From the Bishop

What are the Sacraments of Initiation?

Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist, the foundations of every Christian life, are the sacraments of Christian initiation. Through these sacraments we are born anew, enriched with the gift of the Holy Spirit and receive ongoing nourishment of this new life in the Body of Christ.

What is Confirmation?

Confirmation is the second of the three sacraments of Christian Initiation. It is that sacrament of the Church by which persons who have been baptized are anointed with Chrism in the laying on of hands. These persons are thereby enriched by the Holy Spirit in continuing the path of Christian Initiation.

What is the path of Christian Initiation which Confirmation enriches?

The new life bestowed upon us in baptism is our incorporation into the life-death-and-resurrection of Jesus Christ. By a certain analogy to our natural life, this new life in Christ develops in stages as in a journey along a path. At birth, we are welcomed into life; we are then received into a family and become bonded to its members. (We might think of how an adopted child receives, as it were, the "spirit" of the new family.) Finally, we receive ongoing nourishment, and also become the givers of life and love to our family. By analogy, our new life in Christ comes to birth in baptism; it is strengthened or confirmed through the anointing with the Holy Spirit by which we are more perfectly bonded to the Church; through the ongoing nourishment of the Eucharistic table, this new life is continually renewed so that we might live it more fully day by day.

Why should Confirmation be celebrated prior to First Eucharist?

As a sacrament of Christian Initiation, Confirmation is most properly celebrated in relationship to Baptism and Eucharist. The Eucharist and not Confirmation is the summit or culmination of the initiation process. Holy Communion is the most perfect sign or sacramental ritual by which our incorporation in the Body of Christ is realized. Received in their traditional order, Baptism and Confirmation prepare us for the completion of initiation. It seems incongruous to place Confirmation after First Communion since the person will have already received the sign by which incorporation into Christ’s Body is sacramentally perfected (cf. CCC 1212, 1322, 1324). When placed outside this order, the meaning of Confirmation is diminished, and it becomes a sacrament struggling for an identity and reason for existence.

The long tradition of the Church as reflected in the Code of Canon Law (canon 842.2) recognizes the intimate relationship between Baptism - Confirmation - Eucharist. Prior to St. Pius X’s 1910 decision to make Eucharist available to children after the approximate age of seven, Confirmation was celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church prior to First Eucharist. Since 1910 the tendency has been to focus on the question of when (age) to celebrate the sacrament instead of concentrating on its integrity as a sacrament of Christian Initiation.

Who is the minister of the sacrament of Confirmation?

In our Roman Catholic tradition, the bishop is the ordinary minister of the sacrament of Confirmation. Through this sacrament the baptized are more perfectly bound to the Church by the gift of the Holy Spirit. The community of faith into which one is incorporated by Baptism is a larger reality than the family or the parish. As a member of the college of bishops, the diocesan bishop is guarantor and servant of the unity and catholicity of the Universal Church, and the living connection with its apostolic origins. The gift of the Spirit bestowed by the risen and glorified Christ upon the apostles is now given through anointing with chrism by the laying on of the hand of the bishop.

When the bishop’s presence is not possible (for example, at the Easter Vigil), priests who share the sacrament of Holy Orders with the Bishop, administer the sacrament of Confirmation in his stead for those who are celebrating the sacraments of Christian Initiation. Confirmation for those already baptized into the Catholic faith is reserved to the bishop unless in special circumstances he grants priests the faculty to confirm.

Who can receive the sacrament of Confirmation?

According to Church teaching, all who are baptized and properly instructed and who can renew their baptismal faith can receive the sacrament of Confirmation. Usually, this should be at the age of discretion (approximately seven years of age). Readiness for the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is not measurable in terms of intellectual comprehension or theological understanding; rather, readiness is a matter of faith and ability to relate to the experience celebrated in the sacrament.

When our children are confirmed prior to First Eucharist, how are they to make an adult commitment to the Church?

Confirmation is neither the celebration of adulthood or maturity in the Church, nor an opportunity for making public commitment to the Christian life. It is the Eucharist itself which celebrates full citizenship in the Church, wherein the individual daily accepts the death and rising of the Lord Jesus in his or her life.

The Christian understanding of commitment is that it is a richer reality than a specific moment or time of decision. Commitment is the life-long, continuously developing identification with the Lord Jesus Christ -- a commitment which is made, nourished, and strengthened in the reception of the Eucharist.

In a solemn ritual, the fully initiated are called upon each year to renew the promises of their baptism at the Easter Vigil or Easter Sunday. Having witnessed the sacramental dying and rising of the newest members of the Body of Christ, those who have already been fully incorporated into this Body now renew their own baptismal pledge to reject sin and entrust themselves to God, Father, Son and Spirit. While God's commitment to us will never be revoked, the temporal nature of our lives and the radical freedom to love, or to reject love make it necessary for us to continually embrace through our Amen the gift that God always holds out to us.

How can I keep my child in religious education or help him/her see the need for Catholic education if there is not something like Confirmation to anticipate?

Confirmation frequently has been viewed, if not treated, much like a graduation ceremony. This has never been the intention of the Church. Confirmation does not mark the completion of catechetical instruction or the achievement of maturity in the faith. Faith development and growth in understanding and living the Christian life is a life-long journey. It does not end with the eighth grade, twelfth grade, or a degree in religious studies! It may be for the best that Confirmation is received earlier in a child’s moral and intellectual development so that there will be less of a tendency to suppose that the process of education and formation in the faith is now complete. No, this is the process of a lifetime.

Does removing Confirmation from the context of a junior high or high school program miss an opportunity for a much-needed ministry to our youth at a time when they are looking for recognition and a sense of belonging?

To make the Sacrament of Confirmation the focal point of a youth ministry has a certain attractiveness, but carries grave risks. Certain requirements or standards will be set up so that this sacrament will be "earned," rather than offered as a gift. The normal and natural rebelliousness of youth may have overtaken the docility of a younger child. Remember, initiation concerns the beginning of one's life in the Body of Christ. From a theological perspective, the gift of the Spirit is necessary to bring that life to maturity rather than being a kind of award for achieving a certain stage of emotional maturity.

Instead, the Sacrament of the Eucharist itself, living one's life in accord with the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Penance, the Word of God and one's vocation in the Body of Christ provide abundant avenues for developing Christian maturity in the context of sacramental life. Today it is becoming clearer that youth ministry should focus on preparation of our young people for the spiritual life of marriage and family. For the vast majority of people, marriage should be the most significant spiritual experience of their lives. Thus, the preparation of young people for this personal commitment to honor the mystery of life in the intimacy of a commitment to one’s spouse ought to receive particular attention.

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