the church, can he immediately go to confession, begin attending Mass and receiving Eucharist, and live the “Catholic” life without going through confirmation? How mandatory is confirmation, and what are you precluded from doing if you aren’t confirmed?

Jon

It’s not in any way “mandatory,” but you should receive it if you wish to be a full member of the church. It’s the final sacrament of initiation.

If you are not confirmed, you can not be ordained or get married.

 

[Jimdandy]

CCC 1309
Preparation for Confirmation should aim at leading the Christian toward a more intimate union with Christ and a more lively familiarity with the Holy Spirit—his actions, his gifts, and his biddings—in order to be more capable of assuming the apostolic responsibilities of Christian life. To this end catechesis for Confirmation should strive to awaken a sense of belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ, the universal Church as well as the parish community. The latter bears special responsibility for the preparation of confirmands.

Perhaps your son needs more help with understanding his faith-does he read the Scriptures frequently and fully participate in Mass? He might feel better if reassured that our journey of faith is a lifelong process. +

 

[Joe_5859]

It’s not in any way “mandatory,” but you should receive it if you wish to be a full member of the church. It’s the final sacrament of initiation.

If you are not confirmed, you can not be ordained or get married.

Technically, the Eucharist is the Sacrament that completes Christian Initiation. That most people in the U.S. receive Confirmation after First Communion is somewhat of a historical anomaly.

But you are correct about Ordination and Marriage. If the OP’s son ever wanted to get married in the Catholic Church later on, he would need to be confirmed first. If he simply wanted to come back as a single man (assuming he has already received First Confession and First Communion), he would just have to go to Confession in order to start receiving the Eucharist again. Of course, he is welcome to attend Mass at any time even without receiving Reconciliation provided he does not present himself for Communion.

I would encourage the OP to talk to his priest for advice on handling the whole situation. Obviously, having our children “opt out” of the sacraments is not ideal and is something we want avoid whenever possible.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

One other thing is that someone who is not confirmed cannot be a sponsor/godparent. I don’t know if it’s as much of a deal for guys, but women are often inspired to pursue confirmation when their best girlfriend has a baby and wants the unconfirmed woman to be the godmother. Oops…now she needs to be confirmed and the sooner the better.

You might also let your son know that he will be a Catholic whether or not he is confirmed. That decision was made when he was baptized. Sometimes people have the idea that confirmation is when they choose to be Catholic and if they decide against confirmation they are also deciding against being Catholic. Not so.

 

[anp1215]

Yes, if your son returns to the Church all he would need to do would be to go to Confession and then he is able to receive the Eucharist. Confirmation is not “mandatory” for him to be able to receive the Eucharist.

However, Confirmation is strongly recommended for an adult returning to his/her Catholic faith. Most parishes have adult Confirmation programs for adults who were not confirmed for whatever reason. Instruction can always be arranged.

Confirmation is mandatory for those who wish to be godparents.

Confirmation is not absolutely mandatory for marriage, even though that is often said.

Canon 1065 - 1. If they can do so without serious inconvenience, Catholics who have not yet received the sacrament of confirmation are to receive it before being admitted to marriage.

There would have to be a serious reason for a party in a marriage to marry without being Confirmed first.

 

[1ke]

My son has opted out of confirmation, as he sort through his lack of faith.

I am sorry to hear that. Confirmation provides just the sort of grace a teen struggling with the faith needs. It is too bad he has chosen not to receive this grace.

Question; suppose 10 years from now he returns to the church, can he immediately go to confession, begin attending Mass and receiving Eucharist, and live the “Catholic” life

Well, hopefully it won’t be 10 years, or even any time at all that he is away from the faith. Continue to work with him on these issue.

But, if he does fall away from the faith, yes he can return through the sacrament of reconciliation.

without going through confirmation?

Once he returns to the faith, he should work with is pastor to arrange for confirmation.

How mandatory is confirmation, and what are you precluded from doing if you aren’t confirmed?

All Catholics are obligated to receive Confirmation. Without it, your baptism is incomplete. That is what confirmation confirms-- your baptism.

Confirmation is needed prior to the reception of holy orders, acceptance as a Catholic sponsor (Godparent), and the sacament of marriage.

 

[Joe_5859]

One other thing is that someone who is not confirmed cannot be a sponsor/godparent. I don’t know if it’s as much of a deal for guys, but women are often inspired to pursue confirmation when their best girlfriend has a baby and wants the unconfirmed woman to be the godmother. Oops…now she needs to be confirmed and the sooner the better.

You might also let your son know that he will be a Catholic whether or not he is confirmed. That decision was made when he was baptized. Sometimes people have the idea that confirmation is when they choose to be Catholic and if they decide against confirmation they are also deciding against being Catholic. Not so.

Good points. All true.

 

[1ke]

Confirmation is not absolutely mandatory for marriage, even though that is often said.

Canon 1065 - 1. If they can do so without serious inconvenience, Catholics who have not yet received the sacrament of confirmation are to receive it before being admitted to marriage.

There would have to be a serious reason for a party in a marriage to marry without being Confirmed first.

**Grave **inconvenience is the term used in the canon. There could be “grave inconvenience” in those areas where there are no priests and lay persons are deputed to perform marriages. In such a case where priests and/or bishops are available infrequently, I can see this applying.

In the US and most of the industrialized world, it is rare that a “grave inconvenience” would occur since a priest can be given the faculties to confirm and marriage preparation is 6-12 months in length. Plenty of time to be confirmed.

 

[1ke]

It’s not in any way “mandatory”

Well, no. All baptized Catholics are obligated to receive Confirmation upon the call of the bishop. The bishop sets the age in his diocese. So, yes, this young man should, in obedience, respond to the Bishop’s call.

Can. 890 The faithful are **obliged **to receive this sacrament at the proper time.

 

[anp1215]

**Grave **inconvenience is the term used in the canon. There could be “grave inconvenience” in those areas where there are no priests and lay persons are deputed to perform marriages. In such a case where priests and/or bishops are available infrequently, I can see this applying.

In the US and most of the industrialized world, it is rare that a “grave inconvenience” would occur since a priest can be given the faculties to confirm and marriage preparation is 6-12 months in length. Plenty of time to be confirmed.

Yes, but there can be other situations in which grave inconvenience arise. The couple and the priest marrying them would need to discuss a particular situation. In the U.S., such cases are indeed rare.

 

[Joe_5859]

Well, no. All baptized Catholics are obligated to receive Confirmation upon the call of the bishop. The bishop sets the age in his diocese. So, yes, this young man should, in obedience, respond to the Bishop’s call.

Can. 890 The faithful are **obliged **to receive this sacrament at the proper time.

Yes, the Sacrament is called Confirmation not because it is our time to “confirm” our faith but because it is time for the bishop to confirm us in the faith.

 

[ZoeyBdo]

I’m just going to throw this out there…

I have not been confirmed. I am a cradle Catholic.

I am my niece’s godparent, she was christened in a Catholic church.

I was married in the Catholic church as well. All I was asked for was paperwork showing my baptism.

Is this wrong? I don’t know, just wanted to point this out.

However, you may want to point out to him though… I regret not receiving Confirmation, and am going to be attending classes for Confirmation this month. We make mistakes when we are given the choice, for as you stated, 10+ years down the road your ideas might change, and you remember why it’s important to follow your faith.

 

[chadair]

I’m just going to throw this out there…

I have not been confirmed. I am a cradle Catholic.

I am my niece’s godparent, she was christened in a Catholic church.

I was married in the Catholic church as well. All I was asked for was paperwork showing my baptism.

Is this wrong? I don’t know, just wanted to point this out.

However, you may want to point out to him though… I regret not receiving Confirmation, and am going to be attending classes for Confirmation this month. We make mistakes when we are given the choice, for as you stated, 10+ years down the road your ideas might change, and you remember why it’s important to follow your faith.

same for me. cradle Catholic but never made my confirmation (have no clue y not either) and got married in the Catholic Church 25 yrs ago

 

[Phemie]

I’m just going to throw this out there…

I have not been confirmed. I am a cradle Catholic.

I am my niece’s godparent, she was christened in a Catholic church.

I was married in the Catholic church as well. All I was asked for was paperwork showing my baptism.

Is this wrong? I don’t know, just wanted to point this out.

However, you may want to point out to him though… I regret not receiving Confirmation, and am going to be attending classes for Confirmation this month. We make mistakes when we are given the choice, for as you stated, 10+ years down the road your ideas might change, and you remember why it’s important to follow your faith.

Sometimes the priest is negligent and doesn’t ask the proper questions. I’ve seen it in my own parish when one Pastor didn’t bother to ask and several children have 2 non-Catholics ‘godparents’. It caused problems later when another Pastor came and we started following Canon Law. Families bringing a second child for Baptism thought we were pulling this ‘Catholic requirement’ out of you know where and were more than a little upset.

I know that when we had our children baptized we were never asked if the godparents had been confirmed. The last one had a godmother and a Christian witness and nobody explained the difference to us. I learned of these things after I started working as the parish secretary and started to read up on Liturgy and Canon Law when things were slow at the office.

As for weddings, the Priest is the one who decides what constitutes a ‘grave matter’. I’ve done up the paperwork for a lot of weddings and I’ve never seen one delayed so that the bride or groom could be confirmed first. In fact, I’ve known a mom to eventually be confirmed in the same ceremony as her daughter. Not to say that I agree but when it comes to this one, I worked under 5 Pastors and not one made sure that Confirmation was conferred before the wedding.

 

[1ke]

Is this wrong?

Yes. It is. Someone or several someones completely disregarded canon law and did not do
their due diligence.

I regret not receiving Confirmation, and am going to be attending classes for Confirmation this month.

That’s great!!!

 

[maryjk]

But you are correct about Ordination and Marriage. If the OP’s son ever wanted to get married in the Catholic Church later on, he would need to be confirmed first.

Confirmation is not absolutely mandatory for marriage, even though that is often said.

Canon 1065 - 1. If they can do so without serious inconvenience, Catholics who have not yet received the sacrament of confirmation are to receive it before being admitted to marriage.

There would have to be a serious reason for a party in a marriage to marry without being Confirmed first.

**Grave **inconvenience is the term used in the canon. There could be “grave inconvenience” in those areas where there are no priests and lay persons are deputed to perform marriages. In such a case where priests and/or bishops are available infrequently, I can see this applying.

In the US and most of the industrialized world, it is rare that a “grave inconvenience” would occur since a priest can be given the faculties to confirm and marriage preparation is 6-12 months in length. Plenty of time to be confirmed.

A grave inconvenience can also be simply not wanting to be Confirmed. My husband and I were married in the Catholic church. I had been Confirmed, he had not. He still hasn’t and has no desire to be Confirmed. The marriage in the Church was for my benefit.

No one is forced into Confirmation. (Unless of course the man wanted to be ordained )

 

[Gena]

A grave inconvenience can also be simply not wanting to be Confirmed. My husband and I were married in the Catholic church. I had been Confirmed, he had not. He still hasn’t and has no desire to be Confirmed. The marriage in the Church was for my benefit.

No one is forced into Confirmation. (Unless of course the man wanted to be ordained )

This is our situation as well. I was confirmed but my husband was not. He was baptized Catholic as an infant but was not raised Catholic or any other religion. He never made the other sacraments. When we got married he was not ready to take on the process of learning everything about the Church and and becoming fully initiated. He is still nonpracticing but I continue to hope and pray that one day he will choose to be confirmed.

 

[Vico]

It’s not in any way “mandatory,” but you should receive it if you wish to be a full member of the church. It’s the final sacrament of initiation.

If you are not confirmed, you can not be ordained or get married.

The restored order has emphasized that the Christian Initiation is these three sacraments and in this proper order: Baptism, Confirmation (or Chrismation) and Holy Eucharist.

“In addition, by placing Confirmation prior to the reception of First Eucharist it makes it easier to view the Eucharist as the “summit” of Christian initiation (CCC 1233).”

ewtn.com/library/BISHOPS/ordsacinit.htm

CCC 1233 Today in all the rites, Latin and Eastern, the Christian initiation of adults begins with their entry into the catechumenate and reaches its culmination in a single celebration of the three sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist.37 In the Eastern rites the Christian initiation of infants also begins with Baptism followed immediately by Confirmation and the Eucharist, while in the Roman rite it is followed by years of catechesis before being completed later by Confirmation and the Eucharist, the summit of their Christian initiation.38