My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, 

We began celebrating the restored order of the sacraments of confirmation and first holy Communion in our diocese about five years ago in the fall of 2019. The “restored order” refers to receiving the Sacraments of Initiation in the original sequence practiced by the Church for centuries, namely, first baptism, which is strengthened with the gifts of the Holy Spirit at confirmation, which is completed with the reception of holy Communion.

The decision to implement the restored order in our diocese was made at our Fourth Diocesan Synod in 2017. The sixth declaration of that synod says: “The Sacraments of Christian Initiation shall be offered in the proper sequence (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist) for children as well as for adults. To promote discipleship and stewardship as a way of life from an early age, those who are baptized as infants are to receive the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist at about the age of reason, which in this diocese will normally be in their third grade of elementary school, after they have been properly prepared and have made sacramental confession.”

It was not until about a little over 100 years ago, in 1910, that Pope St. Pius X lowered the age for first Communion to the age of discretion, that is, the time when a child has reached the use of reason at about the age of 7, but since he did not address lowering the age for confirmation, the order was inverted to give children first Communion before confirmation. Canon 97, §2 of the current Code of Canon Law says that “one is presumed to have the use of reason with the completion of the seventh year,” while canon 914 states that children who have reached the use of reason are to receive their first holy Communion “as early as possible, preceded by sacramental confession.” The restored order goes back to the sequence of receiving the sacraments that the Church observed for over 1900 years and still does for adults. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (par. 1242) affirms confirmation as the completion of baptism. The ancient tradition of the Church regards confirmation as the second of the three stages of Christian initiation, the conclusion of which is reception of first holy Communion.

The other reason for doing this was to promote discipleship and stewardship as a way of life from an early age. The concern was that too many children stopped going to church after being confirmed in eighth grade. Before I celebrate the sacraments of confirmation and first holy Communion, I send the candidates a questionnaire asking what receiving the sacrament of confirmation means to them. One student actually answered, “It means I graduate from the Church!” Unfortunately, that is the way too many students in eighth grade treated the reception of confirmation. Pope Francis has even called confirmation the “Sacrament of Farewell”! 

I have heard that some parents have stopped sending their children to Catholic schools or parish schools of religion after third grade. In such cases, they really do not understand the purpose of religious education. It is not just to prepare them for receiving the sacraments, as important as that is, but essentially to teach them how to be disciples of Jesus Christ, that is, how to live as Christians for the rest of their lives. The answer is not to move confirmation back to eighth grade. Keeping them for another five years after which they stop going to church is not the goal. The goal is to keep them as active participating Catholics for the rest of their lives!

The observance of Catechetical Sunday on Sept. 15 invites us to look more deeply at the meaning of catechesis and its importance in the life of the Church. The word “catechesis” comes from Greek and means simply “instruction by word of mouth.” Catechesis in the Church refers to the basic Christian religious education of children and adults. Catechesis of children is provided in the religion classes of our Catholic schools. Catechesis for children who attend public schools is provided in our Parish Schools of Religion (PSR for short). Parishes are also expected to provide Bible study and other programs of continuing religious education for adults. Catechesis is much more than preparation for the sacraments, but helps people to understand the lessons of the Bible and teaches people how to live as Christians.

Restoring the original sequence of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist, in that order, with the latter two sacraments being received in third grade, shifts the focus of religious education for older children from sacramental preparation to formation for discipleship and stewardship as a way of life. Service projects, for example, can still be done by eighth-graders and high school students, but they are to be understood not as requirements to be completed in order to be confirmed, but as the way that fully initiated Christians live out their baptismal commitment by serving others.

Moreover, confirmation is correctly understood theologically as primarily the action of the Holy Spirit, whose gifts of grace are imparted in this sacrament, not as some sort of graduation from religious education or rite of passage to adult maturity. Our youth face many temptations from the world around them, and many of these are no farther away than their smart phone. Delaying their full initiation into the Church until adolescence serves to deprive them of the grace they need at a crucial time in their lives. Young people need the grace of the Holy Spirit at an early age to help them resist these temptations and lead holy and virtuous lives as followers of Jesus Christ.

May God give us this grace. Amen.