I'm not sure why a child making a decision would be any more necessary with Confirmation than it is with infant baptism.
Bad practice breeds bad theology. I grew up with the notion that Confirmation made one a "soldier of Christ." Now, many catechists mistakenly compare Confirmation to a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.
The sacrament is not about us confirming the Church, but about the Church confirming us, so "understanding" the sacrament is not necessary for all the abundant graces to flow.
In addition, I continue to be surprised at the number of lapsed Catholic adults who come back to the Church who were never confirmed. And most weekly-mass-attending Catholics couldn't give you two sentences on the meaning of Confirmation.
It's been a throw-away sacrament, and giving Confirmation its proper place in the rites of initiation would at least provide an occasion for catechesis for both parents and children.
Our parish just finished with the First Communions. The DRE said that one parent asked, "Now when do we have to bring her back to start classes for Confirmation?" Aaagh!
Some people are just not going to Get It, no matter what.
Bingo! The efficacy of the Sacraments comes from Christ working through them. A Baptized, then Confirmed (Chrysmated) person has the permament "marks" of these sacraments in their soul for the rest of eternity. In baptising infants it is understood that they will be formed in the Faith by their families and the Church as they grow. If this would not appear to be the case, then the sacraments should be withheld until the individual is capable of choosing to live the Christian Faith.
That is why the Eastern Churches have no problem in Baptizing, Chrysmating, and then giving first Holy Communion to infants in their Churches.
By waiting so long to give the sacrament of Confirmation to adolescents in the Church today the practical effect tends to be that so many never receive it. Furthermore, the young adolescents-young adults are lacking the Grace that comes from the sacrament during a very "testing" time in their lives.
It's been a throw-away sacrament, and giving Confirmation its proper place in the rites of initiation would at least provide an occasion for catechesis for both parents and children.
Yes, the separate - but related - problem of broken down catechesis. Here's a starting point for catechesis of what this sacrament is. From the Acts of the Apostles:
"Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Sama'ria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit."
All of this is addressed at the link in my previous post!
good post.