Weighing In on Confirmation

A couple weeks ago, we celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation for two of my nieces. For those of you who are not Catholic, let me explain. In the Catholic Church, members are usually Baptized as infants. Their parents take on the responsibility of raising them in the Catholic Faith. Confirmation is a ritual whereby the confirmation candidates accept the faith as their own, becoming full members of the church. Currently in our area, the standard grade for Confirmation is 8th grade.

I was in 10th grade when I was Confirmed. Frankly, I struggled with the decision. Being such an analytical person, I wanted to have all of the facts before I commited myself to the Catholic Church. I wanted to try out other Christian religions to make sure Catholicism was the right choice. [I knew that I would be Christian, just not sure which denomination]. Being 15/16, I couldn't exactly check out other faiths on my own (how on earth would I get there?) I questioned the decision so much that I pushed off Confirmation for a year (the standard at that time was 9th grade). In 10th grade, I figured it was time to $hit or get off the pot. I chose my sister Becky as my sponsor, and away we went.

I was not ready to be Confirmed in 9th grade.

I was not ready to be Confirmed in 10th grade.

I was not truly ready to be Confirmed until I was a sophomore or junior in college (age 20). By that point, I had attended a Baptist church for about a year with one of my friends (just to the Wednesday night programs - not their Sunday services). My experiences there made me stronger in my Catholic faith. By age 20, I had also become very involved in the youth programs at my church, and had determined that I wanted to make a career decision to become a Youth Minister. My faith was strong, and was shaping my moral decisions. I understood much more of what it means to be Catholic as opposed to being of another denomination. I realized how drawn I was to Catholicism and I was ready to commit myself to the Catholic church. The only problem was that I already had - 4 years earlier.

As an adult, I think the guidelines for Confirmation are absurd. In my humble opinion, an eighth grade student (13 years old) cannot see around corners enough to know how they will feel about their faith as an adult. Experience brings our faith to life, and the faith experiences of a middle or high school student are limited. I don't mean to disparage my nieces in any way; their commitment is theirs alone to make, and their readiness is not the focus of this blog entry. I just wish that my personal Confirmation experience could have been the celebration of an adult making a real commitment to the church, instead of the child I was agreeing to something I wasn't entirely certain of. My own Confirmation of faith could have been so much more meaningful for me.

I'm just sorry it meant so little at the time.