I went to Fishwrap (aka National Sodomitic Reporter) to see if there were any spittle-flecked nutties about Harrison Butker. They didn’t disappoint, which is itself a disappointment.
I found an opinion piece stating that bishops should not quiz confirmands about any fundamentals of the Catholic Faith. You know, old, backward stuff like, “What is a sacrament?” and “Who are the three persons of the Trinity?”.
You laugh. Don’t. I was in a midwestern suburban parish and I was given the chore of checking on the preparation of confirmands. These were, essentially middle school and high school kids. The results were terrifying. Worse was the 1st Communion prep, which elicited a response from a boy about the Eucharist: “You mean that piece of bread thing?”
At Fishwrap, Confirmation seems to be about feeling good.
It is a liturgy, a moment in which we ask the Holy Spirit to come down and fill the hearts of the confirmands. Creating a situation which causes them to enter in with anxiety or worse undermines their ability to experience that.
Construing confirmation as a kind of culminating exam also demeans all of the prior work that the confirmands have done.
The old formula “fill the hearts of your faithful” is the from the Veni, Sancte Spiritus, which has unfathomably rich vocabulary – in Latin – when properly understood. In the antiphon and the oration the Latin word for “heart” is used twice, especially in “light” (illusratio) of the rational soul (recta sapere). We ask the the hearts (minds, intellect which under the operation of the will seeks to understand and, in knowing and understanding, seeks the more in love and be in the union of peace with the beloved) be enflamed with the Spirit, which is the Spirit of Love and of Truth (which has content).
Also, these days there is great interest in doing things the way that ancient Christians did, provided that it doesn’t involve anything “traditional”. Hence, those being prepared for sacraments have to jump through lots of hoopy stages and endure being sent out during Mass etc. Never mind that in ancient times there were exorcisms and scrutinies. Yes, they were expected to know something.
When I was brought into the Church, I was expected to know things. And I did. When I was ordained, I was expected to know things, and I was grilled by various Roman profs on many theses we had to prepare. It is reasonable to expect that we know the Faith. You can’t love what you don’t know. You can’t pass on what you don’t know either. As my old pastor used to say: Nemo dat quod non ‘got’!
When I was brought into the Church, the old pastor delayed confirming me because he thought it would be better for me to be confirmed by a bishop, in this case a former pastor of the same parish who had retired from being the first bishop of New Ulm, a lovely man, Bp. Alphonse Schladweiler. He quizzed me, a little, and slapped me too, and rightly so.
Anyway, there is a funny story about old Schlady and a confirmation during which he quizzed. At a confirmation he once said, in his booming voice, “Now children, the bishop has been asking you questions. Do have any questions for the bishop?” Always dangerous. One lad piped up, “What’s a Monsignor?” The priest at the place was a Monsignor. Without missing a beat the old bishop said “Why, sonny, a Monsignor is the cross that hangs around the bishop’s neck!”
There’s a lot more to say about Confirmation and about Monsignors.
Were you quizzed? Were you slapped? Do you have recollections of your Confirmation?
Meanwhile, check out this prayer. HERE