Sacrament of Confirmation

We began tonight with a short review of the changes in baptism. Both the East and the West began with a converged process of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist (bce), but with the introduction of infant baptism, the West began a long process of separating the sacraments into distinct events. The result was Baptism as an infant, followed by penance and Eucharist at about the age of 10, which in turn was followed by confirmation at about the age of 13 (bec).

In the early Church the goal was the transformation of the disciple into the person of Christ, who in turn becomes poured out and broken for others. Paul’s model of, “No longer I live but Christ in me”, became the adult model and instruction of the catechumen was over a long period of time. It was for them a hearing and a commitment; it wasn’t about knowing the information about Christ or the rules of the church. It was about a personal commitment and relationship with Christ; it was about the Devine Person of Christ in their midst and in their lives.

Very quickly diversity in the ritual began to develop. The model continued to be what happened to Jesus, including immersion in water, recognition of the Holy Spirit, and the voice of God speaking to the believer; to represent the spirit of Baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the proclamation of the word. Eventually, the sign of the laying on of hands became an anointing with oil, and penance was added to restore baptismal innocence. Still today, the result of giving our lives to Christ is living a life in community in the gospel, affected by the witness of others.

With the publication of the Second Vatican Council documents, the recovery of the catechumenate process was undertaken and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (The RCIA) was published as a guide. This book is for everyone on the planet, and it is intended to provide consistency in the process. In the West, a second model now exists. There is the model for children which begins when they are infants and continues through childhood (bec), and the restored model for adults (bce). This second catechumenate model is a converged process of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist, and it returns to the original model (bce), followed by the earliest Christians and still followed by the Eastern rite churches.

Originally baptism was to free one from sin and post baptismal confirmation was a sign of anointing by the Holy Spirit. Confirmation done much later is something else and today it includes two years of instruction, plus a retreat, plus a number of service hours. However, youth ministry and confirmation don't have to be a single process; they can be separated. Following the reasoning that parents don't wait for their children to understand the benefits of food before they feed them, it may be best to give it before they can comprehend it. Many people are requesting and some parishes are even adopting a restored sequence, which makes much more sense pastorally. Although it keeps infant Baptism it moves Confirmation, Penance, and Eucharist to about the second or third grade. Notice how this again restores the original order of the sacraments (bce).

In the “Sacrament on Charity”, Pope Benedict said that Eucharist is the climax of initiation, and our Bishop called for a study on “How we can better prepare our members for the confirmation process”. The result of the study was that Parishes were offered an opportunity to pilot the restored sequence process. Many believe that this process better satisfies Pope Benedicts view, and many are using the restored sequence in their parishes. This is why there seems to be no consistency in the catechumenate process and why there is so much confusion. While many still argue that waiting until later keeps the child "involved", an early Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist process needs to be followed by consistent education and training. A vibrant youth program is very important, so if you've got a teen confirmation program that is working - keep it!

In 1972 the Second Vatican Council began a process of restoring the ancient biblical theology of Baptism as it developed in the fourth and fifth centuries. In 1974 the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults was published in Latin and in 1976 it was published in English. Originally the text was for un-baptized people only, but in 1988 a candidate process was added to respect those who are already baptized in other traditions.

Regardless of the details, the catechumenate and candidate processes are a life-long discipleship. They're intended to be a public process which includes information, formation, and transformation. They're goals should be immersion in the Word, community life, prayer and the paschal mystery, and the mission of the church. The catechumenate and candidate processes for both adults and children are the responsibility of the entire community and they require a team approach that should include everyone as a renewal for the entire parish. Admittedly, it’s a difficult process but we must continue to do it even if we are not doing it well. You should just do it, and do the best that you can!