Posted on 06/16/2017 2:29:35 PM PDT by NYer
MANCHESTER, N.H. — In the name of raising up lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ, another U.S. Latin-rite diocese has decided to restore confirmation to its traditional place before first Holy Communion.
Bishop Peter Libasci of Manchester, New Hampshire, has begun the process of restoring the reception of the sacraments of initiation in the diocese to their theological sequential order of baptism, then confirmation and first Eucharist.
Most U.S. dioceses, for more than 100 years, have followed a sequence of baptism, first Communion and then confirmation, ever since Pope St. Pius X made the age of reason (typically around age 7) the threshold for receiving Communion.
Bishop Libasci has already begun the conversation with parishes and intends to release a pastoral letter explaining the reasons for the move, which will place confirmation reception, along with first Communion, in the third grade.
A “Frequently Asked Questions” compilation for parishes said restoring confirmation to its place after baptism will highlight for youth the Church’s teaching that the Eucharist is truly the culmination of the sacraments of initiation.
Mary Ellen Mahon, secretary for Catholic formation at the Diocese of Manchester, told the Register that Bishop Libasci wants Catholics to understand that formation in the Catholic faith is “lifelong.”
Restoring the order of sacraments is part of a broader effort to strengthen Catholic faith formation at all stages of life and throughout the diocese. The bishop, Mahon said, wants Catholic youth to have the grace of the sacrament available to them at a younger age, in order to assist them in their journey of drawing closer to Jesus Christ.
(Excerpt) Read more at ncregister.com ...
Catholic ping!
I never liked the thought of kids having to wait until high school for Confirmation.
Big thumbs up from this life long active Catholic.
bkmk
Keying in on Sister Mary Rose Reddy’s important statement further on in the article:
“... children and families should realize that following Jesus is an ongoing commitment, not something a person “graduates” from. This is something we’re trying to address.”
Some good information in the article about training parents, too, since they probably did not receive much catechesis when they were growing up.
This is a poor idea. The youngsters need the instruction in the essentials of the faith during their high school and college years when they are surrounded by the secularizing culture and peer pressure in the wrong direction.
When I was in RC elementary schools in the 50’s, there was First Communion at 2nd grade (then 1st) and Confirmation @ 6-8th grade. We had a small school in my upper elementary so there was only a Confirmation every few years, thus the spread.
As you know, there are 22 churches that make up the Catholic Church. All, with the exception of the Latin Church, administer the Sacraments of Initiation in this order. Receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation does not preclude attendance at religious education classes.
Ditto, except our classes were large (50 x 3 classes per grade). The bishop came every other year to administer Confirmation. That meant approximately 300 students plus the kids in CCD.
If I recall correctly, they also normatively confer all three Sacraments on infants in the same Liturgy.
As a Latin Catholic who has already seen too much fighting on this front of the "liturgy wars", I would be happy to see us conform to the Eastern and ancient practice. It would put an end to the various sorts of carrot-and-stick games that happen between parishes and families around First Communion and Confirmation.
What happened to the Sacrament of Confession?
No. The Maronite Catholic Church confers Baptism & Chrismation at the same time. First Communion is conferred at the age of reason. Today, we had an infant who received the first two and a 5 year old who was chrismated. Last year, we had a 10 year old boy from a RC family, receive the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation on one day and made his First Communion several months later, after he had completed 2 years of religious education classes. We have also had RC teens who were baptized and made their First Communion, receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in their senior year of igh school.
I do know that the Melkite Catholic Church administers all 3 on the same day but have not explored the norms employed by the other Eastern Catholic Churches.
A good question, however, the topic of this article is the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and First Communion. According to the Catechism, 1212 The sacraments of Christian initiation - Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist - lay the foundations of every Christian life. "The sharing in the divine nature given to men through the grace of Christ bears a certain likeness to the origin, development, and nourishing of natural life. The faithful are born anew by Baptism, strengthened by the sacrament of Confirmation, and receive in the Eucharist the food of eternal life. By means of these sacraments of Christian initiation, they thus receive in increasing measure the treasures of the divine life and advance toward the perfection of charity. The Sacraments of Penance and Reconciliation are considered Sacraments of Healing. ref
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