There are seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church which are essential for salvation and living the life that Christ intended us to live. In Ireland, the Catholic bishops have decided that the Sacrament should usually be administered to sixth class pupils. It is not achieved at a single moment but throughout the life-long deepening of our intimacy with Christ.”Elsewhere in the United States, many dioceses have moved Confirmation from sixteen years of age to twelve to thirteen years of age, chiefly because once having left their Catholic primary schools to go to state high schools many baptised Catholics (in some dioceses more than half) were not being confirmed.Whatever about the theological arguments, it is unlikely that there will be any change in the age for confirmation for Irish Catholics in the near future.Bishop Flynn told The Word: “I would be in favour of current practice until such time as any of the other approaches were more attractive and I am not too sure that they are.
The Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick, Michael Mayes, for instance, says his personal preference would be to have confirmation in the late teens or early twenties as “one of its essential features is an opportunity for public affirmation”.But those who argue for Confirmation before First Communion, at the age of seven, come from a theological viewpoint that sees the sacrament as one of initiation. #1 Blessings to you on your First Communion. It is an extremely important event in a Catholic family’s life and is marked with celebrations, family gatherings and festive parties as well as gift-giving and special white clothes. Confirmation and First Communion Mass, live broadcast from Prince of Peace Catholic Parish Hide chat Show chat Autoplay When autoplay is enabled, a … This changed in 1910 when Pope Pius X (now Saint Pius X) lowered the age for receiving First Communion to the age of reason, reckoned to be about seven years of age.In Ireland, and in many other parts of the world, this decree appears to have caused First Communion to leap-frog ahead of Confirmation. Here is a list of 50 first communion card messages and quotes to let them know how proud of them you are for their commitment to Christ. There is no debate about these issues in the Eastern rite Churches, because they administer all three sacraments to infants in one ceremony, with the babe in arms being provided with communion by the priest dipping his finger in his chalice and then placing his moistened finger in the child’s mouth.Until the 12th century, it was also the practice in the Roman Catholic Church to give First Holy Communion to infants in the form of wine, but by the time of the Renaissance most Roman Catholics did not receive First Holy Communion until the start of adolescence, when they were about eleven years of age. I am receiving Baptism, Confirmation, and First Communion this Saturday. Two synodsheld in England during the thirteenth century differed over whether confirmation had to be administered within one year after birth, or within three years.
As Bishop Thomas Flynn told One of the outstanding features of First Communion for Catholics in Ireland is the white dresses and veils worn by girls on their special day. Through receiving the body and blood of Jesus Christ for the first time, may you feel your union with Jesus today and every day as you live a life of faith dedicated to Him. For Irish Catholics, First Communion is a major ceremony that takes place in second class, when communicants are usually aged between seven and eight, and Confirmation takes place in sixth class, when pupils are aged around thirteen. A First Communion is the first event in a child's life that will bring them closer to the world of religion, a moment in which a child is introduced to Christianity and will have their first sacrament.Not everyone has grown up with Christianity or even has any interest in it for ourselves. I know it is lovely to be able to dress up your children, particularly when it’s a little girl in a pretty white dress, but I do wish we could come back a little from all the expense and concentrate more on the sacrament.”At least in Ireland, while the boys’ First Communion clothes are expensive enough, they are not as elaborate as those worn by most girls.