{"id":14630,"date":"2012-05-11T13:58:57","date_gmt":"2012-05-11T19:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=14630"},"modified":"2012-05-12T09:51:00","modified_gmt":"2012-05-12T15:51:00","slug":"the-confirmation-slap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2012\/05\/11\/the-confirmation-slap\/","title":{"rendered":"The confirmation slap"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Pray Tell<\/em> reader writes:<\/p>\n

\u00a0I\u2019m catechist at the Church of Saint Paphnucius, where we celebrated confirmation recently. The bishop was not able to be present so a priest presided. He gave each person being confirmed a small slap on the cheek after anointing with chrism. I understand that this slap was in the preconciliar rite with the meaning that the newly confirmed should be a \u201csoldier of Christ.\u201d Is it still an option in the reformed rite?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fr. Paul Turner, the go-to source on many things including confirmation<\/a>, says this<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The reformed rite of confirmation eliminated the sacrament\u2019s most famous moment: the bishop\u2019s slap. The slap first appeared in the 13th century. Incongruously, the bishop tapped the confirmand\u2019s cheek while saying, \u201cPeace be with you.\u201d The slap inspired military imagery and fostered an interpretation of confirmation as a maturity rite. Durandus, who inserted the slap into the ritual, also thought it would serve as an exorcism and as a memory device to keep people from forgetting that they were confirmed. Its meaning was poorly understood. The removal of the slap supported the council\u2019s desire that confirmation be connected more closely to initiation. The slap never had anything to do with initiation, and its removal helped purify the sacrament\u2019s meaning.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So the answer to the reader\u2019s question is: No, the slap is not an option.<\/p>\n

I suppose some will say that it\u2019s not expressly forbidden so nothing prevents adding it back in. I\u2019m sure some will say that it is the \u201cmutual enrichment\u201d desired by Pope Benedict XVI if our stripped down reformed rites are gradually loaded back up with the accretions they acquired over the course of the centuries.<\/p>\n

In this season we\u2019re in of \u201cre-Catholicizing\u201d and \u201creforming the reform,\u201d I think it\u2019s more important than ever to celebrate the reformed rites as they appear in the liturgical books. Thing were omitted for a reason, and that should be respected.<\/p>\n

What do you think? Is there a case, ever, for adding in preconciliar mannerisms? Anyone want to argue for flexibility?<\/p>\n

awr<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thing were omitted for a reason, and that should be respected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[662,2018,301],"class_list":["post-14630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-initiation-rcia","tag-confirmation","tag-confirmation-slap","tag-paul-turner"],"yoast_head":"\nThe confirmation slap - Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2012\/05\/11\/the-confirmation-slap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The confirmation slap - Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thing were omitted for a reason, and that should be respected.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2012\/05\/11\/the-confirmation-slap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-11T19:58:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-05-12T15:51:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/pt.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"411\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"90\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anthony Ruff, OSB\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anthony Ruff, OSB\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/11\\\/the-confirmation-slap\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/11\\\/the-confirmation-slap\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Anthony Ruff, OSB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1f253be22c50796444dc3d93f75cb50a\"},\"headline\":\"The confirmation slap\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-05-11T19:58:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-05-12T15:51:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/11\\\/the-confirmation-slap\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":356,\"commentCount\":58,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Confirmation\",\"confirmation slap\",\"Fr. 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