A good place to start

St. Blase

My son is preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation - having already received the Sacraments of Baptism, First Holy Communion, and periodic doses of Confession. He doesn't get why he should be confirmed. 
"Question." he alerts me, "Is this only so that I can have a Catholic marriage?" "Father So-And-So says that we can't be married in church if we are not confirmed." How irrelevant that prize must seem to him at this point.

"Why are you in the process of being confirmed?" I pause, not having even a semi-vehement answer for him. "We are Catholic, therefore you are Catholic..." I start rather weakly, wishing I could conjure Topol's Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof to sing: "TRADITION, TRADITION!"


Children are baptized into the church usually between 3-6 months of age. At age seven, they are invited into the community with their first breaking of bread - First Holy Communion. At age twelve, they are asked to confirm the choices which their parents made for them at Baptism. This is the last the church will see of many young adults until it's time for them to get married, hence Father So-And-So's admonition.


I have received the sacraments as well, but much of what I would consider my vital spiritual growth has taken place outside of the Catholic Church. During one such period I was a student of 'A Course in Miracles'. That teaching can be described as 'spiritual psychotherapy', and was received by a psychologist named Helen Schucman. Its mysterious origin aside, it is a brilliant and powerful thought system which notably re-interprets the concept of sin.
I then explored yoga with a Taoist bent for another 6 or so years. This practice attempts to unify body, mind, spirit through the study of energy principles. I experienced a great sense of well-being with this training as long as I didn't become too goal-oriented. In between these was my exploration of Buddhist teachings through the books of Pema Chodron, Shunryu Suzuki and Chogyam Trungpa. I've come to think of these forays as essential springboards over specific hurdles, and segments of a larger arc of travel.

 My son has chosen Saint Blase (St. Blaise, St. Blaize) as his patron saint, and will also carry his name. St. Blase lived in what is now Turkey. He was martyred in 316, his flesh ripped from his body with a fleece comb, which is like a mini rake. Talk about a thousand ways to die - Saint Lawrence was roasted alive on a gridiron during Valerian's persecution, and is said to have remarked "This side is done, turn me over and have a bite." (He's the patron saint of butchers...and comedians).
Very little else is known about Blase except that he was a physician before he became a priest. He is known as the patron saint of the throat because, as the story goes, he healed a child of a throat ailment. In some versions of the story, it's a fishbone which he removes by miraculous means.  He is also the patron saint of wool spinners because of the fleece comb incident. 


I don't think it's time to tell my son about the challenges of belief, the imperfection of all man-made institutions, and the likely need to learn of things outside his 'birth faith'. He is going to church to gain a foundation, a framework for exploration; to learn the habits of prayer and reflection; to listen and to question. I think it is a good place to start.