As we move ever closer to Lent and the Easter season, we’re around the time of year where the sacrament of Confirmation is often conferred in the Catholic Church. For example, St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church in Evergreen Park (a parish in southwestern Cook County) administered confirmation to 7th and 8th grade CCD students over the past week.
Even among those of us who are confirmed Catholics and very knowledgeable about our faith, we often miss the significance of what this means. For example, until a month or two ago I was not aware that the Roman Catholic Church used to administer the sacrament of confirmation PRIOR to the first communion (in medieval times, Catholics would often receive confirmation as children and only be allowed to take Holy Communion when they had reached the age of 12 or so), and it was only in the modern era that the “coming of age” for these sacraments were reversed. As recently as last year, I also assumed that the Catholic ceremony for confirmation was inspired by the Jewish tradition of Bar Mitzvah. When taking a course in World Religions, I learned that the reverse was actually true in this case. Catholic confirmation ceremonies developed first and “Bar Mitzvah” as we understand it today (as a coming of age ceremony in the Jewish faith), did not exist earlier than the 14th century.
Given these facts, I thought today would be a good opportunity to discuss the actual purpose of Confirmation with my faithful readers around Chicago. Many of you may have children who are going to be confirmed soon, or be Confirmation sponsors yourself. So what exactly do we use this sacrament for? St. Damian Catholic Church in Oak Forest is a parish under the Archdiocese of Chicago, and they provide a very good outline on their webpage to reply to some frequently asked questions about confirmation. Here are some basics:
In Christianity, Confirmation is one of three sacraments of initiation into the Church (The others are Baptism and Holy Communion) The purpose of confirmation is to seal the person with the gift of the Holy Spirit in your life. While the Holy Spirit is present at one’s baptism – and is certainly part of your life prior to confirmation – it is confirmation that makes a person a full member of the church. In short, it is "confirming" that you are indeed a Spirit-filled, unique member of God's community of believers. With the gifts you are given from the Holy Spirit at the time of your confirmation, you are called to make God's kingdom on earth a better and holier place.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church lists the five gifts of Confirmation:
- It roots us more deeply in the divine filiation [as sons of God] which makes us cry, "Abba! Father!"
- It unites us more firmly to Christ;
- It increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
- It renders our bond with the Church more perfect;
- It gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith
What is the right age for confirmation? In the Archdiocese of Chicago, the most common age for confirmation is the 8th grade. That’s when I received the sacrament, although at this year’s confirmation at St. Bernadette’s, it was given to 7th and 8th graders. Any person who converts to Catholicism from another faith would receive the sacrament of confirmation as the final step. As most converts to Catholicism are adults, they receive an adult confirmation ceremony. Some Catholic churches confirm students in second grade, some in High School, and so on. In short, there is no “right age” for confirmation. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is advised that the confirmandi have reached the "age of discretion", which is about seven years old. Never-the-less, the sacrament is usually administered to middle school and junior High School students in the modern era. In Eastern Catholic Churches, the sacrament of confirmation is given to infants and administered shortly after Baptism. In fact, among all eastern Christians, babies are baptized, confirmed, and then receive Communion (in the form of a few drops of consecrated wine), all on the same day, and always in that order. As was the case in the Roman Catholic Church (until a few centuries ago), it is a tradition in eastern Christianity that a Baptized member of the church is not eligible for communion until AFTER they receive the sacrament of confirmation.
Many people assume that laying of hands on the confirmandi, which signifies the descent of the Holy Spirit, as the central act in the Sacrament of Confirmation. However, this is not actually what the Catholic Church teaches. Instead, the essential element is the anointing of person with chrism (an aromatic oil that has been consecrated by a bishop), accompanied by the words "Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit" or "The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit". This seal is a consecration, representing the safeguarding by the Holy Spirit of the graces conferred on the Christian at Baptism. This is why another name for Confirmation is the sacrament of Chrismation. The person receiving the sacrament is expected to be in a state of grace before being allowed to receive the sacrament. In the case of infants, this is already a given, but in the case of children, teenagers, and adult confirmandi, this usually means the person is required to go to Confession prior to receiving the sacrament.
In the era when my parents were confirmed, confirmandi were frequently told that they were called to be "soldiers for Christ". Sadly, this has often been toned down from modern confirmation ceremonies as people think it sounds too confrontational and divisive. However, the "soldier of Christ" imagery remains valid in the church. Confirmation is often seen as a "sacrament of maturity", and was used as such as far back as 350 A.D., when St. Cyril of Jerusalem used the touch on the cheek that the bishop gave while saying "Pax tecum" (Peace be with you) to the person he had just confirmed. This was interpreted in the Roman Pontifical as a symbolic slap, a reminder to be brave in spreading and defending the faith. “Onward, Christian Soldiers!” is a 19th century English hymn by Sabine Baring-Gould and is taken from references in the New Testament to the Christian being a soldier for Christ, for example II Timothy 2:3: "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." In both word and action, we are called to be true witnesses of Christ, to confess our faith boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross.
There is an interesting twist to this story, though. I was reminded of my duty as a “Solider for Christ” over this very week. As many of my faithful readers will recall, just days ago I published a column about two pressing issues for Chicago Catholics that had not been resolved and that I felt needed attention. I not only pointedly raised these issues during my column, but I also checked up on them and inquired about them to my fellow Chicago Catholics. When I mentioned to one person that I didn’t want to pester the Archdiocese of Chicago office and snoop around, he replied “Why are you concerned about being perceived as "snooping" ? Isn't it your moral concern?” He was right. As I noted in my last column, I finally bit the bullet and voiced my concerned publicly. I asked why the Archdiocese of Chicago hadn’t issued a statement about the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate when all the other diocesan Catholic bishops overseeing Illinois parishes had done so. I also asked why there had been no follow-up on the pledge to issue a “transition plan” for Fr. Pfleger of St. Sabina parish – given that the agreed upon “deadline” between Fr. Pfleger and the Cardinal to announce this plan has passed over a month earlier – without any notice from the news media.
Over the past two days, an answer to both these questions appeared front and center on the main page of the Archdiocese of Chicago website. At the time I had written my previous column, there had been silence from Archdiocese of Chicago on both topics. Now they are not only being addressed, but resolved by the Cardinal and boldly announced to the people of Chicago. Regarding the contraceptive mandate, Cardinal George has indeed followed the other Illinois bishops in issuing a two-page letter stating that the Archdiocese vehemently opposes this new law, and has provided copies of the letter in PDF format so it may be downloaded from the Archdiocese webpage. Regarding the future of Fr. Pfleger, Cardinal George announced that “Effective immediately, Fr. Pfleger has been named the temporary Administrator of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish” and that he would remain as “co-pastor” of St. Sabina, beginning July 1, 2012, sharing responsibilities with another priest.
I would like to personally thank Cardinal Francis George in this column for responding to my inquiries and yes, providing leadership on these two issues. For those who say one person can’t make a difference among millions, today’s column is a living, breathing example that one person can. In fact, I’ll take a page from one of Fr. Pfleger’s favorite speakers and remind my readers of what Martin Luther King Jr. once said: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Don’t be afraid to speak up for the Catholic faith and raise your voice about Catholic issues when the Church leadership is not doing so.
Now onward, Christian soldiers!
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