Commitment
Parish Diary
Fr. Peter Daly
6/4/99
When do people in our culture make
mature, life-time commitments? At age 12
or 13? Probably not.
Nevertheless, we confirm our
children at that age. We ask them to
state publicly that they wish to be full members of the Catholic Church. We know full well, that even as the bishop is
applying oil to their foreheads, most of them will abandon the faith
for a while, perhaps permanently.
This is not just a problem in the
Catholic Church. According to an article
published last fall in the Washington Post, by Presbyterian pastor Henry
Briton, the same thing happens in all the mainline Christian
denominations. Children are confirmed
and almost immediately stop participating in their churches. Seventy-five percent of Presbyterians, for
example, stop practicing after confirmation. This is compared to 59% of
non-Latino Catholics in the
For most young people, confirmation
is graduation from religion. . We may
see they again on a regular basis when they want to
get married or perhaps some personal crisis draws them back, such as a death in
the family.
Like most pastors, I am saddened by this. Not because of a lack of
"institutional" identification, but because they miss out on all the
support and help the family of faith can give to their young and turbulent
lives.
I don't have any solution to the
problem. There probably is no good
solution. But I do have some
suggestions.
First, we need to put this in
perspective. People make all kinds of
sincere promises that they do not keep.
How many of us have resolved quite last New Year's day
to loose weight or give up smoking?
Just because people fail for one reason or another does not mean they
are not sincere.
Second, we need to recognize what
Rev. Briton says with pithy brevity, "Religion is caught not
taught." The way insure that
people, actually will live their faith in Jesus Christ is to expose them to
people who are living it. We cannot
expect them to memorize their way to religious commitment. We cannot treat the faith as merely a set of
propositions and lists to be learned.
The practice of many bishops of interrogating the confirmandi seems to
me to send the whole wrong message.
There obviously can be no thorough examination of the candidates. It is a hit or miss exercise in terror for
adolescents who are afraid of embarrassing themselves in front of their family
and friends. It would be better if
bishops would tell a story, perhaps their
story. Why has the bishop persisted
in the Catholic faith? Why does he find
it meaningful? Who does the bishop see
as a religious hero in his life who made him want to live his life in
commitment to Christ and His church?
Third, every confirmation program
should include some kind of retreat.
Coming to faith commitment requires exposure to prayer. For many of
them, the retreat is their first real experience of personal and sustained
prayer.
For the young people in our parish the retreat really the most
important part of confirmation. It is
the actual moment that some of them really do make a true commitment. It is the first time that they hear the
stories of faith of from adults and youth mentors. It is the first time they really feel the presence of the Holy
Spirit in prayer. I would require a
retreat from anyone about to make a serious spiritual commitment, whether in
marriage, ordination, baptism or confirmation.
I know that these suggestions will
not change the percentage of practicing Catholics radically. However, it might make our confirmation
ceremonies a bit more meaningful and our expectations a bit more realistic.