4.The rituals in the celebration of Confirmation strengthen our commitment as baptised
Christians
Students will learn:
- about the rituals in the sacrament of Confirmation
- to explore these rituals in the light of sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the Church
- about the structure of the Rite of Confirmation
- to explore the creed and baptismal promises as the core belief statements of our faith
Usually the Sacrament of Confirmation is administered within the celebration of the Eucharist. This highlights their relationship as sacraments of initiation. The candidates and the community, renew their baptismal promises, linking the sacrament to Baptism. Hence within the ceremony, the three sacraments of initiation, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, are connected. The Mass is celebrated with the ordinary structure. After the Liturgy of the Word, the Rite of Confirmation begins.
Presentation of the Candidates
Homily
Renewal of Baptismal Promises
The Laying on of Hands
The Anointing with Chrism
General Intercessions
Liturgy of the Eucharist follows
It is worth exploring the prayers and rituals within the liturgy with the students. They can be found in “The Rites” Volume 2 (see Resources).
Laying on of Hands: The laying on of hands is a rich ritual going back to the early Church, and the history of Israel. It symbolises the calling of the Holy Spirit. Outside the seven sacraments the laying on of hands can be used with a blessing. All baptised people can bless.
Anointing: As with the laying on of hands, anointing is a rich symbol and finds it roots in the biblical tradition. It is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and represents abundance, joy, cleansing, healing, beauty, health and strength. The word ‘Christ’ means ‘anointed one.’ As Christians we are anointed and share in the mission of Jesus, the Christ. We are Christ in our world. Using this ritual symbol with students can be a useful strategy for teaching.
Retrieved from Catholic Education Office Sydney, 2013.
- about the rituals in the sacrament of Confirmation
- to explore these rituals in the light of sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the Church
- about the structure of the Rite of Confirmation
- to explore the creed and baptismal promises as the core belief statements of our faith
Usually the Sacrament of Confirmation is administered within the celebration of the Eucharist. This highlights their relationship as sacraments of initiation. The candidates and the community, renew their baptismal promises, linking the sacrament to Baptism. Hence within the ceremony, the three sacraments of initiation, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, are connected. The Mass is celebrated with the ordinary structure. After the Liturgy of the Word, the Rite of Confirmation begins.
Presentation of the Candidates
Homily
Renewal of Baptismal Promises
The Laying on of Hands
The Anointing with Chrism
General Intercessions
Liturgy of the Eucharist follows
It is worth exploring the prayers and rituals within the liturgy with the students. They can be found in “The Rites” Volume 2 (see Resources).
Laying on of Hands: The laying on of hands is a rich ritual going back to the early Church, and the history of Israel. It symbolises the calling of the Holy Spirit. Outside the seven sacraments the laying on of hands can be used with a blessing. All baptised people can bless.
Anointing: As with the laying on of hands, anointing is a rich symbol and finds it roots in the biblical tradition. It is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and represents abundance, joy, cleansing, healing, beauty, health and strength. The word ‘Christ’ means ‘anointed one.’ As Christians we are anointed and share in the mission of Jesus, the Christ. We are Christ in our world. Using this ritual symbol with students can be a useful strategy for teaching.
Retrieved from Catholic Education Office Sydney, 2013.
Here are some resources that can be used to teach students about the rituals involved in Confirmation. Below is a picture of a book that you can find online or in libraries and use in class for the students themselves. This resource was designed to be used by the candidate undertaking the sacrament and can be a vital tool in helping develop students understanding and symbolism behind the sacrament as well as the process as there are opportunities for the students to self reflect. It is important to remember this book can not be used to teach students the sacrament of confirmation as this role falls into the hands of the church, these resources are only to introduce the topic to students. This resource would be particularly beneficial for any students who are linguistic learners according to Gardner's multiple intelligences and also intrapersonal learners who benefit from independent study and tasks.
Below are two more handbooks that can provide information for students and teachers on the requirements and processes involved in Confirmation. Once again it is important to note that these are not to be used to teach the sacrament rather develop a foundation of awareness for students and teachers in the context of the classroom. Click each button below to be directly linked to each file. Each of the above and below resources help students to identify the rituals involved in Confirmation with the final resource highlighting and detailing the Nicene creed and Apostles creed for students and teachers to use. These written documents can be engaging for linguistic learners but teachers should be mindful to incorporate other activities for using these resources in relation to Gardner's multiple intelligences to address other learning styles including interpersonal, intrapersonal or visual spatial.
Below is a link to website that addresses the differences and similarities in other Christian religions Confirmation E.g. Orthodox, Baptist and Protestant etc. This can serve a very influential resource as students can appreciate as well as compare and contrast Catholic Confirmation to other types. This can serve as a great informal assessment tool for teachers as students need to have knowledge of Catholic Confirmation to be able to point out similarities and differences between other Christian religions. As long as teachers make it clear when they are discussing other the other Christian religions there should be no issues with using this site in the classroom. When considering educational perspectives this theme and resource allows for many rich learning experiences that cater to Multiple Intelligences Theory e.g. and Co-operative Learning e.g. role plays regarding the actual ritual of Confirmation.
Embedded below is a short clip with key parts of the Confirmation ceremony. This is an OPTIONAL resource and has only been embedded to lower the anxieties and stresses that students may face prior to attending their own Confirmation. Teachers should only use in terms of strengthening students social and emotional feelings towards the sacrament, not use it as a clip to teach the religion entailed in the ceremony as it DOES NOT depict the actual prayers and songs in the ceremony.
Similarly, embedded below is a video of an Orthodox baptism. This is a crucial teaching point as in Orthodox religion, Baptism and Confirmation are performed in the one ceremony not two separate sacraments of Initiation like in the Catholic Church. This is worth teachers pointing out as there could be Orthodox students at school and again it allows students to compare and contrast and it serves as an example of what DOES NOT happen in a catholic Confirmation ceremony. Another underpinning message that could be taken away from this video is the strong link and relationship between Baptism and Confirmation.