CELEBRATING CONFIRMATION BEFORE FIRST COMMUNION A Resource Kit for Restoring the Order of the Initiation Sacraments Michael Henchal et al. Paper, $29.95 64 perforated pages, 8½" × 11" ISBN 0-89390-544-5 View Table of Contents View Excerpt Quantity:

Prepare your parish for Confirmation before First Communion.

If your diocese has restored the traditional order of the sacraments of initiation, you need a way to prepare your parish for this important and controversial change. Celebrating Confirmation before First Communion gives you some great tools for catechizing both parishioners at large and the parents of children to be initiated. The kit includes background material on the history and pastoral issues involved, a series of pulpit announcements, a model retreat for families, and helpful observations about youth ministry.

“Celebrating Confirmation before First Communion is an excellent guide on the theology, liturgy, and practical pastoral implications of the celebration of the sacrament of Confirmation in the traditional sequence.... My own personal experience in the Diocese of Spokane for over eleven years affirms the insights and pastoral application found in this publication.”
- William S. Skylstad, Bishop of Spokane

About the Authors

The authors (Michael Henchal, Marc Caron, Clement Thibodeau, Jeanne Bigelow, James Dinn, Agnes Dinn, Barbara Smith) developed Celebrating Confirmation before First Communion as part of their ministry in the Diocese of Portland, Maine.

• Historical Outline

 
• Pastoral Issues

 
• Pastoral Pulpit Announcements

 
• Sacramental Retreats for Families

 
• Youth Ministry Observations

 
• Appendix: Liturgical Principles

Jeanne Bigelow

Rev. Msgr. Marc Caron

James and Agnes Dixon

Rev. Msgr. Michael Henchal

Barbara Smith

Rev. Clement Thibodeau

Following is the outline from Celebrating Confirmation Before First Communion. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2002, Resource Publications, Inc.

 Outline

Liturgical Principles

Times of Celebration
Planning the Celebration
Participation of Children in the Mass
Mass Texts
The Opening Rites
The Liturgy of the Word
The Sacrament of Confirmation
The Liturgy of the Eucharist
The Communion Rite

Particular Issues
Sponsors
Confirmation Name
Chrism
Delegation
In Case of Illness
Record of Confirmation
Clothing
Photographs and Recording Equipment

Sacristan's Guidelines

Pastor's Guidelines

Musician Guidelines

General Principles
The Opening Rites
The Liturgy of the Word
Sacrament of Confirmation
Liturgy of the Eucharist

Abbreviations

Acknowledgments

Sample Intercessions for Confirmation/First Communion