I was confirmed in 8th grade ( ending years of vicious rumors and speculation) and my cousin and I were leafing through a *Is it a Saint’s Name Book * for the big hoo-ha day.
We both (given crap names IRL of Joan and Carol) wanted something flamboyant. My first choice was Lola. Couldn’t find a patroness for that one.I guess there is no patron saint of hookers and women who smoke to much. Went through a bunch of them until be both wanted ( I kid you not!) Scholastica.
Since my cousin saw it first, she got it.( I still haven’t forgiven her yet.) In 12 year old dismay I sat dejected and looked around the room, hoping for divine inspiration. On a bookshelf I saw my confirmation name.
So I grinned and said, " If you can be Scholastica, I can be *Britannica. *"
My cousin ( who is one of the sharpest knives in the drawer) said, “There is no St. Britannica.You’re going to get busted for sure.”
“I know, but the Sisters won’t know that. It’s an old sounding name.”
" It ain’t gonna work."
“Lesse if it does.”
You know something, the nuns at Our Lady of Perpetual Guilt and Misery didn’t catch it until the day before the Big Day. Damn. So, I went with a last minute grab the name book and let the finger drop and got Catherine.
And thus ends the only memory I have about confirmation. Well, that and it was the first time I was allowed to wear panty hose.
Well, everything went more or less smoothly. Except for the last-minute dress-buying panic (I had bought a dress several days in advance, but I didn’t really like it, and thought I could do better. I did.)
So, last Saturday night, I was chrismated Michaela.
One of my sponsors got mixed up on the date, she had it in her head that it was Easter Sunday, not the vigil on Saturday night, so she wasn’t all dressed up. My other sponsor forgot my chrismation name, and I had to whisper it to her when the priest asked. So, I was anointed with rose oil, had three locks of hair cut off as my first sacrifice- Fr. Francis put it in a pyx, I have it on the table in my icon corner.
Then came the consecration of the eucharist, and I received my first Holy Communion…
I got lots of cool presents, too. Father Francis gave me a silver medallion of the Blessed Mother. My catechist gave me an icon of St. Nicholas and a book on the early church fathers. A nice young couple named Brian and Heather gave me a scapular and a rosary they got in Jerusalem that had been touched to the rock on Golgotha where Christ was crucified, the slab He was laid out on for his burial preparation, and to His tomb.
My friend Jade gave me a carved wood bunny rabbit. My Mom gave me a bookmark. 'Course, she also paid for the dress I wore, so I guess that’s ok.
Congratulations, agisophia. My husband and I went to the confirmation of a good friend of ours on Saturday also. Being Baptists, this was the first Catholic ceremony we ever attended, and we enjoyed it very much. Question: is this the only time of year people are confirmed? Like I said, we’re Protestants, and I’m kind of curious.
Congratulations again on such a precious and meaningful event.
“There are more things you don’t know than there are things that I do know. I despair of the imbalance.” – Dr. Morgenes, The Dragonbone Chair
Nightengale: As I’ve answered several Catholic questions so far today, I’ll help you out.
Nope. Confirmation takes place several times a year. Usually takes place when the bishop can fit it into his schedule. The Easter Vigil is for (usually) people going through RCIA (Rites of Catholic Initiation for Adults), which is usually 2 or more of the Sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion). If the crowd isn’t too big, they’ll let confirmands in to the ceremony as well. The thing with Confirmation, however, is that technically, it must be done by the bishop. So obviously, a bishop can’t be at all vigils in his parish in one night. So they spread it out.
[hijack]One old tradition is that the Bishop would slap the confirmand’s head during their Confirmation. Its really rare, and pretty funny when it does happen. I had a friend two years ago that just got whacked real hard. Everyone in the church could hear it.[/hijack]
In the Byzantine Rite, the priest handles the confirmation, but using chrism (rose oil, usually) that was consecrated by the bishop. Byzantine eparchies usually cover a much larger geographical areas than a Latin diocese…
BTW, wierddave, I still owe you an explanation. Confirmation (chrismation in the Byzantine rite) completes baptismal grace. Baptism cleanses you of Original Sin. With chrismation, you receive the Holy Spirit.
BTW, in the Byzantine Rite, we usually do baptism, chrismation and first Holy Communion all in the same ceremony. Yes, to infants.
I was baptized in the Latin Rite as an infant, so I only needed to receive the other two sacraments.