Sacraments of Initiation
Part 4 Initiation of Infants
Chapter i44 Confirmation of Catholics Baptized in Infancy
Preliminary QuestionsBibliography |
Sequence of Initiation SacramentsRite of Passage |
To Think About |
Preliminary Questions
What is the proper age for Confirmation? What is the proper sequence for celebrating the sacraments of Initiation?
Bibliography
Michael J. Henchal. Celebrating Confirmation Before First Communion: A
Resource Kit for Restoring the Order on the Initiation Sacraments.
(Available from
Amazon.com)
Joan McKamey. Experience God's Spirit, Program Planner for the Catholic Update Video Confirmation Series Sealed with God's Spirit. Saint Anthony Messenger Press, Cincinnati, Ohio. 2001.
Paul Turner. Confirmation: The Baby in Solomon's Court. Paulist Press, New York. 1993.
James A. Wilde (Editor). When Should We Confirm? Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1989. $5.95. ISBN 0-930467-84-1.
Turner, Paul. "Benedict XVI and the Sequence of the Sacraments of Initiation", Worship, March 2008, (82:2), pp 132-140. [This is a very important article; see my notes below on the Sequence of Initiation Sacraments.]
Sequence of Initiation Sacraments
Paul Turner, who has written more extensively and intelligently on this issue than anyone I know, has published a important article "Benedict XVI and the Sequence of the Sacraments of Initiation" in Worship, March 2008, (82:2), pp 132-140. Here are the opening and closing paragraphs of the article (which I strongly urge you to read in its entirety).
Pope Benedict XVI has invited the curia and the conferences of Catholic Bishops to examine the relative effectiveness of the two sequences of confirmation and first communion. Confirmation precedes first communion throughout the Eastern rites and in the cases when the three sacraments of initiation are administered together in the West, for example, when a priest baptizes catechumens at the Easter Vigil. Although there are instances in the Roman Rite when children baptized in infancy receive confirmation prior to their first communion, the reverse order more commonly prevails. Benedict writes, "Concretely, it needs to be seen which practice better enables the faithful to put the sacrament of the Eucharist at the center, as the goal of the whole process of initiation." [Turner than presents some key points in the history of this development.]
[Turner concludes the article:] Surveying this history, one can see two tendencies. One, from local gatherings of bishops, favors the deferral of confirmation for its catechetical and inspirational value. Another, from Rome, favors the celebration of confirmation before first communion because of its historical and tradition value. Other arguments for celebrating confirmation before first communion could be advanced: to draw the practice between the Latin rite closer to the Eastern Rights of the church, to unify the theology of the sacraments of initiation, and to release the tension over the age of confirmation in pastoral practice in the West.
Pope Benedict, however, has laid out a new criterion: which practice better enables the faithful to put the sacrament of the Eucharist at the center, as the goal of the whole process of initiation. Now that the Roman Catholic Church has had some years of experience with the restored catechumenate, with deferring the age of confirmation, and with weathering the struggles of this sacrament, perhaps the time is indeed ripe for a decision to be made.
* * *
The theology of a rite should not be dependent upon the age at which it is celebrated. “The true test of our theology of Confirmation would seem to be whether it is applicable at any age. The great temptation is to let this theology be determined too narrowly by the priori issue of age.” (Smits. Op cit. p 23.)
In 1984 the Bishop of Spokane, Washington gave permission to restore the sequence of the Sacraments of Initiation in his diocese. A report of this pastoral practice was given by Don McKenzie in “Restoring the Sequence of the Sacraments of Initiation with Children: Confirmation and First Eucharist as a Unified Celebration,” in FDLC Newsletter, April-May 1996 (23:2) pp 9-12.
“Looking at all three Sacraments of Initiation together we began to realize that the natural culmination of the initiation process is the full, conscious and active participation in the Eucharist, where the mystery of the dialogue between God’s invitation to us and our response is most clearly manifest. Since conversion is on-going and life-long, it became clear as the study progressed that Eucharist is the more appropriate sacramental celebration within which we are renewed in our commitment to Christian discipleship and it should appear that way.”
[Regarding the important role of the bishop] “Developmentally, children between the ages of seven and ten relate very positively to adults and authority figures. Children at this age naturally seek the approval of adults and want to be around them. The Bishop’s presence at the completion of the initiation process at this very impressionable age is significant. It takes an event which most Catholics remember for the rest of their lives and adds the additional dimension of universal church to that memory.
Fully initiating children means incorporating them into the fullness of the Christian identity at an early age so they grow up in that identity. Their Christian identity grows with them and ultimately becomes a very real part of who they are.
An increasing number of Diocese in the United Sates (and throughout the
world) are restoring the order of the sacrament of initiation (that is: Baptism,
Confirmation, [before First] Eucharist). As of June 2005, I am aware that the
following have restored the order: Amarillo, TX; Cleveland, OH; Corpus Christi, TX;
Dallas, TX; Fargo, ND; Fort Worth, TX;
Gaylord, MI; Great Falls/Billings, MT; Greensburg, PA; Las Vegas, NV;
Marquette MI; Newark, DE (in process); Peoria, IL; Portland, ME (in process); Rochester, NY;
Sacramento, Ca; Saginaw, MI; Salt Lake City, UT; San Angelo, TX; San Antonio,
TX; San Jose, TX; Spokane, WA; Toledo, OH; Tucson, AZ; Tyler, TX; Venice,
FL.
In Canada, the dioceses of Ottawa, Ontario, Saskatoon, Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Alexandria-Cornwall Ontario.
The diocese of Salford in England.
About one third of the Australian diocese.
Archdiocese of Cebu, Philippines.
In contemporary American Catholic parishes there are several "obstacles" to restoring the historical sequence of the sacraments of initiation.
A solid program of ongoing faith formation needs to be in place for adolescents in the parish before "Confirmation Preparation" is taken from the adolescents and given to first graders, or the adolescents are left with nothing!
The celebration of Confirmation before First Communion causes several catechetical issues: How is catechesis to be given if the sacrament is already celebrated? What motivates the children to come to the lessons if the sacrament has already been received?
In this regard see the letter of William S. Skylstad Bishop of Spokane introducing the diocesan policy restoring the order Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist.
Rite of Passage
Many feel that American youth need some "Rite of Passage" into adulthood in the Church. Confirmation can be used for that purpose. For example the following article appeared in the column by John L. Allen Jr. in the National Catholic Reporter, August 26, 2005.
Despite the above, it would be a mistake to think that the goings-on in Rimini are principally about theological reflection or hierarchical pow-wows. In fact, the focus is deliberately ad extra, looking to the outside world. Sr. Maria de Los Angeles Vasquez, a Mexican missionary in Kenya, spoke about her struggles against the practice of female genital mutilation in the tribe with which she has worked since 1985 in the Rift Valley, the Kipsigis, a word that in their language means "to be reborn."
Vasquez described the procedure. "At midnight on the day established by the tribal elder the rite begins, with an old knife or a piece of a spear, always the same for everyone, whether HIV-infected or not," she said. "The girls must not cry or even close their eyes, they have to show that they're not in pain, which would signify that they're not ready to become women." "But the experience is not over when the procedure is finished. The girls have to spend a month in reclusion, all together, with a mask of goat's skin on their face, until the wound is healed. They can't wash themselves, they can't be seen or recognized by the others."
Vasquez said the experience makes a strong point. "They have to learn that to be a woman means to serve the men, to respect them and not to speak in front of them," she said. "To help make the point, force is used -- strong words, humiliation, beatings. No one is supposed to talk about what happens, with the threat of the death penalty or divine punishment." At the end of the reclusion, she said, the Kipsigis women go to the river, wash themselves, remove the mask, and they're ready for marriage.
When she discovered all this, she said, she was horrified. At the same time, she said, she realized she couldn't just overturn a centuries-long tradition. So she spoke with the women to find out what might help. What she realized, Vasquez said, is that the Kipsigis needed a ritual that would mark the transition to adulthood, but in less violent fashion.
In the end, Vasquez said, she explained to the Kipsigis mothers that the Christian sacrament of Confirmation performed more or less the same function. On December 6, 1995, the first group of 25 young girls took a two week-long retreat to prepare for Confirmation, and then received the sacrament. Since then, the ritual has been repeated every January. Vasquez showed a picture of 20 young girls wearing red dresses and white veils in the local church, waiting for the bishop to arrive. She said that by and large the Kipsigis men have accepted the change. Vasquez's story offers a fascinating example of what theologians call "inculturation" -- expressing the gospel through the language and circumstances of the local church, in this case in a way that seems to have made a powerful difference.
What was it Luther said? "Confirmation is a not too burdensome rite so that bishops will not be entirely without work to do in the church."
To Think About
At the beginning of this course you wrote a brief definition of Confirmation. How would you now define Confirmation? What can you say about the difference between the two definitions?
What are the effects of Confirmation? How is the gift of the Holy Spirit received at Confirmation different from the Holy Spirit received at Baptism?
From what you have learned about the history and theology of the sacrament of confirmation and from what you know of the current pastoral situation in your (arch)diocese, speak of the future pastoral developments with regard to: a) the order of the sacraments of initiation; b) the age of confirmation; and c) the minister of confirmation. Give reasons for your opinions and speak of the history and present status of these pastoral problems.
Who can be sponsors at Confirmation? What would you tell parents and those to be confirmed about sponsors?
Know by heart the current essential formula for Confirmation.
You are speaking to the members of your parish who are going to be confirmed this year. Their parents and sponsors are also at the meeting. Outline for them the structure and elements of the Rite of Confirmation. What is going to happen when the bishop comes? What is the high point of the rite?
Does your (arch)diocese publish guidelines for the Sacrament of Confirmation? Many local Churches have a "Planning Guide" for the liturgical celebration of the sacrament.
What are the oils used in the Catholic Church. What are their names and when is each one them used. Identify: OC, OI, SC. In which sacraments are each of these Holy Oils used? What is characteristic of each? Where are the oils kept?
On Holy Thursday you are going to have a solemn reception of the oils from the cathedral into your parish. Write a little half-page Sunday bulletin insert explaining the names of the three oils, and what they are used for.
Is not getting up (at Mass) and coming forward to receive the Holy Eucharist “The Catholic Commitment Ceremony” – I am not sure everyone knows what they are promising to the community and to God when they come forward for Communion.
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