Sacred congregation for divine worship. Revised order of confirmation.

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Part of Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas

Title: Sacred congregation for divine worship. Revised order of confirmation.
Language: English
Year: 1971
Rights
Fulltext: SACRED CONGREGATION FOR DIVINE WORSHIP THE REVISED ORDER OF CONFIRMATION I. DIGNITY OF CONFIRMATION 1. Those who have been baptized continue the path of Christian initiation through the sacrament of confirmation. In this sacrament they receive the Holy Spirit, who was sent upon the apostles by the Lord on the day of Pentecost. 2. This gift of the Holy Spirit conforms believers more perfectly to Christ and strengthens them so that they may bear witness to Christ for the building up of his body in faith and love. They arc so marked with the character or seal of the Lord that the sacrament of confirmation cannot be repeated. II. OFFICES AND MINISTRIES IN THE CELEBRATION OF CONFIRMATION 3. It is the responsibility of the people of God to prepare the baptized for the reception of the sacrament of confirmation. Pastors should see that all the baptized come to the fullness of Christian initiation and are therefore carefully prepared for confirmation. Adult catechumens, who are to be confirmed immediately after baptism, have the help of the Christian community and, in particular, the formation which is given to them during the catechumenate — in which catechists, sponsors, and members of the local church participate — catechesis. and common litur gical celebrations. The steps of the catechumenate will be appropriately adapted to those who, baptized in infancy, are confirmed as adults. REVISED ORDER OF CONFIRMATION 123 The initiation of children into the sacramental life is espe cially the responsibility and concern of Christian parents. They are to form and gradually increase a spirit of faith in the children and, with the help of catechetical institutions, prepare them for the fruitful reception of the sacraments of confirmation and the eucharist. The role of the parents is also expressed by their active participation in the celebration of the sacraments. 4. Attention should be paid to the festive and solemn char acter of the liturgical service, especially its significance for the local Church. It is appropriate for all the candidates to be assembled for a common celebration. The whole people of God, represented by the families and friends of the candidates and by members of the local community, will be invited to take part in the celebration and will express its faith in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 5. Ordinarily there should be a sponsor for each of those to be confirmed. The sponsor brings the candidate to receive the s-'c>ament. presents him to the minister for anointing, and will later help him to fulfill his baptismal promises faith fully under the influence of the Holy Spirit. In view of contemporary pastoral circumstances, it is desirable that the godparent at baptism, if present, also be the sponsor at confirmation; canon 786, 1, is abrogated. This change expresses more clearly the relationship between bap tism and confirmation and also makes the duty and function of the sponsor more effective. Nonetheless the choice of a special sponsor for confirma tion is not excluded. Even the parents themselves may present their children for confirmation. It is.the responsibility of the local Ordinary to determine diocesan practice in the light of local circumstances. 6. Pastors will see that the sponsor, chosen by the candi date or his family, is spiritually qualified for the office and satisfies these requirements: a) that he is sufficiently mature for this role; b) that he belongs to the Catholic Church and has been initiated in the three sacraments of baptism, confir mation, and the eucharist; c) that he is not prohibited by law from exercising the role of sponsor. 124 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS 7. The original minister of confirmation is the bishop. Ordinarily the sacrament is adminsitered by the bishop so that there will be a more evident relationship to the first pouring forth of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. After they were filled with the Holy Spirit, the apostles themselves gave the Spirit to the faithful through the laying on of their hands. In this way the reception of the Spirit through the ministry of the bishop shows the close bond which joins the confirmed to the Church and the mandate of Christ to be witnesses among men. In addition to the bishop, the law gives the faculty to con firm to the following: a) apostolic administrators who are not bishops, prelates or abbots nullius, vicars and prefects apostolic, vicars capitular, within the limits of their territory and while they are in office; b) priests who, in virtue of an office which they lawfully hold, baptize an adult or a child old enough for catechesis, or admit a validly baptized adult into full communion with the Church; c) in danger of death, provided a bishop is not easily available or is lawfully impeded: pastors and parochial vicars; in their absence, their parochial associates; priests who are in charge of special parishes lawfully established; administrators; substitutes; and assis tants.1 In the absence of all of the preceding, any priest who is not subject to censure or canonical penalty. 1 Cf. canons 451, 471, 476, 216, §4, 472, 474, 475. 2 Cf. canon 217, §1. 8. In case of true necessity and special reason, for example, the large number of persons to be confirmed, the minister of confirmation mentioned in no. 7 or the extraordinary minister designated by special indult of the Anostolic See or by law may associate other priests with himself in the administration of this sacrament. It is required that these priests: a) have a particular function or office in the diocese, namely, vicars general, episcopal vicars or delegates, district or regional vicars,1 2 or those who by mandate REVISED ORDER OF CONFIRMATION 125 of the Ordinary are considered to have equivalent offices; b) the pastors of the places where confirmation is con ferred, pastors of the places where the candidates belong, or priests who have taken a special part in the catechetical preparation of the candidates. III. CELEBRATION OF THE SACRAMENT 9. The sacrament of confirmation is conferred through the anointing with chrism on the forehead, which is done by the imposition of the hand, and through the words: Receive the seal of the Holy Spirit, the Gift of the Father. Even though the imposition of hands upon the candidates with the prayer All-powerful God, does not pertain to the valid conferral of ths sacrament, it is to be strongly emphasized for the integrity of the rite and the fuller understanding of the sacrament. Priests who are associated with the principal minister in conferring the sacrament join him in imposing their hands upon all the candidates together, but they do not say the prayer. The whole rite, has a two-fold meaning. The imposition of hands upon the candidates by the bishop and the concelebrating priests expresses the biblical gesture by which the gift of the Holy Spirit is invoked and in this way is well adapted to the understanding of the Christian people. The anointing with chrism and the accompanying words express clearly the effects of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Signed with the perfumed oil by the bishop’s hand, the baptized person re ceives the indelible character, the seal of the Lord, together with the gift of the Spirit, which conforms him more closely to Christ and gives him the grace of spreading the Lord’s presence among men. 10. The chrism is consecrated by the bishon in the Mass which is ordinarily celebrated on Holy Thursday for this purpose. 11. Adult catechumens and children who are baptized at an age when they can be catechized should ordinarily be admitted to confirmation and the eucharist at the same time they receive baptism. If this is impossible, they should receive confirma tion in a common celebration (cf. no. 4). Similarly, adults who 126 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS are baptized in infancy should, after suitable preparation, re ceive confirmation and the eucharist in a common celebration. With regard to children, in the Latin Church the adminis tration of confirmation is generally postponed until about the seventh year. For pastoral reasons, however, especially to strengthen in the life of the faithful complete obedience to Christ the Lord in loyal testimony to him, episcopal conferences may choose an age which appears more appropriate, so that the sacrament is conferred after appropriate formation at a more mature age. In this case there should be the necessary concern that children be confirmed at the proper time, even before the use of reason, where there is danger of death or other serious difficulty. They should not be deprived of the benefit of this sacrament. 12. One must be baptized to receive the sacrament of con firmation. In addition, if the baptized person has the use of reason, it is required that he be in a state of grace, properly instructed, and able to renew his baptismal promises. It is the responsibility of the episcopal conferences to determine more precisely the pastoral means for the prepara tion of children for confirmation. With regard to adults, the same principles should be fol lowed, with suitable adaptations, which are in effect in individual dioceses for the admission of catechumens to bap tism and the eucharist. In particular, suitable catechesis should precede confirmation. The relationship of candidates with the Christian community and with individual members of the faith ful should be sufficiently effective to assist them in their formation. This should be directed toward their giving the witness of a Christian life and exercising the Christian anostolate. while developing a genuine desire to participate in the eucharist (cf. Introduction to the Christian Initiation of Adults, no. 19). It sometimes happens that the preparation of a baptized adult for confirmation is part of his preparation for marriage. In such cases, if it is foreseen that the conditions for a fruitful recention of confirmation will not be satisfied, the local Ordi nary will judge whether it is better to defer confirmation until after the marriage. REVISED ORDER OF CONFIRMATION 127 If one who has the use of reason is confirmed in danger of death, he should be prepared spiritually, so far as possible, depending upon the circumstances of the individual case. 13. Ordinarily confirmation takes place within Mass in order to express more clearly the fundamental connection of this sacrament with the entirety cf Christian initiation. The latter reaches its culmination in the communion of the body and blood of Christ. Therefore the newly-confirmed should par ticipate in the eucharist which completes their Christian initiation. If the candidates for confirmation are children who have not received the eucharist and are not admitted to their first communion at this liturgical celebration or in other special circumstances, confirmation is celebrated cutside Mass. When this occurs, there should first be a celebration of the word of God. It is fitting that the minister of confirmation celebrate the Mass, or better concelebrate the Mass, especially with the priests who may join him in the administration of the sacra ment. If the Mass is celebrated by someone else, it is proper that the bishop preside over the liturgy of the word and that he give the blessing at the end of Mass. Emphasis should be given to the celebration of the word of God which begins the rite of confirmation. It is from the hearing of the word of Good that the diverse activity of the Holy Spirit flows upon the Church and upon each one of the baptized and the confirmed and it is by this word that God’s will is manifest in the life of Christians. The recitation of the Lord’s Prayer by the newly-confirmed with the rest of the people is also of very great importance whe ther during Mass before Communion or cutside Mass before the blessing, because it is the Spirit who prays in us, and the Christian in the Spirit says: Abba, Father. 14. The pastor should record the names of the minister, those confirmed, parents and sponsors, the date and place of con firmation in a special book, in addition to the notation in the baptismal register, which is made according to law. 128 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS 15. If the pastor of the newly-confirmed is not present, the minister should promptly inform him of the confirmation either personally or through a representative. IV. ADAPTATIONS IN THE RITE OF CONFIRMATION 16. In virtue of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (art. 63b), episcopal conferences have the right to prepare a title in particular rituals corresponding to this title of the Roman Pontifical on confirmation. This is to be adapted to the needs of individual regions so that, after confirmation of their action by the Apostolic See, the ritual may be used in their territory.3 17. The episcopal conference will consider whether in view of local circumstances and the culture and traditions of the people it is opportune: 8 Cf. Rite of the Baptism of Children (1969), General Instruction on Christian Initiation, nos. 30-33. a) to make suitable adaptations of the formulas for the renewal of baptismal promises and professions, either following the text in the order of baptism or accom modating these formulas to the circumstances of the candidates for confirmation; b) to introduce a different manner for the minister to give the sign of peace after the anointing, either to the individuals or to all the newly-confirmed to gether. 18. The minister of confirmation may introduce some com ments into the rite in individual cases and in view of the nature of the candidates for confirmation. He may also make appro priate accommodations in the existing texts, for example, by expressing these in a kind of dialogue, especially with children. When confirmation is given by a minister who is not a bishop, whether by concession of the general law or by special indult of the Apostolic See, he should mention in the homily that the bishop is the original minister of the sacrament. He should explain why priests receive the faculty to confirm from the law or by an indult of the Apostolic See. REVISED ORDER OF CONFIRMATION 129 V. PREPARATIONS 19. The following should be prepared for confirmation: a) vestment for the celebration of Mass, for the bishop and for the priests who assist him and who concelebrate the Mass with him; if the bishop does not celebrate the Mass, the minister and the priests who assist him should participate in the Mass wearing the vestments for confirmation: alb, stole, and, for the minister of confirmation, cope; these vestments are also worn for confirmation outside Mass; b) chair for the bishop and the priests who assist him; c) vessel (or vessels) of chrism; d) Roman Pontifical or Ritual; e) preparations for Mass and for communion under both kinds, if not it is given in this way. f) preparations for the washing of the ministers’ hands after the anointing. ARE WE CHRIST'S INSTRUMENTS? "If I had a pencil and wanted that pencil to write "God” it would be responsive to me. It would be a supple instrument in my hand to my will. It would be flexible. Suppose, however, that the pencil had a consciousness of its own and when I wanted to write “God”, it wrote "dog". It would be a useless pencil. The reason why we are losing our effectiveness in the world is that the people are not seeing that we are Christ’s instruments. And they know it. They know it by our actions, by our dress, by our talk. The instinct of the laity about us priests is infallible. Any individual judgement of a lay person may be awry; but the corporate judgement is right. They know us. And they want us right... This is why we must spend at least one hour a day in meditation — at least, an absolute minimum.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen