Religious rites of passage: all about confirmation

The Catholic sacrament of Confirmation is a ceremony in which a young adult accepts and confirms his or her faith in God and belief in the ways of the Catholic Church. The young person, as a rule takes ownership of what his or her parents vowed before God and church to do in the raising of their Catholic child. Confirmation is a ceremony that is usually conducted by the bishop. If a bishop is not available, he will sometimes authorize a priest to perform the ceremony in his place.

The Catholic student has to take classes to prepare for this step towards Catholic adulthood. This can vary from parish to parish from a few months of weekly classes to two weeks straight of classes or an intensive weekend retreat with other church members and clergy. These classes are to educate the student further about the Catholic Church and for the student to make sure that this is a step that he or she is ready and willing to take.

Confirmation is performed during a special mass with a group of candidates that have studied and prepared together for this particular ceremony. Ages for children or teens taking part in these ceremonies range from middle school to high school and college. Each ceremony should be appropriate for the ages of the participants.

The mass usually begins with a processional. As the participants and the celebrant proceeds down the aisle, the congregation sometimes led by an organist or other musical accompaniment sing a hymn that is suited to the occasion. After the procession concludes the bishop or authorized celebrant greets the congregation and offers a blessing to all who have gathered for this special day. The Sprinkling or Penitential rite may take place at this time. The opening prayer is said and the mass portion of the ceremony begins.

After the mass has proceeded through two bible readings and one reading from the gospel (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) the confirmation candidates are “presented”. The person presenting the candidates as a rule should be the person who has helped guide the candidates through their confirmation classes and can vouch for the preparedness of those about to be confirmed. The presentation is generally simple and is stated such as, “Bishop, I am pleased to present the confirmation candidates.” This is usually done as a group and there is no need to announce candidates by name.

Following the presentation, the celebrant will begin his “homily”. This is when he will give a sermon that is geared for the occasion. He will most likely reflect on his memories of his confirmation and dwell on the importance of the Sacrament. After the homily, the candidates will renew their baptismal promises, confirming what was promised in his or her behalf at the time of baptism. The candidates will stand throughout this portion of the mass and answer together “I do”, when the questions are put before them. The celebrant will then place his hands over each candidate. The candidates will then be anointed with holy oil on their foreheads in the shape of a small cross.

The mass will continue like an ordinary mass with the offertory, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, recitation of The Lord’s Prayer and communion. The mass will conclude with post-communion meditation and a final prayer and blessing from the celebrant. After the processional, the confirmation candidates will file out as will the rest of the congregation. Following the mass, there is quite often a reception in which Certificates of Confirmation will be distributed to all of the now confirmed candidates.