Confirmation Preparation

Confirmation

Confirmation is actually the second sacrament of initiation into the Catholic Church. Despite how we celebrate it in practice as the final step in full initiation, it is the completion of one's baptism. The baptism is sealed with the anointing of the sacred Chrism (the holy oin used at the Scrament.) There is a lot of history involved. It is the Bishop who initiates. As the first centuries of the Church grew and developed, it was next to impossble for a Bishop to attend the baptism of an infant, and with a high mortality rate, the sacrament of baptism became the task of the local presbyter or priest. The Bishop would then attend at a later date to confer or complete the baptism and then welcome the child to the table of the Lord. In this way, the order of the Sacraments of Initiation were maintained. This usually happened around the traditional transition age in adolescence.

Early in the 1900's, Pope Pius X lowered the age for First Communion to the age of reason (7). Some places around the world naturally lowered the age of Confirmation as well to maintain the order, some places did not. Thus the order got messed up, and the Sacrament of Confirmation took on a different characteristic. Eventually the order will be restored, and children will complete their baptism with Confirmation and then be welcomed to the table.

We often speak as though the Sacrament is our personal opportunity to 'confirm' our faith which was handed on to us as infants, but that is not the case. This celebration is the Church's movement of 'confirming' you. In recent years, in our Archdiocese, the age for Confirmation was lowered from grade 8 to grade 7. This means anyone in grade 7 or above is eligible to celebrate the Sacrament. The Archdiocese also intends for the Sacrament to be celebrated within the midst of the regular worshiping assembly if possible. For us here, it means that at a regular Sunday celebration, we will welcome our young people at Sunday morning Mass (or Saturday evening as the case may be.)

Registration

Our registration takes place during the month of September. Forms must be picked up at the Sunday Masses and returned by the last Sunday of September, accompanied by a copy of their baptismal certificate.

The formal preparation takes place in a small group. The group will meet for several meetings following the Archdiocesan Program of Preparation called 'Anointed for Mission'.

There are also a couple of Liturgical Rites that we celebrate with the candidates. There is the Rite of Enrollment where the candidates submit letters of intent indicating why they are seeking to complete their Initiation through Confirmation. The second Rite would be where we officially accept them as canadiates for Confirmation. At that celebration we present them with a cross.

We also have had a retreat where the candidates make their own ceramic cross.

Those young people who may have been baptised in another denomination may still participate in Confirmation. They will need to have a discussion with Fr. Roy

Confirmation Sponsor Requirements:

Must be at least 16 years of age by the time of the Confirmation ceremony
- If married, sponsors must have received the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, i.e. validly married in a Catholic church
Must be Confirmed and practicing their faith in any Roman Catholic Parish
Sponsors cannot be parents or grandparents
Sponsors cannot be from other Christian denominations nor can they be Muslim, Jewish, or Buddhist

Some of you may choose not to be Confirmed at this time, but rather wait to be Confirmed when in High School or later as an adult.

We encourage you to please click the link on our website homepage, or visit our St. Margaret's Facebook page, to sign up to receieve the bulletin electronically each Saturday morning in your inbox.

For more information please contact Fr. Roy at the Parish Office at 705-526-6313, or via the Parish Contact form below:

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