Confirmed in the Faith: a Catholic Confirmation Course / Dora Nash

There has been much debate in recent years over the content of catechetical programs for young Catholics. In six ‘sessions’ (chapters), this book offers a simple, clear and comprehensive guide to Catholic teaching suitably for 11-14-year-old confirmandi.

Beginning with a quote from The Imitation of Christ, ‘What can the world offer you without Jesus? Whoever finds Jesus finds a rich treasure, and a good above every good’, her book is rightly Christocentric; one cannot learn to love the teaching of the Faith without first learning to know and love Christ.

The format of the book makes easy reading without being childish.  There is introductory text giving aspects of the faith that students need to know, followed by questions; then candidates’ opportunity to write their answers to these and ‘boxes’ with questions for group discussion. The questions are not just explorations of personal feelings, which have sometimes been a shadow over modern catechesis; they are designed to lead the student to greater knowledge and understanding. Looking up Scriptural references in both Old and New Testaments is an indispensable part of the Course , so that pupils become familiar with the Bible. Whole sessions are given to the Church and to the Sacraments. Some chapters have ‘boxes’ of ‘Words to Know’, so that pupils become familiar – if they are not already – with the basic Christian ideas, such as Redemption, Sacrifice, Advocate, and Sacrament. Without an understanding of such fundamental concepts, students are left without the tools to explain what they believe.

The author, who has 20 years’ experience of preparing candidates for Confirmation, includes some imaginative supplements to her material: chapters 14 and 15 from CS Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and a short story by Leo Tolstoy, Where Love Is, God Is. The whole book is interspersed with short, well-known Catholic prayers or quotes for students to become familiar with, those of Ignatius of Loyola and Francis of Assisi among others, to indicate to confirmandi that in developing their faith the heart has to be engaged as well as the head.

Read the review in AD2000 of Confirmed in the Faith here.