From FunkTex Wiki

SACRAMENT RECEPTION

Every year it seems there is confusion about who will receive what sacraments at what functions. This page summarizes the decisions made in Feb 2008.

CATEGORIES FOR THOSE RECEIVING SACRAMENTS

• CATECHUMEN
  "Full Meal Deal" at the Easter Vigil, receiving Baptism, Confirmation, and First Communion.
• CANDIDATE BAPTIZED CATHOLIC - NEEDS FIRST COMMUNION & CONFIRMATION
  Receives First Communion at the Easter Vigil and Confirmation when the bishop comes for the teens.
• CANDIDATE BAPTIZED CATHOLIC - NEEDS ONLY CONFIRMATION
  Receives Confirmation when the bishop comes for the teens.
• CANDIDATE BAPTIZED NON-CATHOLIC
  Receives Confirmation and First Communion at the Easter Vigil.

NOTES FOR SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

• If someone cannot attend the Teen Confirmation for some reason (i.e. illness or unavoidable business trip) when the bishop comes to SMM, then they can go to another nearby parish when the bishop comes to visit or they can go to the Diocesan Adult Confirmation rite at St. Mary's Cathedral in Austin.
• Teens in RCIA who were baptized Catholic but have not received First Communion or Confirmation can generally be considered "uncatechized and unchurched," and in those cases the bishop delegates to the parish priest the right to confirm them so they will be confirmed at the Easter Vigil. From a memo from the diocese on Jan 4, 2008: "Teenagers who were baptized Catholic but have remained uncatechized and unchurched are to be prepared for the reception of Eucharist and Confirmation through the RCIA and receive the sacraments at the Easter Vigil. In these specific cases, the Bishop grants delegation without the need for written approval."
• Teens are defined (only a rule of thumb) as anyone younger than 20.
• In some cases, people in RCIA will get their marriages validated during the RCIA year. The date of the validation should help determine if they are ready to receive First Communion at their wedding. If they have been properly catechized and the RCIA Director and/or Deacon is willing to vouch for their preparation, then they can receive. We need to do a better job of communicating that to the people in RCIA who are doing validations.
• Generally, we will not ask the bishop to delegate his right, which he has chosen to invoke, to confirm those baptized Catholic.
• If there is a family circumstance where siblings or spouses will be split up receiving some of their sacraments, then we can ask the bishop to delegate the right to confirm a person at the Easter Vigil. I.e. two adult brothers are in RCIA and one has been baptized Catholic and the other was never baptized. By the above rules, one would be confirmed at the Easter Vigil and another at the Teen Confirmation. In those cases we can ask the bishop if they can both be confirmed at the Easter Vigil.
• A marriage validation must be BEFORE they receive other sacraments, i.e. First Communion or Confirmation. The exception to this rule is if there is an annulmnet procedure that has begun, in which case the couple may be asked to live "as brother and sister" until the annulment comes through.
• Generally, a teen must be 16 or older by the time RCIA begins in August to be enrolled in RCIA.
• It is not unusual, probably 2-4 times per year, that someone in RCIA asks that their children also receive their sacraments at the Easter Vigil, maybe a Teen Confirmation or a 2nd-grader's First Communion, etc. Fr. Le-Minh would like to have a rule of thumb for how to answer these requests. He will soon make a decision on this, but int he meantime, we listed the pros/cons that we could think of for a 2nd-grader to receive at the Easter Vigil:
  • Cons:
    • Long Mass
    • Late Mass
    • Not an Age Appropriate Homily
    • May not continue w/ RE that year
  • Pros:
    • Comfortable w/ Family
    • Special family night
    • Travel by extended family
    • Convenience