As someone who
was born into the Anglican Church I was accustomed to the Sacraments of
Initiation being conferred in the following order: Baptism, followed by
Confirmation and then First Holy Communion. When I converted to Catholicism, in
1987, I became aware that this order was different in the Catholic Church.
Today however I
read that Bishop Samuel Aquila of the Diocese of Fargo
had restored the order of the Sacraments of Initiation in his diocese to that
of Baptism, then Confirmation, followed finally by First Holy Communion.
Bishop Aquila
met with Pope Benedict XVI on the 8th of March 2012 as part of the “ad
limina” visit. During the meeting with the Pope, Bishop Aquila said he was: “very surprised in what the Pope said to me,
in terms of how happy he was that the sacraments of initiation have been
restored to their proper order of baptism, confirmation then first Eucharist”[i].
Other Catholic bishops
are apparently now also considering the restoration of the order of the
Sacraments of Initiation. Good for them! I have always felt uncomfortable with
the current order of the Sacraments of Initiation. I think it causes
uncertainty about what the Sacrament of Confirmation is. This restored order
will help reaffirm to Catholics that the Sacrament of Confirmation seals and
completes the Sacrament of Baptism.
This restored
order will also help to place greater emphasis on the fact that the Sacraments
of Baptism and Confirmation lead to the Eucharist, which completes the Sacraments
of Initiation.
[i] Catholic News Agency; Bishop Aquila receives Pope's praise for reordering sacraments; Mar 8, 2012
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