Baptism at Sunday Mass

[adrift]

There are never baptisms in Lent.

My son was baptized in lent.

 

[adrift]

I’ve never heard of this. Is it a diocesan policy, or a tradition of the Latin Church? Is it canon law?

Can. 856 Although baptism can be celebrated on any day, it is nevertheless recommended that it be celebrated ordinarily on Sunday or, if possible, at the Easter Vigil.
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.
My son was baptized in lent.

 

[larsont7]

I’ve never heard of this. Is it a diocesan policy, or a tradition of the Latin Church? Is it canon law?

Canon Law does not prohibit infant baptisms during Lent. Here are the relevant canons:

“Can. 856 Although baptism can be celebrated on any day, it is nevertheless recommended that it be celebrated ordinarily on Sunday or, if possible, at the Easter Vigil.”

“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.”

Remember, Sundays during Lent are technically not part of Lent, and do not count towards the 40 days of preparation. Also, Canon 867 seems to suggest that it is better to have infants baptized ASAP rather than wait, though I suppose if the child is in good health, there is nothing wrong with waiting for the Vigil.

 

[larsont7]

Can. 856 Although baptism can be celebrated on any day, it is nevertheless recommended that it be celebrated ordinarily on Sunday or, if possible, at the Easter Vigil.
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.
My son was baptized in lent.

Oops. Looks like you beat me to it.

 

[otjm]

This seems awfully harsh, and doesn’t seem to address what Tarpeian was saying at all. I thought his points were valid, and had nothing to with excluding the rest of the parish to avoid being congratulated and having to meet new people.

As I mentioned in a previous post, our baptisms generally take place after Mass, and it’s common for other parishioners to stay late and witness the baptism with the family. Just because one wants a more intimate setting for family and friends to witness their child’s baptism does not mean they are trying to avoid the rest of the congregation, and to suggest so is preposterous.

well, I am inclined to think that “preposterous” is a twenty five cent term in a ten cent conversation.

I really don’t think my comment was so preposterous. It was directed to the poster who didn’t know 90% of the congregation. And given that in a social situation, my tendency is a bit toward the shy side (I would never make it as a car salesman!), I don’t need a lecture about shy. But Mass is about community, not “me and Jesus”.

I spent much of my youth in a small, Holland Dutch farm community, and I know dour, and I know shy, and I know “not outgoing” - but they were fiercely a community. Everyone knew everyone, and anyone who was a stranger did not stay that way for long, at all.

So I don’t think I was harsh with the poster. Frank, maybe, but not harsh. And there is a difference, contrary to those who think that politically correct speech is the norm of the day, week, moth, and public forum. Musn’t ruffle any feathers, now.

 

[Phemie]

I’ve never heard of this. Is it a diocesan policy, or a tradition of the Latin Church? Is it canon law?

It’s not Canon Law and it’s certainly not tradition either since the Church requires Baptism with little delay. But it has become the trend In many parishes. Then again, it has also become the trend to remove Holy Water from the stoups at the entrance to the Church during Lent – something Rome has said is a no-no.

Our former parish administrator (not a priest) wouldn’t allow Baptism in Advent or Lent. When we finally got a Pastor his comment was, “You MIGHT be able to make an argument for no Baptism during Lent but none for no Baptism during Advent” so he just baptized whenever someone wanted Baptism.

Our new Pastor won’t baptize during Lent except in an emergency or a family situation where the grandparents have to fly black home before Easter or some such. He also removed the Holy Water from the stoups – not sure he’s ever seen the letter from Rome on that subject but based on some of his prior comments I’m pretty sure he’d ignore it.

 

[adrift]

Oops. Looks like you beat me to it.

Your answer was better.

 

[otjm]

I have been a member of my parish for just about 26 years and I am involved in seven ministries, including baptism, in my parish, a parish that is pushing 6,000 families as we speak. I don’t know 600 families and to say that that is sad is a joke. I know a lot of people, probably more than make up many parishes, but to make a blanket statement like you did is silly.Well, let’s talk about that. 11:00 am Mass on Sunday typically has 1,600 to 1,800 people in attendance. The area around the baptismal font is crowded with people standing for the Mass that have to be moved so that the baptism can take place. How many people at the Mass do you really think will get to know the family during the baptism?

Does someone coming up to congratulate you equivalent to getting to know them?

Why did the Church develop a specific Rite of Baptism for Infants?

Peace

Tim

Hey Tim - I didn’t make a blanket statement; I made a specific statement to a specific poster. But hey - thanks anyway.

Although you and the poster I was speaking to know about 10%, I have a strong suspicion his 10% is a whole lot smaller.

 

[Gorgias]

It’s not Canon Law and it’s certainly not tradition either since the Church requires Baptism with little delay.

Well, I don’t think that the assertion would be “no baptisms during Lent,” per se, so much as it would be, “can we schedule the baptism for Easter Vigil?”. Of course, for a person looking at it from the outside, it could easily be misinterpreted as “no baptisms during Lent,” or poorly explained as if that’s what the intent is…

 

[pianistclare]

Oops. Looks like you beat me to it.

Well. Tell it to this Archdiocese.
I schedule the Baptisms and have been instructed by each parish pastor I have worked with that we do not Baptize in Lent. We offer the classes for parents and godparents.
But we don’t Baptize in Lent.


PS: we have holy water year-round. I don’t think placing the 2 topics in the same sentence has any merit.

 

[RyanBlack]

Well. Tell it to this Archdiocese.
I schedule the Baptisms and have been instructed by each parish pastor I have worked with that we do not Baptize in Lent. We offer the classes for parents and godparents.
But we don’t Baptize in Lent.


PS: we have holy water year-round. I don’t think placing the 2 topics in the same sentence has any merit.

A bishop has the authority not to permit baptisms during Lent in his diocese, and a pastor can implement such a policy in his parish. However, there is no church law prohibiting baptisms during Lent.

 

[pianistclare]

A bishop has the authority not to permit baptisms during Lent in his diocese, and a pastor can implement such a policy in his parish. However, there is no church law prohibiting baptisms during Lent.

Thanks Ryan. That must be it.
Peace!

 

[BoysMama]

My younger sons were baptized at a school mass which fell on a Thursday. The parish priest felt it would be nice for the students to see. It was beautiful and amazing experience.

 

[larsont7]

A bishop has the authority not to permit baptisms during Lent in his diocese, and a pastor can implement such a policy in his parish. However, there is no church law prohibiting baptisms during Lent.

Do you know of any archdiocese that has this stipulation? I’m not saying it can’t happen, but I can’t imagine why it would. If a woman had her baby just days before Ash Wednesday, she’d have to wait over 6 weeks before she could get the baby baptized, which is over twice as long as the Church recommends. Again, I’m not saying a bishop doesn’t have that power (I really don’t know), but it seems like he’d have to make quite a few exceptions.

The way around this, of course, is what I mentioned in a previous post about the Sundays in Lent. The Sundays fall within Lent, but are technically not a part of Lent. So I suppose one could say as long as the baby is baptized on a Sunday in Lent, then they are still following the bishop or pastor’s requirements.

 

[Phemie]

Well, I don’t think that the assertion would be “no baptisms during Lent,” per se, so much as it would be, “can we schedule the baptism for Easter Vigil?”. Of course, for a person looking at it from the outside, it could easily be misinterpreted as “no baptisms during Lent,” or poorly explained as if that’s what the intent is…

No, believe me, I didn’t “misunderstand”. “I won’t celebrate Baptism during Lent, so don’t schedule any” is not the same as “Could you schedule Baptisms for the Vigil?” Actually, this pastor wants his Easter Baptisms at the morning Mass, not the Vigil. Probably a good thing since in 14 years of trying we’ve never been able to convince any parents to have their babies baptized at the Vigil.

 

[Gorgias]

No, believe me, I didn’t “misunderstand”. “I won’t celebrate Baptism during Lent, so don’t schedule any” is not the same as “Could you schedule Baptisms for the Vigil?” Actually, this pastor wants his Easter Baptisms at the morning Mass, not the Vigil.

Which I think I covered in my post, having said, “or poorly explained, given that the intent is to baptize on Easter”…

Probably a good thing since in 14 years of trying we’ve never been able to convince any parents to have their babies baptized at the Vigil.

makes sense… but still sad, given what the rite asks of us…

 

[Phemie]

Which I think I covered in my post, having said, “or poorly explained, given that the intent is to baptize on Easter”…

makes sense… but still sad, given what the rite asks of us…

No, you don’t get it. He’ll refuse to baptize a child whose parents want him/her baptized during Lent. “Don’t ask me, I won’t do it.” You’re out of luck if you prepared ahead of time with the intention to baptize ASAP after birth and you deliver on Maundy Tuesday. No baptism for your child for 6 weeks. Remember, this is the person who also removes the Holy Water from the stoups at the entrance to the church.

It was funny the first year he was here. He removed the water, the sacristan came by and saw empty stoups and filled them, he came by and emptied them again and she filled them again, wondering how people were using so much Holy Water all of a sudden. He never told her what he was doing and he finally gave up but this past Lent he was proactive and just removed the bowls completely.

 

[adrift]

Well. Tell it to this Archdiocese.
I schedule the Baptisms and have been instructed by each parish pastor I have worked with that we do not Baptize in Lent. We offer the classes for parents and godparents.
But we don’t Baptize in Lent.


PS: we have holy water year-round. I don’t think placing the 2 topics in the same sentence has any merit.

As you have found out, there are parishes who don’t do it. But that does not equate to a Church law that forbids it.

 

[adrift]

No, believe me, I didn’t “misunderstand”. “I won’t celebrate Baptism during Lent, so don’t schedule any” is not the same as “Could you schedule Baptisms for the Vigil?” Actually, this pastor wants his Easter Baptisms at the morning Mass, not the Vigil. Probably a good thing since in 14 years of trying we’ve never been able to convince any parents to have their babies baptized at the Vigil.

Morning Mass?

 

[Gorgias]

No, you don’t get it. He’ll refuse to baptize a child whose parents want him/her baptized during Lent. “Don’t ask me, I won’t do it.”

Fair enough.

If you asked him ‘why’, though, what would he say? Would it be simply “not during Lent” or “wait until Easter”?

Remember, this is the person who also removes the Holy Water from the stoups at the entrance to the church.

Yeah, don’t get me started on that. How weird and un-Catholic…!