This question arose the other day,When we are counted as Catholics are we counted as Baptised Catholics or are we not counted until we are fully Confirmed Catholics. One other question i have is i see alot of young 8,9 and 10yr old's recieveing communion,and they are not confirmed yet,Is this wrong?

-- Andrew m Tillcock (drewmeister7@earthlink.net), November 16, 2003

Answers

Baptism makes a person a member of the Church. First Holy Communion usually takes place about age 7 or 8, which is right and proper. Confirmation usually takes place in the early to mid teen years.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), November 16, 2003.

Reception of First Eucharist completes the Sacraments of Initiation and makes someone a full member of the Church. In this part of the world children are receiving Confirmation at age 8, before reception of the Eucharist, as do adults entering the Church.

-- Sara (sara_catholic_forum@yahoo.co.uk), November 16, 2003.

Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist all the sacraments of intiation. In the Eastern Churches (Catholic and Orthodox), the recieve the mysteries as babies at the same time. When people enter the Church at Easter vigil, they recieve the sacraments of confirmation and eucharist at the same time and baptism if they haven't been baptised before.

This puts young latin rite catholics in sort of a limbo, because they are fully catholic but yet not iniated into the Church until they recieved all the iniation sacraments and are of course in the state of grace. (If you are not in the state of grace for confirmation, you recieve the fullness of its benefits when you confess your sins.)But this is legimate way of recieving the sacraments also because there is strong apostolic traditions for both ways but the Latin rite manner is harder to "understand" in a way.

Hope this makes since.

-- Devin Rice (ricedw3@juniata.edu), November 16, 2003.

"... young latin ... catholics [are] in sort of a limbo, because they are fully catholic but yet not [fully] initiated into the Church until they recieved all the initiation sacraments."

Interesting point, Devin -- which may be part of the reason that there has been much discussion (in the Latin Church) lately about moving Confirmation to an earlier age.

Canon 849 ... By [Baptism,] people are freed from sins, are born again as children of God and, made like to Christ by an indelible character, are incorporated into the Church.

But ...

Canon 842 ... §2 The sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the blessed Eucharist so complement one another that all three are required for full Christian initiation.

God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), November 16, 2003.