Reader Question: Receiving the Sacraments of Initiation

A reader writes:

My son has never been baptized because his father is not Roman Catholic and did not wish it. This year, he would be due to make his Confirmation with his class, and I'm wondering whether he can be baptised now and confirmed early next year. He has not received the Sacraments of Penance or Holy Communion either. Does he have to receive these before his Confirmation?

First, congratulations to you and your son for making the decision to bring him into the Catholic Church! One of the reasons that the Church strongly discouraged mixed marriages in the past was precisely because the non-Catholic spouse might reject Baptism for any children, thus putting their souls in danger. While the Church is more lenient on this question today, the non-Catholic spouse must still sign a document declaring his or her intention to raise any children in the Catholic Faith, which implicitly includes infant baptism.

On to the main question: When an older child or an adult is initiated into the Catholic Church, what is the proper order of the Sacraments of Initiation? The traditional order is actually Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion. The Eastern Catholic churches (like the Eastern Orthodox) retain this order (and infants receive all three sacraments at the time of their Baptism), but over the course of the centuries, the Western church, wishing to stress the connection between the individual believer and his bishop, began to be celebrated Confirmation and Communion much later (though still in that order), so that the bishop could perform all confirmations. Eventually, the Western church moved First Communion back to the age of reason (seven years old), but Confirmation was still celebrated later--out of order, as it were.

Still, even today, when an adult or older child is received into the Church (as, for instance, at the Easter Vigil), the traditional order of the sacraments is maintained. He will be baptized, then confirmed, and finally receive Holy Communion.

Since your son has never been baptized, he would be in that position. If he is baptized, confirmed, and receives Holy Communion all at one time, there is no need for him to receive the Sacrament of Penance first. Baptism takes away not only Original Sin but all stain of actual sin as well. Indeed, until he is baptized, he cannot receive the Sacrament of Penance, since one must be baptized first in order to receive any of the other sacraments.

The best thing to do would be to speak to your parish priest. Depending on the circumstances, he might be willing to combine your son's Baptism with the class's Confirmation. It could be an opportunity for him to discuss the order of the sacraments with the confirmation class and their parents. On the other hand, if circumstances don't allow for that, he could arrange for a private Baptism now, and your son could begin receiving Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Penance, and later be confirmed with the rest of his class.

If you have a question that you would like to have featured in our Friday "Reader Questions" series, send me an e-mail at catholicism.guide@about.com. Be sure to put "QUESTION" in the subject line, and please note whether you'd like me to address it privately or on the Catholicism blog.