Confirmation Age?

[LouisvilleFan]

The Eastern folks baptize, confirm, and communicate 'em right out da womb. Jesus said, "Do not give the devil a foothold," and they ain't gonna mess around.

[princessgianna]

[quote name='goldenchild17' post='1883950' date='Jun 5 2009, 04:32 AM']I think it just depends on the quality of preparation. Every one in my Church is confirmed at or around 9 or 10 years old and so far the rate of retention is quite high.[/quote]
Like I said before if the children were properly taught-I would not see it as such an issue.

[princessgianna]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1884145' date='Jun 5 2009, 11:29 AM']Wouldn't it be fabulous if each set of parents knew their child and talked to him and taught him... and when they thought he was ready, they would speak to their priest about confirmation? It might be nine... or 12... or 15. But it would require more effort on the part of the parents and them having a willingness to be "different."[/quote]
That's the problem-the parents either don't care or they don't know themselves cause they were never taught. And here the Church has this rapid domino effect.

However I am told over and over again from my parents that Church is getting better and better.

[loveletslive]

in my diocese we are confirmed as a sophomore in high school. i think junior or senior year would be more appropriate. i got confirmed with around 50 kids. i only saw maybe 10 of them ever at Mass after that.

[loveletslive]

[quote name='princessgianna' post='1883935' date='Jun 5 2009, 03:32 AM']One would hope. Though sadly that is not the case.

I personally knew some of the children. The one little boy when I asked if he knew the 7 gifts of the Holt Spirit replied with "Love,Charity,hope, peace...." you get the picture how off he was! This was last Sunday. I highly doubt that between then and yesterday he learned it.[/quote]

i'm willing to bet the majority of adult Catholics don't know the 7 gifts of the holy spirit. i can't even name every single one of the top of my head. there are too many lists of things in the Catholic church and i could have cared less in sunday school.

[MissyP89]

I was confirmed in the fall of my freshman year, at 14. I don't see any of them anymore. Every once in a while one of my friends will go to Mass with her Mom, and my best friend comes with me on Christmas and Easter, but that's it.

I think a lot of it has to do with the parents not setting a good example, honestly. If Mom and Dad don't live it out, and treat it as just something to do because "everyone does it," why should I care?

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='princessgianna' post='1883915' date='Jun 5 2009, 12:42 AM']I know what Canon Law says but shouldn't this be a mature decision made from the person that is getting confirmed?[/quote]
The mystery of Chrismation must not be confused with a "rite of passage" into adulthood.

In the Eastern Christian tradition babies are chrismated (confirmed) during the same ceremony in which they are baptized.

[Quantum_Entity]

I really don't think confirmation is something that should be determined by age. That's a cut and dry approach for a very deep and serious spiritual matter.

I wasn't confirmed until 21, I think. But then, I did leave the church for almost 10 years, too. So, that kind of threw things off. I remember being in my confirmation classes and seeing how immature many of the kids were.

That was one of the final things that drove me away from the church and into atheism/agnosticism (not sure what I was) even at that age. I just couldn't believe that these kids were being allowed to take on such a great spiritual responsibility when they were still acting up, yelling, swearing, and acting like...um...I can't think of a nice word...jerks?

I also couldn't believe that these kids were going to represent the Church. That didn't bode well with me. And then there are those that get confirmed and still act like jerks and don't take their faith seriously. If you don't take your faith seriously or even believe in your religion, then don't get confirmed. Ugh...it's complicated.

I think the age of confirmation should be somewhere between 16 and 60. It would be nice if there was some sort of a test or an interview that those who were going to be confirmed had to take. It isn't a light matter.

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='Quantum_Entity' post='1884515' date='Jun 5 2009, 09:08 PM']I just couldn't believe that these kids were being allowed to take on such a great spiritual responsibility when they were still acting up, yelling, swearing, and acting like...um...I can't think of a nice word...jerks?[/quote]

I'm more concerned about those who are violating the 6th Commandment every weekend.



(Not that the Sacraments should be denied to those who are earnestly struggling to overcome their sins and go to Confession whenever they fall.)

Edited June 6, 2009 by Resurrexi

[Arpy]

[quote name='Resurrexi' post='1884582' date='Jun 5 2009, 08:24 PM']I'm more concerned about those who are violating the 6th Commandment every weekend.[/quote]
Some of them could be the same people. I feel much the same as Quantum Entity; I was less than impressed with the behavior of my cabinmates on our Confirmation retreat. Swearing, evaluating the "hottest girls" in the class, dissing the instructors...That was probably the chief cause of my hedging when the Archbishop interrogated me about everyone's readiness for Confirmation.

[princessgianna]

[quote name='loveletslive' post='1884364' date='Jun 5 2009, 04:29 PM']... there are too many lists of things in the Catholic church and i could have cared less in sunday school.[/quote]
But you need to know your stuff.

[quote name='MissyP89' post='1884370' date='Jun 5 2009, 04:33 PM']....

I think a lot of it has to do with the parents not setting a good example, honestly. If Mom and Dad don't live it out, and treat it as just something to do because "everyone does it," why should I care?[/quote]
Agreed.

[quote name='Apotheoun' post='1884501' date='Jun 5 2009, 07:45 PM']The mystery of Chrismation must not be confused with a "rite of passage" into adulthood.

In the Eastern Christian tradition babies are chrismated (confirmed) during the same ceremony in which they are baptized.[/quote]

That's very interesting but I belong to the Roman Catholic Church and right now I am mostly concerned with how it works.

Though you bring up a good point. I was taught that confirmation was when I decided to be an "adult" in the faith. I see I was taught wrong.

[quote name='Quantum_Entity' post='1884515' date='Jun 5 2009, 08:08 PM']I really don't think confirmation is something that should be determined by age. That's a cut and dry approach for a very deep and serious spiritual matter.

I wasn't confirmed until 21, I think. But then, I did leave the church for almost 10 years, too. So, that kind of threw things off. I remember being in my confirmation classes and seeing how immature many of the kids were.

That was one of the final things that drove me away from the church and into atheism/agnosticism (not sure what I was) even at that age. I just couldn't believe that these kids were being allowed to take on such a great spiritual responsibility when they were still acting up, yelling, swearing, and acting like...um...I can't think of a nice word...jerks?

I also couldn't believe that these kids were going to represent the Church. That didn't bode well with me. And then there are those that get confirmed and still act like jerks and don't take their faith seriously. If you don't take your faith seriously or even believe in your religion, then don't get confirmed. Ugh...it's complicated.

I think the age of confirmation should be somewhere between 16 and 60. It would be nice if there was some sort of a test or an interview that those who were going to be confirmed had to take. It isn't a light matter.[/quote]
Well in the thread it is becoming quite clear that what my parents were taught and what I was taught was not quite on the ball. It really infuriates me.

[VeniteAdoremus]

There's an old joke about two priests who each have bats in the clock tower. When one comes to visit the other, the other's bats have gone! The first priest had been trying for ages, so he asks the second how he managed it. "Oh," said the priest, "it was very easy in the end, I just baptised and confirmed them and never saw them again!"

Personally I don't think it's a bit too true to be funny...

Good catechism is key to most, if not all, problems in the Church, in my opinion. I think we all agree that all Catholics should be well-catechised (and also that this is not happening at the moment).

The question which remains then is how the level of catechisation ties to the reception of the Sacraments. So, to what degree should a child be catechised in order to receive them? Currently, Confirmation is used (at least here in the Netherlands) simply to get kids of a certain age into a weekly class. They wouldn't come if it wasn't for a identifiable goal (they're Dutch, we work that way ). There doesn't have to be anything wrong with that, but it does put pressure on the preparation programme, because chances are they won't get any more instruction after that. In this case, I think age matters. Not because of a readiness for the Sacrament, but purely for opportunistic reasons. If they're still at "and now we'll do this nice Pentecost colouring plate"-level, they'll never be fully catechised.

If the child is in a structure where there would be catechisation no matter what their age (attending a solid Catholic school, being raised with the Faith by parents who know their stuff) the age matters less. But because confirmation (in the Latin rite ) is traditionally done after First Communion I wouldn't miss the opportunity to do it at an age where children have started to make big decisions on their own.

One of my future sisters had a girl in last year's confirmation class who had decided the year before to wait because she did not feel ready. I thought that was pretty cool. And the class decided together they wanted to go on with catechises after confirmation. So it's very much possible to get it right.