First Communion

...and Confirmation

‘Tis the season - the sacramental season, that is.

It made sense, then, to toss up a post about our experiences of these sacraments in those in-between days. Those days between the end of the Second Vatican Council and the late 80’s, when, in many areas, the pendulum started swinging back.

I don’t think that the changes and variations in the celebrations of these moments are as dramatic as they were in other areas, but in the interest of completion, here we go.

If you’ve been following this space for its rather lengthy meandering way, the following will be familiar. Yes, I’m cribbing from my own work and reprinting what I wrote in a post on religious education in general. But keep reading! There’s more!

So: Amy’s First Communion:

I received First Communion, but I have no recollection of any classes or formation. Further, I received First Communion, not in any parish in Arlington, Virginia, where we were living at the time (my father had some sort of year-long appointment with the Department of the Interior), but at my mother’s friend’s parish in Maryland. That photograph was taken at the brunch at her friend’s house. I was looking for something else from high school, and found this, the bulletin from the day - with corrections.

I’m guessing what happened was that either there was no religious education in the Arlington parish we attended or we arrived too late in the year to be a part of it. (I attended public school, as I did my whole life except for high school)

I’m assuming my mother taught me. I do remember sitting on the couch and unwrapping their First Communion gift to me - this cross, which I still hang on my wall. The Risen Christ is ironic, considering my mother’s future views. (Stopped going to Mass out of disgust around 1974, subscribed to the Wanderer and the Remnant, had lunch with Michael Davies on a trip to England, you get it now, don’t you?)

Confirmation:

Another weird one. This was the year we moved to Knoxville, and it was Confirmation year. I was going to a public junior high school, and we were attending Immaculate Conception downtown. Again, I don’t know if they just didn’t have religious ed for public school students or what, but my confirmation prep ended up being me with a small group of adults preparing for confirmation, meeting weekly (I suppose) with the pastor. I don’t remember any text, but what I do remember is very obnoxiously answering all - I mean all - the pastor’s leading discussion questions during sessions. Really proud of myself, guys.

Actual footage of me in my Confirmation class

Confirmation itself was with all the other teens, though. My main recollection of that event was that it was very, very long, it was in the evening, my mother had made a dinner of these big meatballs she used to make, and afterwards, I got really sick. Come Holy Spirit.

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Now. Let’s move forward.

So, I was confirmed in 1973, and then started working for the Church - in Catholic schools and parishes - about twelve years later. A few observations about how parishes attempted to handle these sacraments during those years:

(As I have said before, experiences varied around the country. Those who were living the Catholic Life in more solidly ethnic enclaves would not, I’m sure, had the same experiences as those who lived in suburbia. I was the latter.)

First Communion:

• There was a period in which “traditional” attire - basically everyone wearing white - for the celebration of this event was definitely discouraged.

• There was generally no question that receiving Communion in the hand was the norm. Not even a matter for discussion, and no one even imagined that any child would be receiving on the tongue.

• If you really go back, you might have been in a parish in which Communion bread was made in-house, and it was a special thing, especially for First Communion.

• In some areas, there was an attempt to discourage the “traditional” big group celebration of First Communion - to emphasize the family aspect of it, and spread out the celebration of First Communion over many Masses over many weeks.

• And what about First Reconciliation? Before or after First Communion? That was a controversy for a while.

Confirmation:

• Program after program after program. What in the world will “work?”

• And how long? Maybe if we make it two years, and model it after RCIA, they’ll stick around?

Narrator: They did not.

What are your memories of these sacraments?

As you know, I don’t charge for the Substack, and have solemnly vowed to never do so. If you would like to lend a supportive hand, in the spirit of this post, you might consider purchasing a book, perhaps as a First Communion or Confirmation gift. Here are all my books - most of which are available through any online bookseller, and, hopefully, through your local Catholic bookstore, if you’ve got one. Thank you!