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Confirmation in the Catholic Church

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For an overview of other Christian interpretations, seeConfirmation.

TheSeven Sacraments Altarpiece,byRogier van der Weyden,depicting aLatin Churchbishop administering confirmation in the 14th century
The sacrament of confirmation byPietro Longhi

Confirmation in the Catholic Churchis one of the sevensacraments.[1]It is also one of the threesacraments of initiationinto theCatholic Church,the other two beingBaptismandHoly Communion.[2]

Description[edit]

TheCatechism of the Catholic Churchstates:

It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost... Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear in God's presence. Guard what you have received. God the Father has marked you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts.[3]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church sees the account in theActs of the Apostles8:14–17as a scriptural basis for Confirmation as a sacrament distinct from Baptism:

Now when the apostles, who were in Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John. Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For he was not as yet come upon any of them; but they were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Spirit.[4]

Latin Church[edit]

In theLatin Church,thesacramentis to be conferred on the faithful above the age of discretion (generally taken to be about 7), unless theEpiscopal Conferencehas decided on a different age, or there is danger of death or, in the judgment of the minister, a grave reason suggests otherwise.[5]

The1983Code of Canon lawstates (canon882): "Theordinaryministerof confirmation is abishop;apresbyterprovided with this faculty in virtue of universal law or the special grant of the competent authority also confers this sacramentvalidly."[6]

Age[edit]

Certificate of confirmation of faith of 12-year old Gerardina Vleugels inReijmerstok,Netherlands (1936)

Twosynodsheld inEnglandduring the thirteenth century differed over whether confirmation had to be administered within one year after birth, or within three years.[7]Confirmation became a much more important rite when concerns about understanding and faith grew, in particular following theReformation.[8] After theFourth Lateran Council,Communion, which continued to be given only after Confirmation, was to be administered only on reaching the age of reason. Some time after the 13th century, the age of Confirmation and Communion began to be delayed further, from seven, to twelve and to fifteen.[9]The 1917 Code of Canon Law, while recommending that Confirmation be delayed until about seven years of age, allowed it be given at an earlier age.[10]Only on 30 June 1932 was official permission given to change the traditional order of the three sacraments of Christian initiation: the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments then allowed, where necessary, that Confirmation be administeredafterfirst Holy Communion.This novelty, originally seen as exceptional, became more and more the accepted practice. Thus, in the mid-20th century, Confirmation began to be seen as an occasion for professing personal commitment to the faith on the part of someone approaching adulthood.[11]

However, theCatechism of the Catholic Church,§1308, warns: "Although Confirmation is sometimes called the 'sacrament of Christian maturity,' we must not confuse adult faith with the adult age of natural growth, nor forget that the baptismal grace is a grace of free, unmerited election and does not need 'ratification' to become effective."[12]

On thecanonicalage for confirmation in theLatin Churchof the Catholic Church, the present (1983)Code of Canon Law,which maintains unaltered the rule in the1917 Code,specifies that the sacrament is to be conferred on the faithful at about 7-18, unless theepiscopal conferencehas decided on a different age, or there is a danger of death or, in the judgement of theminister,a grave reason suggests otherwise (canon891 of theCode of Canon Law). The 1983 Code prescribes the age of discretion also for the sacraments of Penance[13]and first Holy Communion.[14]

Since theSecond Vatican Council,the setting of a later age, e.g. mid-teens in theUnited States,early teens inIrelandandBritain,has been abandoned in some places in favour of restoring the traditional order of the three sacraments of Christian initiation.[15][16][17]Even in those countries where theepiscopal conferencehas set a later age as normal, a bishop may not refuse to confer the sacrament on younger children who request it, provided they are baptized, have the use of reason, are suitably instructed and are properly disposed and able to renew the baptismal promises.[18]

Eastern Churches[edit]

Bishop anoints young adult by usingoil of chrism

TheChrismationwith holyMyronis what confirmation is called inEastern Catholic Churches.Thecanonsconcerning this practice are the can. 692-697 of theCode of Canons of the Eastern Churches.In Eastern Catholicism,priestsare those who normally administer the Chrismation with holy Myron, and this sacrament can be administered conjointly withbaptism.Contrarily to the situation in theLatin Church,in Eastern Catholicism the sacrament does not require the anointing to be made by the imposition of the hand.[19]

Imagery[edit]

The "soldier of Christ"imagery, which remains valid[20]but is downplayed if seen as part of the once common idea of Confirmation as a "sacrament of maturity",[21]was used as far back as 350, byCyril of Jerusalem.[22]In this connection, the touch on the cheek that the bishop gave while saying "Pax tecum" (Peace be with you) to the person he had just confirmed was interpreted in the Roman Pontifical as a slap, a reminder to be brave in spreading and defending the faith: "Deinde leviter eum in maxilla caedit, dicens: Pax tecum" (Then he strikes him lightly on the cheek, saying: Peace be with you) (cf. the knightly custom of theaccolade). When, in application of theSecond Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,[23]the Confirmation rite was revised in 1971, mention of this gesture was omitted. However, the French and Italian translations, indication that the bishop should accompany the words "Peace be with you" with "a friendly gesture" (French text) or "the sign of peace" (Italian text), explicitly allow a gesture such as the touch on the cheek, to which they restore its original meaning. This is in accord with the Introduction to the Rite of Confirmation, 17, which indicates that the episcopal conference may decide "to introduce a different manner for the minister to give the sign of peace after the anointing, either to each individual or to all the newly confirmed together."

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Council of Trent (1829)."Part 2: Confirmation".The catechism of the Council of Trent.Translated by James Donovan. Lucas Brothers.
  • Scannell, Thomas Bartholomew (1908)."Confirmation".In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

References[edit]

  1. ^Oregon Catholic PressWhat is Confirmation?
  2. ^The Holy See. "Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church", Part 2, Section 2.The Seven Sacraments of the Church.2005.
  3. ^Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1302–1303
  4. ^Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1315
  5. ^canon 891 of the Code of Canon LawArchived18 July 2006 at theWayback Machinecanon 891
  6. ^"Code of Canon Law - Book IV - Function of the Church Liber (Cann. 879-958)".vatican.va.Retrieved24 January2022.
  7. ^Councils and Synods with other Documents relating to the English Church: II. Part 1 (1205–1265), Part II (1265–1313);edited by F.M. Powicke and C.R. Cheny (Oxford, 1964)
  8. ^Brewer, Holly.By Birth or Consent: Children, Law, & the Anglo-American Revolution in AuthorityArchived11 July 2011 at theWayback Machine;Univ. of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, 2005); pp 65-68; accessed 16 January 2011.
  9. ^Kay Lynn Isca,Catholic Etiquette[permanent dead link](Our Sunday Visitor 1997ISBN0-87973-590-2), p. 91
  10. ^canon 788of the 1917 Code of Canon Law
  11. ^Minnerath, Roland."Reflection on Sacramentum Caritatis | EWTN".EWTN Global Catholic Television Network.Retrieved24 January2022.
  12. ^Catechism of the Catholic Church,1308
  13. ^canon 989
  14. ^canons 913–914
  15. ^The Restored Order of Sacraments of Initiation
  16. ^Confirmation before communion, Liverpool decidesArchived11 April 2013 at theWayback Machine
  17. ^Interchurch FamiliesArchived3 October 2011 at theWayback Machine
  18. ^"LITTERAE CONGREGATIONIS".Notitiae.35:537–540. 1999.
  19. ^Congregation for the Eastern Churches(1996).Instruction for applying the liturgical prescriptions of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches(PDF).Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. pp. 43–44.ISBN978-88-209-2232-0.
  20. ^Confirmation PreparationArchived4 April 2006 at theWayback Machine
  21. ^link not workingArchived19 April 2006 at theWayback Machine
  22. ^SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION (WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?)
  23. ^CONSTITUTION ON THE SACRED LITURGYArchived21 February 2008 at theWayback Machine

External links[edit]

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