Baptism, a new question

[Phemie]

I attended Mass in a parish far from home and was quite surprise to see how they deal with baptism.

The ritual is spread over at least 2 Sundays, with the reception of the child one Sunday and the baptism on another Sunday. I can’t remember if they did the anointing with the Oil of Catechumen at the same Mass as the reception or if that was done separately on a second Sunday with Baptism on a third Sunday.

I know that for baptisms that occur at the Easter Vigil, all those rituals are done before “at a convenient time” but I was wondering if it was OK to split the Rite of Baptism over two or three Sundays like that on a regular basis? I’ve searched documents but haven’t come up with an answer to the question.

 

[PhilotheaZ]

I have never heard of this. It seems like an unnecessary delay of the necessary Sacrament of Baptism.

Infants should be baptized as soon as they can be safely brought to church (or even at the hospital, if they are in imminent danger of death). If the infant can be safely brought to Church for a “reception,” he/she can be baptized, and it seems imprudent to delay it.

The procedure you describe seems to trivialize the importance of the Sacrament itself in favor of a non-sacramental ceremony.

From the Code of Canon Law:

Can. 867 §1. Parents are obliged to take care that infants are baptized in the first few weeks; as soon as possible after the birth or even before it, they are to go to the pastor to request the sacrament for their child and to be prepared properly for it.

§2. An infant in danger of death is to be baptized without delay.

 

[FrDavid96]

I attended Mass in a parish far from home and was quite surprise to see how they deal with baptism.

The ritual is spread over at least 2 Sundays, with the reception of the child one Sunday and the baptism on another Sunday. I can’t remember if they did the anointing with the Oil of Catechumen at the same Mass as the reception or if that was done separately on a second Sunday with Baptism on a third Sunday.

I know that for baptisms that occur at the Easter Vigil, all those rituals are done before “at a convenient time” but I was wondering if it was OK to split the Rite of Baptism over two or three Sundays like that on a regular basis? I’ve searched documents but haven’t come up with an answer to the question.

Phemie,
I too have been unable to locate anything at all to justify this practice (other than if the Baptism occurs at the Easter Vigil).