received the Holy Ghost." That is precisely what happens when a Bishop visits one of our churches for Confirmation. He prays for them that they may be strengthened with the Holy Ghost the Comforter; and then he lays his hands upon them, and they receive the Holy Ghost.

It is to be regretted that the beautifully simple and impressive ceremony which the Prayer Book provides for Confirmation should so often be almost buried by a long and elaborate service with many hymns, and often by two long addresses from the Bishop. The Veni Creator might well be sung during the laying on of hands. This is a widespread custom and adds greatly to the impressiveness and dignity of the office. But there is no reason why there should be other hymns, or why the choir should take this opportunity to render a long and elaborate anthem. The Prayer Book does not say that the Bishop should preach on this occasion,- much less that he should give a long and scholarly discourse which is above the heads of all the children who have been confirmed. Neither is it necessary that he should instruct them as to the meaning of the Communion or of Confirmation. If they have been properly prepared this is superfluous; if not, it would probably be too little. He might make a short personal

appeal to the class to be loyal to their ideals, and it would have great force. But otherwise, the Prayer Book provides just what the occasion demands.

XIV

THE AGE FOR CONFIRMATION

OW old ought children to be when they are

now

confirmed? Most people perhaps would answer this question by telling how old they themselves were when they were confirmed,— as if that proved anything. Others would turn to psychologists and educators for an answer, and ask them what is the age of decision in a child's life. That certainly has a more plausible sound. Still others would submit the question to their rector or bishop; and when we bear in mind the scriptural injunction, "Obey them that have the rule over you," this would seem to be the best method of all for getting an answer to our question. But for a Prayer Book Churchman none of these ways is right for the only right way is to go to the Prayer Book and find out what the Church therein authoritatively sets forth to be the proper age for Confirmation.

We may well rejoice to find that the Church has the wisdom not to set any artificial age limit as the proper time for Confirmation. It would

be as sensible to say that all children must attain to a certain height or a certain weight before they can be confirmed, as to say they must have had a certain number of birthdays. What the Prayer Book does say is that Confirmation is for "those who are baptized, and come to years of discretion." In the address to the Sponsors after an infant has been baptized, the Prayer Book gives this direction: Ye are to take care that this child be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed by him, so soon as he can say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and is sufficiently instructed in the other parts of the Church Catechism set forth for that purpose.' This might be the case with some children when they are ten years old, and with others when they are fourteen. The Church appears to teach that children come to years of discretion" when they begin to know the difference between right and wrong, and the meaning of temptation.

May we not say therefore that bishops and priests are going quite beyond their rights when they declare, as some of them do, that no children are to be confirmed until they have attained a specified age? The Prayer Book represents the authority of the Church in this matter; and the Prayer Book plainly sets forth what the Church regards as the necessary requirements for Con

firmation. It nowhere mentions a particular age as one of these requirements. Obviously the parish priest who presents the candidates to the Bishop is the judge as to whether those candidates are duly qualified to receive the laying on of hands. It is difficult to see why the Bishop should have anything to say about the matter: his duty is simply to lay hands upon the candidates presented to him.

It is commonly supposed that it is the duty of the parish priest to make a thorough canvass of the parish and secure as many candidates for his confirmation class as possible. This however is not the intention of the Prayer Book. In the Office for the Public Baptism of Infants the Church exhorts the sponsors "to take care that this child be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed by him, so soon as he can say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and is sufficiently instructed in the other parts of the Church-Catechism set forth for that purpose.' Ideally therefore the parents and sponsors should bring the child, while he is yet of tender age, and put him into the hands of the priest in order that the priest may present him to the Bishop. This is very different from the common practice of waiting until the child has reached the difficult years of advanced adolescence; and then pleading