Confirmation

WiseOldOwl

Hi all, my son did not make his communion as at that time I had a falling out with the Catholic Church.... we were non practicing and I felt it was hypocritical. Anyway, i’ve Since had a change of heart and he is in confirmation class this year. Could he make his confirmation without having received first holy communion?

One eyed Jack

WiseOldOwl wrote: »

Hi all, my son did not make his communion as at that time I had a falling out with the Catholic Church.... we were non practicing and I felt it was hypocritical. Anyway, i’ve Since had a change of heart and he is in confirmation class this year. Could he make his confirmation without having received first holy communion?

Quick answer is yes, he could. He could even make his Confirmation first and then receive First Holy Communion on the same day or at a later time.

The order is supposed to be as you suggest, and Pope Benedict floated the idea of a return to the original Latin order a couple of years back -


The order of the sacraments of initiation

18. In this regard, attention needs to be paid to the order of the sacraments of initiation. Different traditions exist within the Church. There is a clear variation between, on the one hand, the ecclesial customs of the East (50) and the practice of the West regarding the initiation of adults, (51) and, on the other hand, the procedure adopted for children. (52) Yet these variations are not properly of the dogmatic order, but are pastoral in character. Concretely, it needs to be seen which practice better enables the faithful to put the sacrament of the Eucharist at the centre, as the goal of the whole process of initiation. In close collaboration with the competent offices of the Roman Curia, Bishops' Conferences should examine the effectiveness of current approaches to Christian initiation, so that the faithful can be helped both to mature through the formation received in our communities and to give their lives an authentically eucharistic direction, so that they can offer a reason for the hope within them in a way suited to our times (cf. 1 Pet 3:15).


Sacramentum caritatis

Peregrinus

In principle there's no objection; when adults are received into the Catholic church the order of sacramants is baptism (if not already baptised); confirmation; first eucharist.

Raise this with them, rather than waiting for it to be raised. They will probably suggest that he make his first eucharist and his confirmation together. This is going to be much easier to organise and line up if it is addressed early on rather than at the last minute.

WiseOldOwl

Thanks for advice. I’m concerned priest might suggest communion on same day but that he’ll then be obliged to go the special first communion masses throughout the year. He won’t do that as he in 6th class now and he would find it Embarrassing. I’ll probably offer to prepare him myself and see how that goes.

Peregrinus wrote: »

In principle there's no objection; when adults are received into the Catholic church the order of sacramants is baptism (if not already baptised); confirmation; first eucharist.

Raise this with them, rather than waiting for it to be raised. They will probably suggest that he make his first eucharist and his confirmation together. This is going to be much easier to organise and line up if it is addressed early on rather than at the last minute.

Iscreamkone

WiseOldOwl wrote: »

Hi all, my son did not make his communion as at that time I had a falling out with the Catholic Church.... we were non practicing and I felt it was hypocritical. Anyway, i’ve Since had a change of heart and he is in confirmation class this year. Could he make his confirmation without having received first holy communion?

I'd love to hear more about the falling out and the subsequent change of heart.

Hotblack Desiato

What does your child want?

Most kids are fed up with religion by the time confirmation comes around and only do it for the money. I wouldn't have done it myself if I had a choice.

Peregrinus

WiseOldOwl wrote: »

Thanks for advice. I’m concerned priest might suggest communion on same day but that he’ll then be obliged to go the special first communion masses throughout the year. He won’t do that as he in 6th class now and he would find it Embarrassing. I’ll probably offer to prepare him myself and see how that goes.

They may be flexible on this. Couple of thoughts:

- Back during the falling out, did you withdraw him from Communion preparation entirely, or just from the event itself? If the latter, he may already have done a good deal of the preparation.

- You can certainly suggest to them that the preparation offered to the kids in 2nd Class would not be age-appropriate for him, and that something else is required. They may be happy to see his preparation as an adjunct to his confirmation preparation, rather than a separate process that he has to complete with the 2nd class kids. By all means offer to be involved in his preparation yourself.

Ultimately its a decision for the Parish Priest, who has to be happy that your son is properly prepared, so much depends on his attitude. But you'd think he'd welcome your reengagement, and your son's, and be keen to support it rather than putting obstacles in the way.

Cabaal

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

What does your child want?

Most kids are fed up with religion by the time confirmation comes around and only do it for the money. I wouldn't have done it myself if I had a choice.

Spot on, I was the same, 100% did it for the money. If I had the choice back then I wouldn't have bothered.

I think the child should have some input in this,