Background to the Policy
In recent years the practice of receiving Eucharist prior to Confirmation has been under review for many reasons. In dioceses around the world bishops, priests, teachers and parents have found that this practice had not been the only way of celebrating first Eucharist and Confirmation. The renewal movements in the Church deepened our appreciation and understanding of the history, theology and liturgy of the sacraments.
A Diocesan Team has undertaken extensive research and dialogue to rediscover the place of the sacrament of Confirmation in the initiation process. The Bishop invites all in the diocese to participate in further study and promotion of this policy and following guidelines.
Renewal and research have enabled us to rediscover the importance of the Eucharist and lay ministry in the daily lives of the people. Today Catholics are receiving the Eucharist more regularly and are more actively participating in a variety of ministries at the Sunday Liturgy and in parish life. A shift in the presentation of religious education is enabling the Church to better prepare children for the sacraments and to catechise them in the ways of faith throughout their entire lives. The role of the family and the entire parish community are essential to this process of Religious Education.
This booklet aims to explain the purposes for the changes to sacramental preparation and celebrations and how these changes are to be best achieved. It provides a means to study and discuss the significance of one's own Baptism into the life of Christ and his Church. With greater appreciation of the gifts of the sacraments, we may better live out our own faith and better form our children in the faith.
The Sacraments of Initiation
The Catholic Church has been entrusted with seven sacraments which are seven unique actions and prayer, signs and means of celebrating Christ's saving power and love for his people. Three of these sacraments are called Sacraments of Initiation.
Baptism is the beginning of the sacramental life for Christians. Through Baptism they enter the life of Christ and become members of his Church and come to participate in its liturgy, are open to receive the other sacraments and enjoy other activities and rights within the Body of Christ.
Confirmation which originally accompanied Baptism in the one celebration is the second sacrament of initiation. It more fully conforms the Christians in the life of Christ through the gift of the Holy Spirit first received in Baptism. It strengthens them in faith and life of the Church and prepares them for the Eucharist.
The Eucharist is the third sacrament of initiation and completes the initiation process. Christians now express the fullness of belonging to the body of Christ, the Church, by receiving the Body of Christ in communion with the whole Church.
It is a long established tradition since the second century that infants from Christian families are baptised shortly after birth. Children from their earliest moments are welcomed into the family of God and grow in faith amid the Church community. By their own faith commitment and awareness of the Gospel call parents choose to bring their children to the sacraments of initiation.
These sacraments gain purpose for children because of the faith expressed by parents. After Initiation the parents in conjunction with the parish take the responsibility to provide for the children's continual formation in the faith.
Children are ready to receive the third sacrament of initiation, the Holy Eucharist, when they have sufficient ability to appreciate the Eucharist and distinguish it from other food.
The Church never intended Confirmation to be a sacrament realising Christian commitment or maturity. Only recently when children received Confirmation at about the age of 12 was it inadvertently presented as a sacrament of Christian maturity.
The ongoing sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation continually challenge the young Christian to accept Christ's love and forgiveness. In the sacraments of Holy Orders and Marriage, Christians express their commitment to various ways of Christian life and ministry. Active participation in the Church's liturgical and social ministries and services are ways to maturely fulfil many Christian commitments and vocations arising from the Sacraments of Initiation.
The Policy for the Diocese of Sandhurst
Sequence, Unity and Age:
1. The sequence of the reception of the sacraments of initiation for children and adults in the Diocese of Sandhurst is: Baptism, Confirmation and first Eucharist.
2. The close relation between each of the initiation sacraments is expressed by their reception as far as possible in a unified celebration.
3. The age of Baptism continues according to Tradition and the age for Confirmation and first Eucharist is to be around the age of discretion (about 7-8 years old).
Formation in faith:4. The parents are the first ones to form their children in the ways of faith.
5. Preparation for the sacraments of initiation is directed primarily to the parents and families of the children. Parents need to receive formation, encouragement and assistance from the parish and the school.
6. The development of faith in children should be appropriate to their age and abilities and continue throughout their lives.
Celebration of the Sacraments:
7. The time for the celebration of Confirmation and first Eucharist is in accord with the proper age of the children and the liturgical year and the life of the parish.
8. The Bishop oversees the sacramental life of his people. The Bishop and priests may celebrate Baptisms, Confirmations and first Eucharist.
9. The Bishop's annual visitation may include a rite of presentation of the neophytes in the RCIA and the fully initiated children of that year.
Reconciliation
10. At present the sacramental celebration of penance (reconciliation) must precede first Eucharist in a way suited for young children.
These guidelines will be phased in over a few years and fully implemented by the end of 1995. Children who have already received first Eucharist should be prepared for receiving Confirmation as soon as practicable.
Guidelines and Implications of the Policy
SEQUENCE, UNITY AND AGE:
1 Sequence of the reception of the sacraments of initiation for children and adults in the Diocese of Sandhurst is: Baptism, Confirmation and first Eucharist.
The traditional order of the sacraments of initiation for over 1800 years was: firstly Baptism, followed by Confirmation and culmination in first Eucharist.
Confirmation which up till now was celebrated around the age of twelve will be moved to a place before first Eucharist, thus restoring the sequence that had been practiced for a long time. Confirmation is rightly placed as the second sacrament of initiation.
2 The close relation between each of the initiation sacraments is expressed by their reception as far as possible in a unified celebration.
So that the close connection between the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist is maintained, two sacraments will normally be administered in the one celebration. Thus Confirmation would more clearly show that it leads towards the Eucharist. When children are ready to receive the Eucharist for the first time, they will be confirmed in the same Mass of their first Communion.
3 The age of Baptism continues according to Tradition and the age for Confirmation and first Eucharist is to be around the age of discretion (about 7-8 years old).
Infants from Christian families should be baptised and welcomed into the Church within their earliest days. The other sacraments of initiation are not unduly delayed so that every member may continue to grow and be nourished in the life and love of the Christ and his Church.
So that children may have sufficient ability to appreciate the Eucharist, reception is delayed to about the age of seven. When children have a love and yearning for the Eucharist, first Communion should not be delayed beyond the age of eight.
Initiation sacraments for children are not sacraments of commitment but rather sacraments of beginning and belonging. Each child approaches these sacraments according to their ability and with the hope of growing in faith, commitment and wisdom in the years ahead. They signify a beginning in the live of the Church; a beginning in the formal process of catechesis and participation in the liturgy; and a beginning of an understanding of the gifts the Holy Spirit.
FORMATION IN FAITH:
4 The parents are the first ones to form their children in the ways of faith.
The role of the parents is vitally important. They choose to bring their child to the Church for Baptism and nurture the family and faith life through loving care and faithful example. While Catholic school teachers and parish catechists may teach about the faith in a Christian atmosphere the enduring faith formation are in the hands and hearts of the parents at home and Sunday Mass.
5 Preparation for the sacraments of initiation is directed primarily to the parents and families of the children. Parents need to receive appropriate formation, encouragement and assistance from the parish and the school.
Parents, rather than children, need to receive the greater catechesis and support in the preparation process. Taking the age and ability of the children, parents have greater influence fostering a sense of belonging to the family of God with their children.
Parishes firmly need to direct the emphasis and time commitment of sacramental preparation towards the parents. While parents participate in pre-sacramental preparation with their children, the newly confirmed and first communicants begin a life long post-celebration catechesis.
Parents, as with baptism preparation, should approach the Parish to arrange preparation for Confirmation and Eucharist. By enrolling their children into preparation classes through the parish rather than through the school, parishes take an active role in sacramental preparation and celebration. Parents and children begin to identify the life of faith with the parish throughout their lives.
6 The development of faith in children should be appropriate to their age and abilities and continue throughout their lives.
Children require some preparation. The Church only asks that children need to acquire a minimum knowledge to benefit from the celebration of the Eucharist. They should develop a sense of wonder and awe of God and belonging to the Church through family and parish celebrations; an appreciation that God loves them and forgives them and to distinguish between ordinary food and eucharistic food. Children must be familiar with prayer and liturgy through regular experiences in the parish, the home and the classroom. The Parish and Catholic School share the responsibility in catechesis and education in faith through the children's formative years.
CELEBRATION OF THE SACRAMENTS:
7 The time for the celebration of Confirmation and first Eucharist is in accord with the proper age of the children and the liturgical year and the life of the parish.
Many aspects of the Christian life are celebrated in the context of the local Christian community when it gathers for liturgy. The liturgical year with a variety of seasons and feasts provides a framework for the parish to celebrate significant movements. Lent is a time of preparation for initiation and reconciliation, Easter is a time for the celebration of initiation. Adult Initiation, Baptisms, Confirmations and first Eucharist should be celebrated as much as possible from Easter Vigil to Pentecost Sunday. This emphasises the close relationship between the sacraments and the paschal mystery of Christ's death and resurrection.
As Sunday is the day of Christian gathering, Confirmation and first Eucharist should be celebrated within one or more Sunday parish Masses during the season. In rural parishes governed by pastoral and agricultural activities more suitable times may be selected so that as many parishioners as possible are able participate.
8 The Bishop oversees the sacramental life of his people. The Bishop and priests may celebrate Baptisms, Confirmations and first Eucharist.
The Bishop is the principal celebrant of the sacraments in the Diocese. It is important that he celebrates from time to time the sacraments throughout the diocese. He especially celebrates the sacraments of initiation which, among many aspects, symbolises the belonging to, and the unity of the local Church under his leadership.
The Bishop may delegate local priests to confirm and celebrate first Eucharist so that these sacraments may be celebrated at the most appropriate times for individual parishes. The Bishop cannot minister to all, he entrusts the pastoral and sacramental care of his people to priests who, in unity with him, regularly celebrate the sacraments of initiation in the local parish.
9 The Bishop's annual visitation may include a rite of presentation of the neophytes in the RCIA and the fully initiated children of that year.
Since the Bishop would not celebrate the sacraments of initiation in every parish each year. Parish visitations would provide opportunities to celebrate a wide variety of pastoral and sacramental events. A simple rite of presentation of newly initiated adults and children may be included in a parish Sunday Mass. In this way new members will meet the Bishop liturgically and his visits will not be dominated by a specific celebration each year.
RECONCILIATION:
10 At present the sacramental celebration of penance (reconciliation) must precede first Eucharist in a way suited for young children.
The sacrament of penance, known as reconciliation, is not a sacrament of initiation. Reconciliation is a sacrament for the fully initiated as a means of forgiveness after Baptism and for continual conversion. Therefore it is not included as an integral part of these guidelines.
However, current Church law requires that children receive sacramental reconciliation prior to first Eucharist. The second form of the rite of reconciliation best meets the needs and abilities of young children. Its liturgy emphasises the communal dimension of forgiveness and the generous mercy of God. Noting that the Church's law also does not require detailed list of sins by young children, the rite should be appropriately adapted along liturgical and pedagogical norms.
Consequently the period of preparation need only be a few weeks and the interval prior to Confirmation-Eucharist need only be a few months. The season of Lent would be an appropriate time for such celebrations with the parish community.
Later when young Christians have a greater sense of conversion of life and reach the maturity to appreciate confession, dialogue and counsel they should be prepared for the first form of the rite. While this could be any year after the celebrations of sacramental initiation children should be prepared before leaving primary school. The Religious Education Team is preparing material for preparation and celebration of reconciliation for young children. A proper theology and history of the sacrament of penance need timely presentation throughout the diocese.
