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Today, let’s
begin with a little quiz. You may have to scratch around a bit in the
back of your mind but, if you think hard enough, I’m sure you will know
the answers.
Question #1:
Can you remember where you were confirmed?
I do. (Answer: Our
Lady of the Wayside Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois)
Question #2:
Do you know the date you were confirmed?
I do. (Answer.
April 6, 1964)
Question #3:
Do you remember the name of the bishop who confirmed you?
I do. (Answer:
Auxiliary Bishop Aloysius J. Wycicilo of Chicago)
Question #4:
Can you name the person who was your Confirmation sponsor?
I can. (Answer: my
cousin, Billy Andres. He was a Sergeant in the Marines at the time and
wore his dress blues. That was really impressive. None of the other
candidates had a Marine sponsoring them. And, he gave me $20 bucks for
a gift. That was unbelievable!)
Question #5:
Do you know your Confirmation “name”?
I do. (Answer: St.
Jude. And just where did that name come from? My mother picked it…the
“Saint of the Impossible Cases.” Furthermore, when it came my turn to
be confirmed, the Bishop asked the Master of Ceremonies “Nomen?”
(that is, name—everything was in Latin in those days) and he responded,
“Judas.” I shrieked, “I’m not Judas! My name is Jude! To which the
Master of Ceremonies said, “Shut up kid,” in the same tone that Santa’s
helper responded to Ralphie in The Christmas Story just before
Santa shoved Ralphie down the shoot with this boot.)
In my mind, getting
confirmed was a really big deal, even for a toe-head, third grader.
While most of us
were confirmed at a young age, I suspect few of us remember the details
associated with our Confirmation with the exception, perhaps, of the
logistics associated with the ceremony because, as we were told sternly
during practice for the ceremony, “You better behave because the bishop
is coming.”
This raises the
question concerning when Catholics should receive the Sacrament of
Confirmation.
During the mid- to
late- 1990s, I served a three-year term as a member of the U.S.
Catholic bishops’ Committee on Education in Washington, DC. The
Committee was comprised of bishops and archbishops, some lay women and
men, and me. The Committee met twice annually to discuss issues
concerning Catholic education, like current Congressional and Supreme
Court activities, changing demographics and the need for new schools,
adult catechesis, and the formation—especially the faith formation—of
lay Catholic educators.
An agenda items at
one Committee meeting included a wide-ranging discussion concerning what
would be the best age at which to administer the Sacrament of
Confirmation to Catholics as well as the possibility of implementing a
national policy to insure a degree of uniformity. Dioceses across the
nation have differing regulations and it becomes problematic especially
when families relocate. If they move into a diocese that confirms third
or fourth graders from a diocese that confirms high school junior or
seniors, a high schooler is pretty much out-of-place with the group of
youngsters. Furthermore, the high schooler is a bit young for the group
of adults preparing for Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist in the
parish RCIA program. So, the ensuing discussion revealed many diverse
views and opinions regarding the question, especially among the bishops.
I suspect among those of us gathered here today there are equally
diverse views and opinions.
Some members
believed that all Catholics should be confirmed during the third or
fourth grade. Reasons for confirming young people at this age included:
third and fourth graders are innocent and what one bishop called
“pliable”; they are still open to mystery (although Santa Claus has lost
a bit—but not all—of his luster); and, the sacrament provides an
“inoculation” for the turbulence that will come during the adolescent
years.
Some other Committee
members believed that eighth grade would be a better time to administer
the Sacrament of Confirmation. Young teens, these members believed, are
far more aware of what virtue and vice are, they know they are not
perfect and need of God’s grace, especially in tough situations and,
eighth graders are beginning to wonder about some very deep, profound,
and perplexing issues as these relate to their lives.
Yet still other
members of the Committee on Education asserted that the junior or senior
year of high school would be best. Confirming young adults at this age
would link the Sacrament to another rite-of-passage, namely, high school
graduation, and sacramentally mark the transition to greater adult
responsibility in the Church. These members also reasoned somewhat
optimistically that the confirmation class could be used to form a
teenage faith community within a parish. And, because teenagers
generally tend to be idealists, they’re quite willing to serve members
of the community, especially the most needy members. Thus, community
service and commitment to others—love of God and neighbor in
action—would figure prominently.
Committee members
also discussed some of the drawbacks associated with each of these
approaches. One drawback cited was that young people don’t really
understand what the Sacrament of Confirmation means as a commitment to a
life of serious discipleship. A second drawback cited was that young
adults oftentimes come forward to receive the Sacrament to please their
parents rather than come forward of their own volition to deepen and
personalize their faith commitment. A third drawback cited was that
most young people are sick of school and generally don’t want to have to
“study” anything else, especially religion. (Yikes!) These were the three most
prominent of the con’s discussed. The actual list of con’s was much
longer, however.
When enthusiasm for
the subject began to wane, I made an intervention. “I think that
confirmation should be administered at 35 years of age,” I said.
You would have
thought the world had just ended! Everyone seated around the large
conference table just stared at me. As I looked around, all I saw was a
sea of big eyes and slack jaws. “I suppose you’d like me to explain
myself,” I said to the group.
I detected a slight
glimmer in the eye of Bishop Robert Banks of the Diocese of Green Bay
who was Chair of the Committee on Education at the time. He said,
“Yes, Father Jacobs, we would.” Bishop Edward Egan of Bridgeport,
Connecticut—now Cardinal Egan of the Archdiocese of New York—chuckled a
bit and said, “This should be good.” Bishop Wilton Gregory of the
Diocese of Belleville, Illinois—now Archbishop of Atlanta,
Georgia—winked and said, “Let’s hear it. You’ve sparked my interest.”
So, I laid out a
couple of reasons for asserting that the Sacrament of Confirmation
should be administered only to Catholics who are at least 35 years old.
First, research
indicates that a lot of people between the ages of 30 and 40—now with
their youthful indiscretions behind them and the reality of mortality
looming somewhere just beyond the horizon—are searching for religious
meaning in their lives. Moving the Sacrament of Confirmation to this
age group would provide these sincere women and men a program for adult
faith formation, one that would challenge them to consider the
intersection of faith and their questions about life and death.
Second, many of the
people between the ages of 30 and 40 have children who pester them with
questions about important matters pertaining to our faith, simple
questions like: “How does God hear our prayers?” “How come bad things
happen to good people?” “What happens after someone dies?” “Do
pets go to heaven?”
Oftentimes, parents find themselves at a loss about how best to respond
to these questions. Moreover, many parents also find the glib answers
they give don’t really mean all much to them and, quite likely, to their
kids. Moving the Sacrament of Confirmation to this age would provide
parents a forum whereby they could grow in their faith as they carry out
their divine responsibility to function as the primary teachers of the
faith to their children.
Looking around the
conference table, I saw that I had the attention of the Committee
members. They were listening intently. So, I decided to push the
envelope a bit by asserting a third point. I said, “Most of you know,
I’m sure, how difficult it is to get people in their 30’s and 40’s
involved in the parish. They have so many other things going on in
their lives that faith may not get the attention it deserves. For
example, responsible lectors, commentators, ushers, greeters,
bereavement ministers, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist,
permanent deacons, leaders of song, just to mention a few, are very hard
to come by. Why not use the service component associated with the
Sacrament of Confirmation to get these adults into the habit of being
involved as witnesses to their faith and of using their gifts for the
benefit of the parish community? After all, discipleship isn’t just
coming to church on Sunday and sitting back. It has to have a public
dimension that is given expression within the parish community.”
I thought I had
really made a good case for rethinking why we do what we do as this
concerns the Sacrament of Confirmation. In the back of my mind, I was
patting myself on my back for articulating my thoughts so well.
“Bravo,” I thought. And the throngs were cheering as I blew them
kisses, just like Ralphie when he was envisioning how much his teacher
would love his Christmas essay.
“Thank you for
sharing your ideas, Father Jacobs,” Bishop Banks stated in a no-nonsense
tone. “As there is no consensus, I move that we not make any
recommendation to the Administrative Committee and remand the matter
back to the Subcommittee on Catechesis.”
“I second the
motion,” someone stated.
“Thank you,” Bishop
Banks responded.
A bang of the
gavel. End of discussion. No accolades. No serious consideration of
change. Just “very stimulating discussion” remanded elsewhere and
eventually into the dustbin of USCC history.
Now, the reason I’ve
taken all of this time to relate this story on the Solemnity of
Pentecost was not to cast aspersions on anyone or any opinion because
there is merit in all of the ideas expressed by the Committee’s
members. The reason I’ve raised these ideas on the Sunday when we
recall the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and the
“birthday” of the Church is to think about what the Sacrament of
Confirmation means personally. What’s important about this
sacrament are not the details I asked for in today’s little quiz. No,
what’s important is how the sacrament changes us and makes it possible
for each of us to lead a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
Ask yourself the
following questions about what has happened since you were confirmed:
·
Has your Confirmation…deepened your search for and love of God in the messiness of
your daily life?
·
Has your Confirmation…stimulated you to pray each day by talking with God about
all of the messes and challenges confronting you as a disciple?
·
Has your Confirmation…taught you of your complete dependence upon God and God’s grace to overcome sin and eradicate its effects from your
life?
·
Has your Confirmation…shattered the confusion of Babel so that you can listen to
others with the “ears of the heart,” see others with the “eyes of God,”
and enact the miracle of forgiveness when you’ve been wronged or to seek
forgiveness when you’ve wronged others?
·
Has your Confirmation…led you to see your life and work as a ministry of
proclaiming the gospel to everyone you meet each day, whether it be your
spouse, kids, grandkids, neighbors, or coworkers?
In the Sacrament of
Confirmation—whether one is confirmed as a youngster, an adolescent, or
even as an adult—the Holy Spirit enters our lives…
…as a wind—portending the awesome spiritual change
that can transform our lives, if we but listen to that wind which
Abraham experienced as a gentle breeze and the apostles experienced as a
rush.
…as a tongue of fire—enlightening our minds with
knowledge, clarity of purpose, and conviction about what we must do to
be good Catholic people.
Many of us were
confirmed at a young age. From that moment, the Holy Spirit has been
present and active in our lives and oftentimes in very subtle ways.
Sadly, we haven’t always recognized how God is with us in the person of
the Holy Spirit. Pentecost Sunday is the day each year when we invite
the Holy Spirit to become a more powerful force in our daily lives by
enlightening us with wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude,
knowledge, piety, and awe as we stand in God’s presence.
These seven gifts,
so freely given—no matter what our age was when we were confirmed—enable
us to live a more spiritual—or “Spirit filled”—way of life. Responding
to these gifts in the messes and challenges in which we find ourselves
immersed each day is what will make it possible for us to bear
courageous witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to change the
course of history…as the Holy Spirit changes us into disciples.
For us, as people of faith, this is what constitutes a truly fulfilling
human existence.
The Solemnity of
Pentecost is the day we recall our need to become more consciously aware
of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. As the winds of
spiritual change buffet us and the tongues of fire sear into our souls,
we pray:
Come,
Holy Spirit come….
Give
them virtue’s sure reward;
Give
them your Salvation, Lord;
Give
them joys that never end.
Amen.
Alleluia!
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HOMILY
