My Confirmation gave me the meaning of my being a soldier of Christ. A fulfilled Christian, a completed Christian. Even though I was complete at Baptism.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit were given to me, and I was ready to be a fulfilled Christian, with all the gifts God had given me, to be a committed Christian.
Although the post-Vatican II Roman Church continually refers to confirmation as a sacrament of initiation, it is not always celebrated that way. When confirmation is deferred from baptism to anywhere from seven to eighteen years, it is difficult to appreciate its status as an initiation rite as is so patently the case in the East. Although the Roman church calls confirmation an initiation rite in every situation, it does not express that reality very well.
Strangely, a confluence of theological thought on confirmation has materialized between Roman Catholicism and mainstream Protestantism. Although the impetus to celebrate confirmation as a rite of commitment for adolescents is fairly new to Catholic thought, it prevailed among theologians of the Reformation. Now the Protestant theology and the Catholic practice of confirmation have become similar. The Eastern rites have preserved a meaning of chrismation for which the West longs.
My Confirmation gave me the meaning of my being a soldier of Christ. A fulfilled Christian, a completed Christian. Even though I was complete at Baptism.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit were given to me, and I was ready to be a fulfilled Christian, with all the gifts God had given me, to be a committed Christian.
Just my understanding, of my Confirmation.
Sheila6325 1 year ago
Although the post-Vatican II Roman Church continually refers to confirmation as a sacrament of initiation, it is not always celebrated that way. When confirmation is deferred from baptism to anywhere from seven to eighteen years, it is difficult to appreciate its status as an initiation rite as is so patently the case in the East. Although the Roman church calls confirmation an initiation rite in every situation, it does not express that reality very well.
LiturgicalChants 2 years ago
Strangely, a confluence of theological thought on confirmation has materialized between Roman Catholicism and mainstream Protestantism. Although the impetus to celebrate confirmation as a rite of commitment for adolescents is fairly new to Catholic thought, it prevailed among theologians of the Reformation. Now the Protestant theology and the Catholic practice of confirmation have become similar. The Eastern rites have preserved a meaning of chrismation for which the West longs.
LiturgicalChants 2 years ago