When should we be confirmed?

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I was wondering what everyone’s thoughts were the age at which Catholics of the Latin Rite should be confirmed.
The Byzantines confer Baptism and Confirmation all at once. In the Latin Rite, Confirmation is to take place around the age of reason, but the Episcopal Conference can decide upon another age (CIC 891). In many dioceses in the United States, the faithful are confirmed much later than the age of reason.

I think that a person should be confirmed as soon as he reaches the age of reason. What do you think?
 
I’d like to revert to the ancient discipline, and in the West confirmation of children has been traditionally reserved to the bishop, so my answer is:

as soon after baptism as the child can be presented to the bishop!

and definitely before first communion, which should be as soon as the child can tell the Eucharist from ordinary food and show reverence appropriate to their age, as St. Pius X ruled. St. Pius admitted children as young as three to Communion, so he practiced what he preached.

karen marie
 
kmknapp- I think that the practice that you have noted would do wonders for many people. The grace from Confirmation is useful thoughout life. It seems that the earlier the sacrament is confered, the better.

For those of you who would prefer to have Confirmation in middle school or high school, please give your reasons.

P.S. I was confirmed in 8th grade, but I do not think that this is a good practice.
 
When did the US switch to eighth grade, and why? I was confirmed in the fifth grade in 1969, as was my brother in 1970, but I know it has been eighth grade for at least several years.
 
The age of those to be confirmed is not uniform for the dioceses of the United States. My current diocese confirms in the eighth grade, but at least one nearby confirms in the middle of high school.

Here is the only statement from the USCCB on the age of Confirmation that I have found so far:

usccb.org/comm/archives/2001/01-150.htm

It says anytime between the age of reason and sixteen years old.
 
I answered “Other” as I feel it should depend on Spiritual maturity and not physical age.

There are children at age 8 that are ready for it. There are adults at age 31 that are not. Some of it has to do with preparation for the sacrament including understanding the basic doctrines of the Church and agreeing with them.

A good Confirmation class may adquately prepare someone for the sacrament, but may not in every case.
One-size fits all solutions do not fit all in every situation, and may never fit some in any situation.
 
It seems that there are two cases to be considered:
  1. The Sacrament should be conferred as early as possible, in order that the graces from the Sacrament are available throughout life (especially teenage years).
  2. The Sacrament should be conferred later, in order that the one who receives it may be more mature and make the decision for himself, etc.
To me, the risks of #2 out weigh its benefits, and I, therefore, support #1. Is there another way to look at this question?
 
This is one if those things where I will simply put my trust in my bishop. Right now they do it here in the seventh or eight grade.
 
If I understand correctly, confirmation is the Holy Spirit confirming us, not us confirming our faith. Therefore, I’d go for immediately after baptism, in infancy.
 
I understand the sacramental theology of confirming earlier, but I personally benefitted so much from being confirmed later (8th grade). We were strongly catechized that Confirmation made us adults in the eyes of the Church, with all the responsibilities that come with it. At an age when kids really get exposed to serious sin, I think this sacramental grace comes at the perfect time and also helps catechize them that they have individual responsibilities as Christians. I agree that sometimes late Confirmation is badly done–I’ve heard it said that Baptism is the sacrament of entering the Church and Confirmation is the sacrament of leaving the Church! There was a dramatic film recently called “Thirteen,” written by a real 13 year-old who was documenting all the horrible things she had been exposed to by that age. A good Confirmation prep program can only help kids in this position.
 
I feel that, with good catechesis, confirmations should be held for most earlier than they are in many places. I also feel that the catechesis should be verified. Just being in a class, do not mean that you are ready.

I am also in favor of student-based education rather than aged based education where students learn at their level (and are challenged to learn more, i.e. opened-end vs. boxed education) regardless of age. If someone would like to discuss this, start a new thread.
 
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Fortiterinre:
I understand the sacramental theology of confirming earlier, but I personally benefitted so much from being confirmed later (8th grade).
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It seems that to delay conferring the sacrament without grave cause is dangerous to the individual. There are many difficulties that we will face throughout life. If the Sacrament is delayed, then perhaps we will not have the grace to handle the situation.
We were strongly catechized that Confirmation made us adults in the eyes of the Church, with all the responsibilities that come with it.
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Too much emphasis is put upon the principle that the confirmed are adults in the Church. This is only a secondary aspect of the Sacrament. The principle aspect is the conferring of grace.
 
As a youth minister in a parish that confirms 8th graders, I have a hard time getting kids to get active in the parish b/c they are already confirmed and therefore have no motivation to do so. If we confirm at any age other than the end of the senior year in high school, how do we keep kids involved after their confirmation? Good catechesis is important, but we can’t even seem to get them in the door!
 
To keep the kids in classes both the children and their parents need to be better informed about their faith.

Many catechetical classes in parishes do not work well. I can say from personal experience that mine were mostly worthless. The majority of the knowledge that I have about the Faith has come from my mother and from my own studies. I left the classes/youth group at my parish in the middle of my sophomore year in high school. I had reached the point where I could no longer endure the combination of my time being wasted on socializing and the questionable teachings from the youth ministry staff. All I wanted was to be taught the truths of the Faith, and that was what I could not get. The more orthodox the teaching, the more people will be interested. Sure, you will irritate some, but the Truth must be taught. Don’t water it down; just tell it to everyone as it is.

Secondly, if the parents do not value their Faith, then chances are that their children will not either. Parishes need to spend more time educating the adults on the truths of the Faith.
 
My son was confirmed at age 16 and had a wonderful, wonderful period of preparation within our parish. We know that the day he was confirmed was an emotional one for him which held much meaning. I cannot imagine those benefits being available if one is confirmed any earlier. I was confirmed in 8th grade in 1975 and pretty much remember it as being something we had to do in our Catholic school. I don’t think we had the ability to understand just yet.
 
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thisnthat:
We know that the day he was confirmed was an emotional one for him which held much meaning.
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I am glad that your son’s Confirmation had a lot of meaning to him. The emotional aspect is not necessarily a good thing. The emotions are often not in accord with the reality at hand. There are a number of factors in the Sacrament that can cause an emotional response: being before the bishop, standing before the entire congregation, going through a big event. Any reaction to the Sacrament needs to be based upon a knowledge that a great grace is being bestowed. Don’t think that I am attacking your son. All I am saying is that this does not seem to be a good justification for receiving the Sacrament later.
I don’t think we had the ability to understand just yet.
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The grace of the Sacrament is independent of a full understanding of the Sacrament. Did you have an ability to fully understand the Eucharist when you received it? If anything, the Eucharist far more difficult to understand than Confirmation. Should we wait till we are older to receive the Eucharist?

I would like to hear theological justifications for the ages being suggested.
 
I can still remember my confirmation, it made a great impression on me!

I don’t remember how old I was though, I think I was 13 or 14.

I didn’t go to parochial school, my catechesis wasn’t tied to my school year, but I remember that it stopped after my confirmation. Most of what I know now I learned myself, except for the prayers that were drilled into me.

Catechesis is a lifelong process, there is far too much emphasis on “making it to confirmation”. That turns the Sacrament into a graduation ceremony.

I do still appreciate the memory of Confirmation, it meant a lot to me. I would like to see Confirmation done at a memorable time in one’s life, but it not be a graduation! How does one accomplish that? How do we get the young people to keep studying their religion?

Michael, that sinner
 
This is a tough question to answer - nearly impossible, in fact - unless a consensus is reached as to what exactly the Sacrament of Confirmation is. There seem to be many versions of the “purpose” (for lack of a better term) for even recieving this Sacrament, each one of which will point to a different appropriate age.

In the Catholic East, the Holy Mystery of Chrismation (the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Latin Rite) is conferred immediately after Baptism, with the thought being that this Mystery brings special graces of the Holy Spirit to the recipient, thus strengthening the union with Christ and His Church that was just created through Baptism. Numerous Scriptural references can be found indicating that the Apostles would immediately “lay hands” on newly baptized Christians in order to bring down the Grace of the Holy Spirit unto them as soon as possible, thus strengthening that union. In this scenario, infant Chrismation is proper and appropriate.

In the West, it seems as though the Sacrament of Confirmation has evolved into a sort of “rite of passage.” The same Gifts of the Holy Spirit are imparted to the recipient, but the thrust of the Sacrament, for many Westerners, seems to be the recipient’s acceptance of his role as a “Soldier of the Church.” This acceptance of that role would certainly indicate the need for an accepted age of reason to be reached before receiving the Sacrament.

Others in the West see it as an act of becoming an “adult” member of the Church, which may call for yet a different, somewhat older, age to be the appropriate one.

Still others in the West would like to see the Sacrament revert to its Scriptural origins as a “rite of initiation” into the Catholic Church, which would place the appropriate age for reception at the same point it currently is in the Churches of the East.

Perhaps there needs to be universal acceptance and understanding of what the Sacrament of Confirmation is and does before one can answer when it should be received.

a pilgrim
 
Code: 
 I strongly am in favor of Confirmation within high school.
As far as I know… our Diocese in Hawaii administers confirmation rites to our high school catechist at the tenth grade. Nineth graders receive pre Confirmation studies. It is a two year process and at times we get older kids. I was an eight grade catechist teacher and was amazed to see how once the kids received Confirmation, we loose them within our youth programs at our parish and their mass attendance dropped. That, I can only speak of our parish.
As for my Confirmation, which I recieved at the seventh grade, I lost the significance of the Sacrament by the time the next day came around. I never was involved with youth ministry as a teen and I missed a whole lot of Church time. Well… you know how middle school can be. So much school activities and sports. It can be a tough time to confirm our kids.
Anyways… I say give it a couple more years to early high school. Continue with their Religious education and any parish
youth programs. In high school, they will be strengthen by the power of the Holy Spirit and ready to handle what the world throws at them as young adults. Be patient and don’t rush the process. Bless you all.
 
That people do not continue to come to classes is generally an indication of a defect in those classes. If you have strong classes that courageously proclaim the faith, then people will come. If the class is mostly a social experience, then no one will come. To use Confirmation as a bargaining chip to make up for less than acceptable quality in the religious education seems like a serious abuse to me.

The courageously orthodox religious orders do not have a problem with vocations. The courageously orthodox bishops do not have a problem with vocations. The courageously orthodox pastors do not have a problem with attendance. This is how it is. Running away from the truth will not solve the problem. Delaying Confirmation is not the answer. Good orthodox teaching is the answer.
 
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