Catholics taking the "Pledge" for confimation

flanum

Following on from the "confession" thread, I remember taking the "Pledge" for my confirmation (pledging to not drink alcohol until 18). it was a choice thing. we even got certificates and badges. I remember when I was about 13 and I had a bad flu, my mother making me a hot toddy with lemsip and poitin and me being pissed off because it would be me breaking the pledge! I remember it being ok though if you went to confession and they would reinstate the pledge to you!! I actually lasted tuntil I was 16!! is it a nationwide thing - the pledge? does it still go on?

edit to add... im 44 yrs old, sitting here just polishing off my 2nd bottle wine at 6:30am .. home alone on a sat nite/sun morning...

Phill Ewinn

Home alone - polishing your eh... wine

_Redzer_

I didn't last long. I remember at the dinner after it my sister gave me some of her Smirnoff ice.

Meh. I knew the whole lot was bollocks anyway so I didn't care.

Toots

In my school we got to choose what age we would 'pledge' until. I set the bar low - pledged until 14.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

I didn't take it because I had no intention of keeping it.


It's very typical of Ireland's attitude towards Catholicism these days really-do it because everyone else does but don't take it seriously or stick to it in any way.

suicide_circus

I refused to take it. the other magic spells were harmless but that was a step too far.

Sunnyisland

Took the pledge all right but like a lot of things the church taught they went straight over my head, It's funny and maybe for me a bit nostalgic thinking of them days, it seems we were all so innocent.

Sunnyisland

Is it still done today ?

MRnotlob606

i took it till i was 18

SilverScreen

I took it when I was 12. At 15 I was drinking cider in a field. Good times

Cabaal

Refused to take the pledge, I was only one in my class that refused to sign up to the nonsense and I got grief from the teacher for it.

Still didn't drink till I was around 18, growing up in a pub will change your outlook on people drinking far more then some pointless pledge.

eviltimeban

Still better than one of those chastity rings they make American kids wear.

Like everything to do with that stupid religion, people just did it cos it was the thing that was done, no one gave a blind bit of notice to what it meant.

Except I did feel the power of the holy spirit fill my very being when I was confirmed.

Micky Dolenz

Woah, hang on a sec OP. at 630 you were only finishing of your 2nd bottle? What the feck were you doing all night?

WilyCoyote

Gave into temptation before my teens as I discovered the buzz from Altar wine - nicked from the sacristy after serving Mass. This early discovery gave me an appreciation for fermented grape juice that I hold 'til today

WilyCoyote

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

Woah, hang on a sec OP. at 630 you were only finishing of your 2nd bottle? What the feck were you doing all night?

Afters?

Legs.Eleven

Yeah, took it because I could hardly say no in front of my parents. Drank a year later.

Toto Wolfcastle

Took it and didn't drink until I was 18, although that was down to a lack of interest in drinking more than anything.

P_1

Like many of the 'appease the mammy' things related to religion I did do it. Naturally a few years later I was spending weekend evenings in a field/on a beach breaking it.

ZzubZzub

Made the pledge. At my confirmation dinner, not 2 hours later, my mammy gave me a wine with 7 up.

Sir Osis of Liver.

Didn't take it.
A few of us bought cans of Stag later that evening with our confirmation money to celebrate.
Still supping away nearly 30 years later.:)

MJ23

Sir Osis of Liver. wrote: »

Didn't take it.
A few of us bought cans of Stag later that evening with our confirmation money to celebrate.
Still supping away nearly 30 years later.:)

Same as that lad.

humbert

Very typical Catholic ceremony. Commit to something before you understand to it. I too took it and broke it.

I love how quickly someone's managed to use it to bash the whole country. I think we should have our own Godwin. If a thread reaches one page someone will have used the topic to cast a negative slant on Ireland.

whatdoicare

I took the pledge but I was one of those kids permanently wired into another channel so I actually didn't know what it was, as I hadn't been listening. So I just thought it was a pretty badge.

Didn't realise until my youngest brother was giving out about himself taking the pledge what it was. I was in my early twenties at the time. Oh well.

Mr. CooL ICE

Took the pledge. Didn't want to, but despite being told it was a choice, our christian brother principal threatened everyone with detention unless they took it

languagenerd

I was the only one in my class not to take the pledge - and now, 11 years later, I'm the only non-drinker! :pac:

Zaph

It wasn't really an optional extra when I made my confirmation (1979), everyone was expected to take it and did. Didn't drink myself until I was 16, but it wasn't the pledge that stopped me, more a lack of interest and/or opportunity.

Inventive User Name

Took the pledge and kept it, never had any interest in drinking. Almost 22 now and I still have the same attitude (not for religious reasons btw).

Sky King

I always thought it was something to do with furniture polish.

ianobrien

I didn't take the pledge and as I was the only one in the class that didn't take it I got loads of grief from the teacher and others. My logic was that I had no intention of signing up to something that had no logic or bearing on my life. That being said, it was a country school so it was a minor scandal at the time.

My parents thankfully were quite open about it (The Father always said if you're going to drink, be man enough to do it in front of your parents, not sneaking at the back of the shed). The irony is that I'm in my late 30's now and I never drank.........

Ruu

We didnt need to sign anything,no badges or certifcates either. We just had to pledge to ourselves at Confirmation day. Ripped off!

Talib Fiasco

Yeah we all took the pledge until 16...broke it about two weeks later at one of the lads older brothers's 18th. I still have the badge and all that somewhere. Always reminds me of a badge you could make in the old Fifa games.

J_E

There was no urgency or anything placed on it so I didn't take it as I never really had a choice, still, I didn't drink until I was about 19 anyway.

Bit stupid having it at all to be honest. I'd also cringe when people called me a pioneer, what a silly word for it! I just wasn't interested in drinking, that was it.

Míshásta

Took the pledge many many decades ago. Didn't drink till I was 19 - but teenage drinking wasn't as prevalent then.

I think the pledge may have had some merit when people took their religion a bit more seriously.

Ye're all having a laugh about quaffing cider in the bushes when you were 15 - but statistics prove that you're much more likely to develop a serious drink problem if you drink at that age.

I did a fair bit of drinking myself once upon a time, so I can't be preaching, but we've a serious problem with alcohol in this part of the world.

homeless student

you are far better off having a few drinks in your teens, than waiting until your 18, most people I know who didn't drink until they were 18 have serious drinking problems now.

J_E

homeless student wrote: »

you are far better off having a few drinks in your teens, than waiting until your 18, most people I know who didn't drink until they were 18 have serious drinking problems now.

Depends how you do it. Consensus seems to be that having the odd glass of wine with family gives children a more balanced view on alcohol than knacker drinking in a field, it's a lot more controlled too. Everyone has their own personal experiences to account for though so it's not a one size fits all guide.

eviltimeban

Cydoniac wrote: »

Depends how you do it. Consensus seems to be that having the odd glass of wine with family gives children a more balanced view on alcohol than knacker drinking in a field, it's a lot more controlled too. Everyone has their own personal experiences to account for though so it's not a one size fits all guide.

You're forgetting that knacker drinking in a field with all your mates is a f*ckin' great laugh.

But yes, you are probably right. Still, those who were destined to have drink problems were always harder to spot at that age as everyone was on the p*ss.

gobnaitolunacy

Sky King wrote: »

I always thought it was something to do with furniture polish.

Solvent abuse?

jimgoose

In my day you were inducted into the "Pioneers", with a little pin-badge an' all. I was half-way across Oklahoma in my covered wagon before it dawned on me that it had something to do with not boozing.

Satriale

my auld fella gave me a slug of his pint in the pub an hour later...

tdv123

Pledges mean nothing in Ireland. Our TD's took a pledge to defend the Republic no matter what, we know how that turned out.

Mint Aero

Everyone in my school including myself was a lemming. I don't remember having any thoughts about the pledge other than just doing what I was told like everyone else. I never gave it another moments thought. I was atheist anyway. Broke it at 14 I'd say. Wasn't on my mind, I was too busy drinking and enjoying myself.

LordSutch

Mr Sheen is much better.

IvyTheTerrible

I took it, and kept it til about 6 months before I was 18.

I never drank to excess anyway.

Applause

I took the pledge because I already knew that I wouldn't smoke/drink/whatever else was on there, it wasn't a religious thing at all, but I was only 11 at the time, it felt nice to actually make a pledge rather than just doing it without recognition. I just had my first drink last summer at the ripe old age of 20. :pac:

DeVore

In math class we were taught about Occam's Razor. I applied it to the "virgin birth" and what the most likely causes were.

Didnt have to go back to religion class after that one... :eek:

LordSutch

DeVore wrote: »

In math class we were taught about Occam's Razor. I applied it to the "virgin birth" and what the most likely causes were.

Didnt have to go back to religion class after that one... :eek:

Preferred RE class to Maths class anyday. The maths teacher was a real little Hitler if ever there was. RE on the other hand was very thought provoking and contradictory re science & history, although to give our RE teacher his credit he did say that 80% of the old testament was to be taken with a pinch of salt. Parables dear boy, parables he used to say.

Galwayguy35

I took the pledge till 21, didn't keep it though unfortunately.

I was a borderline alcoholic at one point, never had a great relationship with the booze.