McGrath Institute Blog

When I was 17, I had to get blood drawn. My mom went with me, and the phlebotomist happened to be an old acquaintance of hers. Making small talk, my mom asked the phlebotomist how her daughters were. She mentioned that one of her daughters was going through Confirmation, albeit reluctantly, and that she was encouraging her daughter to finish it “just in case, you know, she ever wanted to get married in the Church, it’s always a good thing to have in your back pocket.” I was so surprised at her attitude, as was my mother, who delivered some smart remark (ever so politely) about how she was pretty sure Confirmation meant a whole lot more than that. I’m not sure why this memory is so vivid, but I’ve never forgotten it. 

Though this may come as a surprise to some, Confirmation is not about becoming an adult in the Church, or deciding for yourself whether or not you want to remain Catholic, or graduation (read: freedom) from Faith Formation/CCD classes. (If you were ever under the impression that it was, you’re not alone; at one point, I was too.) And it is certainly not just “a good thing to have in your back pocket.”

As a young girl, I always loved the Sundays when a Baptism took place in the context of the Mass. There were many reasons I found Baptisms captivating; for starters, they punctuated our usual Sunday routine with something out of the ordinary. But more than that, I was drawn up into the joy and the excitement of the sacrament. I loved seeing the little babies, water poured over them, oil lathered on their foreheads, their candles lit, the priest saying “________________, in the name of Christ, we welcome you into the Church,” and the choir singing, “Blessed be God, O blessed be God, who calls you by name, holy and chosen one.” 

“Do you have any questions I can answer for you before your Confirmation?” This is the standard question I ask my sophomores in high school to conclude their Confirmation interview. Typically, I get a quick “Nope, I don’t think so,” or “What time is rehearsal again?” But the young man sitting before me looked up seriously, “Well, yeah, actually, one small thing—Jesus is the Son of God, right? But he’s also God? I’m just a little confused by that whole thing.” 

Whether we realize it or not, every time we bless ourselves “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of Holy Spirit” (or “in-name-of-father-son-holy-spirit-amen” if we’re trying to eat dinner quickly), we are not only making a prayer to God, but we are recalling our baptism.