However worthy and noble and symbolically and liturgically desirable Baptism at Sunday Mass may be, I have another perspective: Baptisms are an important teaching moment for the family. Frequently family members attend a Baptism who otherwise may not have attended church for some time. The occasion of Baptism is a special and important day for the family. In the setting of all that, I regret that families experiencing their special day may do so at a regular Sunday Mass where 90% of the people in the pews aren’t known to the family, likely don’t care, feel put-upon that Mass is taking longer than they expect, and during the Baptism ritual itself generate a background chorus of throat-clearing, butt-shifting, change-rattling, small child squaling noise to detract from the experience. This is especially pronounced when there were multiple children to be Baptized at the same Mass.
My prior parish used to do this, and I always felt bad that the families usually ended-up feeling that what should have been a special experience instead came across as a. Imposition on the congregation.
For all of these reasons I have always felt that Baptisms outside of Mass, in the end, made for a better experience for the families. I’m sure there are congregations out there that are far more supporting of Baptisms at Mass, but I also don’t think my experiences are unique.
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RyanBlack:
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As a result my daughter had her children baptized at other parishes. That seems simple but you should understand that the closest other parish was two hours away. She lives in a rural area.