Breda O'Brien
The View
It is profoundly disappointing, not to mention scary if you are what the French call a ‘certain age’ to be once again in lockdown.
It is heartbreaking to see it sweeping again through nursing homes, including places where it was successfully kept out in previous waves.
Impacts
Young people may not be as badly affected as older people on a physical level, although there are exceptions. Everyone has a story of a previously fit and healthy young person who was very ill.
There are other impacts on young people, too, including that so many young people remain unconfirmed. Confirmation ceremonies have been cancelled for months on end. It is impossible to know the numbers but it may be as high as 50% of young people in urban areas.
Without saying a word, these girls demonstrated that their faith was important enough to them to invest time in it”
At the risk of being accused of being Pollyanna-ish, this may represent an opportunity. I recall with great fondness a family many years ago who had been abroad. Three of the daughters were not confirmed as a result. They chose to be confirmed and as one of the RE teachers in the school, it was my privilege to organise it.
It was a tremendous experience. They took part in preparation with me and it was possible to discuss all sorts of things that normally would be met with a yawn in class. On the day, their friends came along. Without saying a word, these girls demonstrated that their faith was important enough to them to invest time in it.
It was a beautiful ceremony. It had a funny postscript. Never having been involved in a Confirmation before, I never thought about registering the Confirmation in the local parish and neither, let it be said, did the bishop who carried it out. Years later, I got a letter from one of the girls asking me to confirm, if you will pardon the pun, that she had been confirmed, as the bishop had gone to his eternal reward.
Witness
As you cannot get married without proof of being confirmed, I was suddenly a very important witness. I was, of course, delighted to play even a small role in facilitating the nuptials.
If young people are not automatically confirmed at 12 because of Covid-19, should we wait to confirm them until they are at least 16? Transition year would seem to be the ideal time to make a decision like this.
In the very early church, adults prepared for entry into the Church and therefore, Baptism, Confirmation and first reception of the Eucharist were all part of the same ceremony. As the Christian faith became established, the practice of baptising infants came about. In the Eastern Church and indeed, in the West, it was common to give communion to babies after they had been baptised and confirmed, except in the Western Church it was administered as the Precious Blood only, whereas it was given (and is given) under both species in the Orthodox Church.
Candidates are baptised as babies, receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation around seven to eight as preparation for Confirmation and first Eucharist around eight”
The age of Baptism and Confirmation gradually changed until it was more commonly celebrated around the age of seven. However, it was felt that more preparation was needed for confirmation so gradually, the order changed. Pope Pius X in 1910 said that children could receive the Eucharist by the age of reason, at the time, generally taken to be seven. Although he was silent about the age of confirmation the custom of later confirmation grew even more common.
Some bishops have been so concerned about the lack of right order of the sacraments, such as Most Reverend James Sean Wall of the Archdiocese of Denver, that they have restored the original order but retained the age of eight for reception. Candidates are baptised as babies, receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation around seven to eight as preparation for Confirmation and first Eucharist around eight.
Sacraments of initiation
I see the reasoning. As it says in a Denver document on the sacraments of initiation, “Contrary to widespread misconception, Confirmation is not the sacrament of adult commitment to the faith. It is a cause of spiritual maturity, not recognition of physical maturity.”
We are all suffering from the lack of receiving the Body and Blood of Christ at the moment”
Although teachers and priests do their best, I am not sure that our current practice in Ireland is much more than a passing out parade, or a day out, or a rite of passage.
The correct order of the sacraments is a serious consideration and I would find it hard to force children to wait until 16 to receive the Eucharist. We are all suffering from the lack of receiving the Body and Blood of Christ at the moment. However, I still believe that later confirmation could have a positive impact on the seriousness with which young people might participate in this vital Sacrament.
Community
Given that numbers would be smaller, it would be a marvellous opportunity to build a real sense of community among candidates if the preparation took place in the parish.