Teen Confirmation, "I know it all."

[puzzleannie]

I’m 14years old i have been confirmed into the anglican church, but because of modernization i am disgusted with my present church , is it possible for me to be confirmed into the latin rite of the roman catholic church …?

ask speak to the priest at your nearest Catholic parish, or to the person in charge of RCIA. Welcome Home. there is more to this than disagreeing with some aspects of your current faith, so you need to talk with someone.
this is off topic on this thread, but you might want to visit the Evangelization forum, where people like yourself, and those of us who assist them, ask questions and share

Great comments on this post. I teach Confirmation class as well. Heed the comments. We as Catechists are not ordained and we have no right to “determine” that one is or is not ready for Confirmation. We can only follow the ‘checklist’ as we have in our Diocese and the candidate has either met the requirement or has not.
As far as the young adult disrupting your class.
“Blessed be the peacemaker” as I have had to be one. I

good comment esp heed first sentence.
checking in to see how things are going but I don’t see update from OP

this is about the time of year I turn it all over to the Holy Spirit and ask him to take over, especially with the ones we don’t seem to be reaching. Somehow, he always does it. We have a parishioner praying for each candidate, so never ever underestimate the power of prayer. quite often when the class seems to be going off track, the kids are taking over, or the catechist is up against the wall, we drop back and punt, and focus on prayer and spirituality rather than doctrine for a couple of weeks.

 

[youngsaint]

And, it could take about 1 day if done on a Saturday. It could take about 6 weeks if done in weekly sessions.

WOW I’m getting ripped off, I’m on my second (and final) year of confirmation!

Does anyone else’s take this long??

 

[CamM005]

ask speak to the priest at your nearest Catholic parish, or to the person in charge of RCIA. Welcome Home. there is more to this than disagreeing with some aspects of your current faith, so you need to talk with someone.
this is off topic on this thread, but you might want to visit the Evangelization forum, where people like yourself, and those of us who assist them, ask questions and share

good comment esp heed first sentence.
checking in to see how things are going but I don’t see update from OP

this is about the time of year I turn it all over to the Holy Spirit and ask him to take over, especially with the ones we don’t seem to be reaching. Somehow, he always does it. We have a parishioner praying for each candidate, so never ever underestimate the power of prayer. quite often when the class seems to be going off track, the kids are taking over, or the catechist is up against the wall, we drop back and punt, and focus on prayer and spirituality rather than doctrine for a couple of weeks.

Yet Again , I Know It Is Off Subject But I Also Accept The Teachings Of The RC Church But The Only Thing Is…, My Local Parish Priest Is Polish And I Can’t Really Understand Him And I Don’t Want To Be Rude

 

[mamamarcie]

WOW I’m getting ripped off, I’m on my second (and final) year of confirmation!

Does anyone else’s take this long??

Hi Youngsaint! Yes, I know a lot parishes where Confirmation prep is a 2-year process. Trrrust me, you will be thankful years down the road for that when you can recall what you’ve been taught.

I quit responding to my original post because it saddened (and quite frankly, angered me a bit, too) at what I perceive is little regard and lack of prep that some of the respondents to this post have made about this most important Sacrament. There have been many, many times in my adult life that I wish I knew more about the promise I made when I was 17 (while receiving the Sacrament with 5th & 6th graders), rather than learning it as I have continued my journey of faith throughout my adulthood.

So to you teens who feel you are being cheated, I ask you to look at it with God’s eyes and be thankful that your parish cares enough about your soul to make you work to achieve such a beautiful Sacrament!

As for our “know it all” teens, the problem was has been effectively resolved.

With Peace & Lenten Blessings,
-Marcie
<><

 

[jmcrae]

Hi Youngsaint! Yes, I know a lot parishes where Confirmation prep is a 2-year process. Trrrust me, you will be thankful years down the road for that when you can recall what you’ve been taught.

I quit responding to my original post because it saddened (and quite frankly, angered me a bit, too) at what I perceive is little regard and lack of prep that some of the respondents to this post have made about this most important Sacrament. There have been many, many times in my adult life that I wish I knew more about the promise I made when I was 17 (while receiving the Sacrament with 5th & 6th graders), rather than learning it as I have continued my journey of faith throughout my adulthood.

I don’t know what’s wrong with learning your faith as you go along - I always thought that was the point. Confirmation is a Sacrament of Initiation; not a graduation. We should come out of it with the idea that we will continue to learn about our faith and live it for the rest of our lives, and not with the idea that we now know everything that we will ever need to know as a Catholic.

One of the saddest things is when someone hears of something they hadn’t known before, and says, “But they didn’t teach us that in Confirmation classes,” meaning, it couldn’t possibly be true, then.

I think it’s important for the Catechists to make it clear (even if the kids have been in the class for two years) that they haven’t covered every single possible aspect of the Catholic faith - there may be things that come up later, that they simply forgot to mention, or that they mentioned early in the preparation process, and then forgot to expand on.

As for our “know it all” teens, the problem was has been effectively resolved.

That’s good!

 

[Melchior_1]

Good to know you got the situation resolved, mamamarcie. For what it’s worth, I can understand your frustrations with the issue that was at hand. To add something else to this; you can find a good outlet for him to help foster him in a a leadership role. For example, if he feels he needs more, you can ask him to devote that kind of energy towards something like the Crew team for Edge (if he hasn’t already).

Regarding Oneight not providing a lot of “food for thoguht”, the program is liekly designed for those who are new to the Faith. But like all things, you need to adapt the materials/subject matter to meet the needs of your audience. Those who point towards the program and say “it’s lacking, no wonder he’s upset!”, you don’t know how the program is being executed or being received.

Last year we had one person being Baptized/Confirmed/First Eucharist, but we also had a good ten or so of his friends show up. There was plenty of Q & A, and a lot of great questions. The dialogue was incredible and we rarely ended on time because of that. This year we have two very shy girls being confirmed. Obviously the more informal approach isn’t going to work the same, so the materials had to be adapted and presented in a different way.

And welcome home Youngsaint!

 

[Nicea325]

**

Hi everybody! My name is Marcie, and while this opportunity to catechize isn’t my own, I am writing on behalf of a fellow youth minister who has encountered a ‘problem’, per se, with a 17-year old (HS junior) whose attitude in the Confirmation prep class is, well, less than stellar. It’s in the basement, actually. He professes to “know it all” and thinks his Confirmation preparation can take place on a single Saturday, because after all, he has been an altar server since 3rd grade, and he knows it all. Those were his words to me last week, and to his small group leader last night.

This particular class of confirmation candidates (all at least high school juniors) have very poor attitudes about, it seems, anything and everything that pertains to the Faith. And the fact that they do not mind sharing/showing their apathy toward their Catechists (to the point of being downright disrespectful) is very sad and disheartening to me. Selfishly, I’m glad I’m not one of those Catechists; however, they are all friends of mine, and this situation weighs heavily upon my heart. With all of that in mind, I am writing to this forum in hopes of gleaming some outside insight into situation, along with a plausible approach to making these swords into plowshares.

FWIW, the pastor of our cluster (2 parishes) believes that Confirmation is a true rite, and little to no prep is necessary. However, it is the bad attitudes of this entire class (with the exception of 2 students–no joke) that is truly testing that team’s patience and their commitment to continue in this ministry.

TIA so much for any insight you can provide! Take care, enjoy the rest of your day and praised be Jesus Christ! (Now and forever!)

Peace be with you,
-Marcie

**

Precisely why I am not an advocate of YC. Teenagers are not little children and they are not adults,which is why they are called teenagers. The majority of youth are in the program because of the parent(s). How many youth does one truly see after YC? My current program has 200 youth and if I get 10 to be involved it is a lot. Many parents feel is some sort of graduation and after that it is all done and over. To many adults believe Confirmation is admitting one wants to be Catholic. No! It is not a club one joins. The sacrament has become so distorted over the years, I think it is time the church here in the U.S. re-examines it. I call it a failed project.

 

[mamamarcie]

That’s just it. These kids in our high school Confirmation class are well catechized; they do know a lot. However, it is very greatly iterated (and reiterated) that Confirmation is not a ‘graduation’; however, it is really just the beginning, as one’s journey of faith is, indeed, lifelong.

And it still irks me that some folks think that Confirmation is ‘just’ a Sacrament of initiation. IMNSHO, that’s like saying Jesus was just another guy.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Peace be with you,
-Marcie
<><

 

[jmcrae]

And it still irks me that some folks think that Confirmation is ‘just’ a Sacrament of initiation. IMNSHO, that’s like saying Jesus was just another guy.

Well, treating Confirmation as a two-year project (doing what, exactly?) is like saying that Jesus was a whole crowd of people, rather than “just” one guy.

It’s “just” a Sacrament of Initiation in the sense that it isn’t a Catechism program, or a service club, or an opportunity to throw everything at the kids that got missed in elementary school.

Yes, they need to know the basics of their faith, as well as knowing who the Holy Spirit is, what the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are, who the Bishop is, and what their responses are in the ceremony, but if they are attending Catholic school, all you need to do is provide them with reminders so that when the Bishop asks them his questions, it will be something they’ve heard of recently.

 

[Dicerning]

The kids who are misbehaving and have not interest SHOULD NOT BE CONFIRMED.

My parish deacon and I just had this situation in our class last week. One of the girls said she really didn’t want to be there and if it were up to her she wouldn’t. AT my parish if you want to be confirmed then parent MUST attend the class.

The mother of the daughter was quite upset with us. We told her that if she wanted to teach the class then have at it. She dropped out of the program and I honestly think that is best. she can get confirmed on HER intitiative not her mother’s.

 

[jmcrae]

The kids who are misbehaving and have not interest SHOULD NOT BE CONFIRMED.

My parish deacon and I just had this situation in our class last week. One of the girls said she really didn’t want to be there and if it were up to her she wouldn’t. AT my parish if you want to be confirmed then parent MUST attend the class.

The mother of the daughter was quite upset with us. We told her that if she wanted to teach the class then have at it. She dropped out of the program and I honestly think that is best. she can get confirmed on HER intitiative not her mother’s.

If she is sabotaging the other kids, then she certainly needs to be asked not to come back.