His Excellent Most Rev. John C. Nienstedt, Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis has something to say about First Confession for children before First Holy Communion.
I am sure you have all encountered priests or some parish teams who say that children should not have to make a confession before Communion because, after all, the little darlings are too young to have sinned. Right?
Yah… right.
Just look into the eyes of a three year old who is looking to see if you are watching as he tests the limits of your tolerance and his boundaries.
My emphases and comments.
First confession before first Communion
By Archbishop John C. Nienstedt
Thursday, 30 July 2009If you have young children either in your immediate family or in your extended family, chances are good that you attended a celebration of first Holy Communion this past spring. And even if you did not attend a family member’s first Holy Communion, I would bet that you attended a parish celebration of this sacrament, as many parishes appropriately choose to celebrate the sacrament during a Sunday Mass.
Celebrating first Holy Communion in this highly public way is quite fitting, as young children are not only receiving the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus for the first time, but also solidifying their ties to the church, which is a public and communal reality.
For this very reason, the church has made it clear that the celebration of first Holy Communion on a Sunday, “the day of the Eucharist,” is the most appropriate way to celebrate the first reception of this Sacrament of Sacraments.
Confession first
The church is even more clear that prior to making their first Holy Communion, children are to celebrate their first confession. This teaching was recently reiterated in “Redemptionis Sacramentum,” (paragraph 87). [Did you see that? We don’t find bishops quoting Redemptionis Sacramentum very often. This super important document must be implemented.]
In our own diocese, as early as 1973, my predecessor, Archbishop Leo Byrne, reminded every priest in this local church of the universal church’s mind on this matter in response to the experimental practice of delaying first confession until after first Holy Communion. As the archbishop pointed out at the time, such a delay is clearly not the mind of the church, and he rightly asked that it cease to be practiced in this archdiocese. [Interesting. This Archbishop has done his homework, referring back to the work of his predecessors.]
One objection to the church’s clear teaching on this matter is that children are not capable of grave sin, and therefore are not obligated to make a confession before their first Holy Communion.
Leaving aside the debatable claim that children are incapable of grave sin, while it is true that sacramental confession and absolution are the ordinary means by which mortal sin is forgiven, [I use that phrase all the time: "the ordinary means". I would only add that this "ordinary means" is precisely the way the Lord Himself desired that we come to know His forgiveness.] we don’t celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation only to have such grave sins forgiven. There is also the constant need to ask forgiveness for the small failures and little betrayals that mark our daily lives. [i.e., venial sins.]
It is said that Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and Pope John Paul II received the sacrament of reconciliation frequently, as many as several times a month, in fact. It is difficult to believe that either the Holy Father or Mother Teresa often fell into mortal sin. [Well… they were human, after all. But at least in the case of Theresa of Calcutta there has been a declaration of heroic virtue and she has been raised to the dignity of altars by the Vicar of Christ.] And, yet, they saw fit to come to confession regularly because they knew that they were called to be perfect, as their heavenly Father is perfect.
And quite apart from the forgiveness of actual sin, there is also the powerful grace of the sacrament — grace that is needed if we are to persevere in our daily struggles with sin and temptation, struggles that can slowly weaken us in our capacity to avoid serious sin. [Excellent! I always remind people that the sacrament also strengthens people against sinning.]
Children need this grace as much as anyone else. Anyone who honestly believes that children do not do things that are wrong has not spent much time with kids.
Instilling good habits
Giving children the opportunity to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation before first Holy Communion also helps to establish a habit in our young people, a habit that hopefully will last a whole lifetime. [They also need to see adults going to confession so that they learn how important it is.]
If we have guests coming over to dinner, it is an act of love to prepare for their visit by tidying up the house and making special preparations. Even more so in the spiritual life, we must strive to prepare well for the visit of the Lord into our hearts. How well we all need to remember this fact, young and old alike.
This, of course, is not to say that every time we attend Holy Mass we are obligated to make a sacramental confession. [A common misconception, btw.] But as St. Paul reminds us in his first letter to the Corinthians, it is, in fact, extremely important to examine our hearts before we receive our Lord in Holy Communion (1 Corinthians 11:27-32).
If we are aware of serious sin, we are obliged to make every effort to approach the fountain of mercy that is confession, so that we may partake worthily in the Banquet of the Lamb. [A couple points here. First, even if we are not in the state of grace we still have the obligation to fulfill on Sundays and other holy days. Also, we are not really going to be "worthy" in a sense of being perfect. But we do have do our best.] Celebrating first confession prior to first Holy Communion helps to communicate this scriptural lesson to our young people.
I urge all of us, young and old alike, to examine ourselves before we approach the table of the Lord. [Amen.] May we have the courage to ask the Lord for his forgiveness before we receive him in so intimate a way as Holy Communion.
And then, with the faith of a little child, we will with clear conscience say “Amen” to that heavenly gift which is the body and blood of Jesus.
God bless you!
WDTPRS kudos to Archbishop Nienstedt!
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“Giving children the opportunity to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation before first Holy Communion also helps to establish a habit in our young people, a habit that hopefully will last a whole lifetime.”
After my children made their first Confession and Holy Communion we began taking them to Confession every week. I had only one reason for this. When I was 18 I fell away from the Church for three years. I wanted to make sure that if they ever fell away, they would be very familiar with how to come back.
Last I checked at ages 29 and 31 they are still going to Confession every week! Incredible.
Also, at a recent family gathering the subject came round, very atypically, to the means of spiritual growth. My son’s sole contribution was, “Confession, confession, confession!”
They were good kids, but as my son approached age 13 I thought, “Here we go, now begin the rebellious years.” It never happened- with either my son or my daughter. It was incredible. We had a happy, holy, prayerful, peaceful family the whole time they lived with us. Do you suppose Confession had something to do with it?
Of course kids can sin. Some of the scariest people I have ever encountered in my professional capacity have been kids.
Not only should kids go to confession before receiving their First Holy Communion, but I think they ought to be confirmed at an earlier age. Kids need all the help they can get during adolescence.
Love being able to see all the important letters and statements of bishops that give true hope in one place. Keep up the good work Fr. Z
any chance I can get 54 added to the end of my user name. since colons (:) aren’t allowed in the user name? John 654