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Catholic Apologetics by John Laux. This book is wonderful. It’s not easy reading, definitely have to work to understand it, but my 8th grader really enjoyed it. It’s invaluable for ALL Catholics. There is a series by him, I believe they were written in the early 1900’s.
http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Apologetics-Christianity-Church-Religion/dp/0895553945/ref=pd_sim_b_7
http://reginacoeli.org/confirmation.html
I have heard very good things about this program, though I do not have first hand experience with it.
Seton Home School has a very thorough and traditional Confirmation preparation book. I’ve used it with 3 of my children already and it is more than adequate for your average 7-12 grade student or adult.
What’s more, it’s only $10! There’s also a Teacher’s Manual for $25.
Here’s the link to Seton’s Catalog:
http://www.setonbooks.com/search.php?subject=&grade=&userSearchString=confirmation+preparation&x=12&y=7
Seton Home Study School has an excellent 7th grade religion course of study for confirmation. It’s a 53 page book, written in line with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the Baltimore Catechism. There are also prayers in preparation for confirmation. It’s cost is $10.00 and teacher’s manual is $25.00. The website is http://www.setonbooks.com.
Dora Nash’s “Confirmed in the Faith” is pretty solid, and at a level that the younger ones can comprehend
I instructed all 4 of my kids prior to Confirmation using a series entitled “Beginning Apologetics”by Father Frank Chacon and Jim Burnham. This series includes segments devoted to explaining and defending the Catholic Faith, The Real Presence and The Trinity, as well as strategies for answering Tough Moral Questions, and answers for Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Atheists and New-Agers. I also employed the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Ignatius Bible. After teaching one year of 9th grade catechism, I became aware of how woefully insufficient the school materials were. The instructors, for the most part, were also quite clueless. The feminist nuns from the Archdiocese of Dubuqe were supervising religious education for those in public schools, and they were highly inflexible regarding materials and content; I took matters into my own hands andfeel blessed to say that my two oldest are now adults and still practice the faith.
The ACM (The Association for Catechumenal Ministry) program is excellent, merging Liturgy (OF) with the Catechism. They have outstanding materials, great training and support. The initial cost isn’t too bad, and they allow you to make copies without all the royalties and such. Bishop Finn supported this program in Kansas City-St. Joseph.
Dora Nash’s Confirmed in the Faith is superb.
http://www.amazon.com/Confirmed-Faith-Dora-Nash/dp/0852445458
New Hope Publications’ The Sacrament of Confirmation for Confirmation Candidates is a good choice as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Sacrament-Confirmation-Candidates/dp/1892875381/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244161980&sr=1-1
I’d also recommend a review of Baltimore Catechism I or II.
http://www.angeluspress.org/oscatalog/item/3081/preparation-for-confirmation
A simple booklet with what is required to be known for Confirmation. Also has information about the traditional ceremony.
The Evangelium PowerPoint course, from the Catholic Truth Society in the UK, is solid and very adaptable for a variety of purposes, including Confirmation, RCIA, adult refresher courses, etc. It is both intellectually and visually stimulating, featuring many beautiful and traditional works of religious art. Some of the presentations may be more challenging for high school students, but one can modify the slides to simplify some of the language, as I’ve seen a neighboring parish do. The CD-rom is not too expensive, though the accompanying book is on the pricier side.
There is another free resource online called “Know, Love, and Live the Catholic Faith”. It’s geared toward junior/senior high levels and consists of downloadable student and catechist texts. The material is pretty good and follows the Catechism; however, the texts could use a good proofreading (e.g., angels is typed angles in several places). The Catechist version also includes some large and small group activities that might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but even some of the cheesier ones can be effective with certain audiences.
The Seton book is really just a reprint of the Angelus Press book…..
For Adults, I suggest Fr. Corapi\’s Catechism of the Catholic Church dvds. For teens, I recommend using a combo: Theology of the Body for Teens and The Teen Timeline, http://www.amazon.com/Teen-Timeline-Mark-Hart-Bible/dp/193292776X .
Not your typical Confirmation programs, but for teens it is almost impossible to find a thorough, comprehensive program. I did youth ministry for 9 years and never found one that was just perfect.
Oh! And the Basic Catholic Catechism by Fr. Hardon (here\’s the link- http://www.mariancatechist.com/html/formation/fatherhardoncourses.htm) is excellent! Prepares you to be a catechist and is excellent for adults. I actually have taken this course taught by a priest and it was amazing how much I learned by \”relearning\” the Faith.
Blessings!
Just about anything by Ronald Knox.
For youth, I recommend the New St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism. You can get it at any Catholic bookstore.
I second the Association for Catechetical Ministry material……also the Didache series Introduction to Catholicism from Midwest Theological Forum
Really, I don’t believe that there are ANY good recently published books dealing with Confirmation. I use 2 separate programs for my children for Cathechism Our Holy Faith is a WONDERFUL series for 1-8.NO fluffy feely stuff! Kind of Baltimore Cathechism Style. High School is ALSO GREAT__The Quest for Happiness Series. These books are EXCELLENT. Easy to read….I absolutely love them. It saddens me nothing like this has ever been published. It is SO thorough!
I’m an adult and am using http://www.angeluspress.org/oscatalog/item/3081/preparation-for-confirmation and the Baltimore Catechism to prepare for mine – next month! :D
While not a published written source, I would highly recommend the sermons available at audiosancto dot org. I’ve learned more about my faith from listening to these sermons than I learned in the good RCIA program I went through or in the 8 years of continuing study of my faith. I cannot recommend this website enough.
Ditto the Didache Series\’ Introduction to Catholicism. The rest of the series is outstanding as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Catholicism-Complete-James-Socias/dp/1890177288
The gifts of the Holy Spirit, extract from the Liturgical Year of Dom Gueranger.
( http://www.solesmes.com/ )
Here is an very excellent Confirmation preparation book from the great Angelus Press company:
http://www.angeluspress.org/oscatalog/item/3081/preparation-for-confirmation
There is another free resource online called “Know, Love, and Live the Catholic Faith”. It’s geared toward junior/senior high levels and consists of downloadable student and catechist texts. …
While searching for that resource, I came across Fr. John E. Pollard’s book Know, Love, and Live the Catholic Faith (OSV)?. Is anyone familiar with the author or the book? It seems to target the same audience and has an interesting format. The fact that it devotes an entire chapter to “Lay Ecclesial Ministry” did cock an eyebrow, however.
http://www.amazon.com/Know-Love-Live-Catholic-Faith/dp/159276164X
A wonderful book for adults preparing for conversion or Confirmation is “My Catholic Faith,” available on amazon and elsewhere. (http://www.amazon.com/My-Catholic-Faith-Louis-LaRavoire/dp/0963903268)
This is a reprint from a 1954 edition, with lovely illustrations and material in a question / answer format similar to the Baltimore Catechism. Fortunately, when I was converting I studied with a priest who used this text. I still read it and treasure it as a reference and guide.
The Baltimore Catechism #3 is great for teens and adults alike.
The Fr. Laux series is also very good.
I totally agree Cortney, beautiful book. I have used “My Catholic Faith” for Confirmation and the kids really got alot from it. In fact I have had the teens say they have never heard of the wonderful teachings in this book. Highly recommended.
To supplement our text and other materials, I teach the 8th grade students the rosary. At each class we cover 1 mystery of the rosary. There’s a quick practice finding the mystery in the bible, a brief teaching of some interesting facts about the mystery and then a class discussion of what you would see, hear, feel, taste and smell if you were there. This takes about 5 minutes and leads to some excellent questions and discussion. Then we go visit Jesus in the tabernacle for 5 – 10 minutes of quiet prayer.
Homework is always to pray one decade of the rosary and record it on a 3″ x 5″ card each week. During Advent and Lent they are encouraged to pray two or more decades or an entire rosary. It is interesting to see the students’ prayer habits develop over the course of the year.
We also have a Prayer Warrior Program where people in the parish sign up to pray for a Confirmation Candidate (including RCIA candidates). They are sent the first name of the candidate along with the simple prayer, “Please bless _______as he prepares for Confirmation.” There are longer prayers each week in the bulletin that people may pray. These are also being used by people who don’t sign up for a name.
Another vote for EVANGELIUM here. Solid Catechism, but presented in a modern way.
For children and younger teens, the FSSP have some good stuff in French, but I don’t know if it’s available in English.
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is always a good, comprehensive, and easily readable text to give to those preparing for Confirmation.
I would definitely recommend that students read St. Augustine’s commentary on the Sermon on the Mount: he ties in the beatitudes with growth in holiness with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit with the seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. What better summary of the Christian moral life that those being confirmed are called to live more boldly in the public sphere.
‘Baltimore Cathechism’III, ‘This Is The Faith’:Canon Frances Ripley,’My Catholic Faith’:Bishop Louis LaRavoire Morrow: ‘Catechism of The Council of Trent’translated -Very Rev J. Dovovan,D.D.,all are excellent in teaching The Sacrament of Confirmation, and helping become soldiers of Christ.
I have a set of confirmation worksheets at my parish website’s downloads page.
I teach confirmation at my local parish. Personally, I use the Baltimore Catechism #2. I supplement it with explanations, etc from the following catechisms: CCC, Trent, Aquinas, St Pius X, and Baltimore #4. Jimmy Akin’s compendium of these catechisms has been invaluable for this purpose: http://www.cin.org/users/james/ebooks/master/master2.htm
It’s a bit of work to prepare each lesson, but it gives a nice cross-section of perspectives. I have hope of putting the project online one day when I finish. The compiled notes were also useful for helping my now-goddaughter to survive her RCIA.