Baptism: during Mass or not?

[Oneofthewomen]

The parish I currently attend celebrates baptisms during Mass. We have been pretty lucky, as we have had at least one baptism a weekend since Easter.

There are other parishes in my diocese that have baptisms on a Sunday afternoon, outside of Mass.

There are still others who allow a family to pick a private time, again outside of Mass, for baptisms.

I have heard some, over the years, grumble about Baptisms during Mass, as they tend to make Mass a little longer than the typical 60 minutes or less.

IMHO, all baptisms should be, so long as there are not dire circumstances( i.e. danger of death) celebrated in the context of the Mass. Not only is the child being baptised being born again into a life with Christ, through baptism they are becoming a new member of the community, and it is the responsibility of ***all ***the members of the faithful to stand along side with the parents and Godparents, as they profess their faith and desire to raise their child in that faith.

What happens in your parish?

Thoughts, comments?

 

[roadsend]

Out of courtesy to those attending, it should be announced in the bulletin a week before so that folks might plan accordingly.
Folks, who have commitments to meet, often must leave early if a Baptism is held, since it can add twenty or more minutes to the Mass.
When my kids and grandkids were baptized, it was done after the last Mass of the day. Those friends and family who were able and chose to stay, did.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

My parish has baptisms during Mass and I love it. I think it’s appropriate to celebrate the various sacraments during Mass if possible and I think it’s good for the community to be present. We rotate baptisms through the various Masses so even if you always attend the same Mass you’ll have occasions to witness baptisms. We also celebrate First Communion and Confirmation at regular Sunday Masses rather than special Masses set aside for those sacraments.

 

[ljubim]

I’ve only seen it during Mass - but thinking about it, it seems quite approporiate outside of Mass… the only sacrament that really belongs to the Mass is the Eucharist, and just as Confession/Marriage/whatever is done beforehand, it seems like not would emphasize the individual importance of the sacrament

 

[Sunlight90]

The parish I currently attend celebrates baptisms during Mass. We have been pretty lucky, as we have had at least one baptism a weekend since Easter.

There are other parishes in my diocese that have baptisms on a Sunday afternoon, outside of Mass.

There are still others who allow a family to pick a private time, again outside of Mass, for baptisms.

I have heard some, over the years, grumble about Baptisms during Mass, as they tend to make Mass a little longer than the typical 60 minutes or less.

IMHO, all baptisms should be, so long as there are not dire circumstances( i.e. danger of death) celebrated in the context of the Mass. Not only is the child being baptised being born again into a life with Christ, through baptism they are becoming a new member of the community, and it is the responsibility of ***all ***the members of the faithful to stand along side with the parents and Godparents, as they profess their faith and desire to raise their child in that faith.

What happens in your parish?

Thoughts, comments?

I agree. I would also prefer that baptism be celebrated in the context of a liturgy.

 

[Willy_Jose]

…IMHO, all baptisms should be, so long as there are not dire circumstances( i.e. danger of death) celebrated in the context of the Mass. Not only is the child being baptised being born again into a life with Christ, through baptism they are becoming a new member of the community, and it is the responsibility of ***all ***the members of the faithful to stand along side with the parents and Godparents, as they profess their faith and desire to raise their child in that faith.

What happens in your parish?

Thoughts, comments?

I personally agree with your thoughts about the preference that Baptism is conducted during Mass. In our parish, it is usually conducted within the Mass, but there are certain exceptions. At any rate, Baptisms that are conducted in accordance with the prescriptions of Canons 849-87 are all valid baptisms, whether or not conducted within or outside of the Mass. Makes no difference. The indelible mark of the Holy Spirit is bestowed, and makes one a member of Christ’s Church.

 

[Sunlight90]

I personally agree with your thoughts about the preference that Baptism is conducted during Mass. In our parish, it is usually conducted within the Mass, but there are certain exceptions. At any rate, Baptisms that are conducted in accordance with the prescriptions of Canons 849-87 are all valid baptisms, whether or not conducted within or outside of the Mass. Makes no difference. The indelible mark of the Holy Spirit is bestowed, and makes one a member of Christ’s Church.

I agree with this. As long as the baptism is done via the proper method and with the proper intent, it is valid. I think also that if the person being baptized is an adult, they should also have a proper disposition. However, I am not entirely sure on that one. I do believe that for a sacrament to be valid, there must be valid matter, valid intent, and valid minister though. One’s definition of what those things are, though, differs among various people and to me, that’s okay. Why? Because perhaps there isn’t a single thing that qualifies as “valid”.

 

[PatriceA]

I personally perferred DD’s baptism outside of mass, immediately after. We had too many members of our extended family that were not Catholic, and the priest was able to take the time and explain all that takes place during the sacrament to the non Catholic members because it was done outside of the liturgy. I think it planted some seeds as a couple of the family members have since converted.

 

[choy]

I’ve only seen it during Mass - but thinking about it, it seems quite approporiate outside of Mass… the only sacrament that really belongs to the Mass is the Eucharist, and just as Confession/Marriage/whatever is done beforehand, it seems like not would emphasize the individual importance of the sacrament

wait, weddings are done during Mass
mine was

but at least its not during the publicly scheduled Mass

 

[MarkThompson]

wait, weddings are done during Mass
mine was

but at least its not during the publicly scheduled Mass

They can be – I’ve seen it.

 

[choy]

They can be – I’ve seen it.

to tell you the truth, i have never attended a wedding outside of a Mass except for my sister’s in the US

but again in the Philippines, a wedding is usually a privately scheduled Mass and usually the people in the church are family and friends. depends on the church, if you’re in one of the more famous churches then there will always be visitors

 

[Ponyguy]

I personally preferred DD’s baptism outside of mass, immediately after. We had too many members of our extended family that were not Catholic, and the priest was able to take the time and explain all that takes place during the sacrament to the non Catholic members because it was done outside of the liturgy. I think it planted some seeds as a couple of the family members have since converted.

Good idea! ^^^

To be honest, I can’t really remember too much about our sons’ baptisms… only that they were.

But our grandchildren were baptized in the afternoon, immediately after the noon Mass. Like PatriceA mentions above, it offers a more relaxed atmosphere, where each child and their respective families and Godparents are allowed some personal time so the priest can explain what is happening and why, or just to allow time for fussy babies to gather themselves together.

I’ve participated in some regular Sunday Masses where a baptism or two were included within the liturgy, and the priest obviously rushed the ceremony for the sake of the rest of the congregation. The child’s baptism is his/her first Sacrament and introduction to, and welcome from, the Catholic Church! It’s too important an occasion upon which to perform a rush job, to my way of thinking.

For whatever it may be worth, at our grandchildren’s Baptisms, all the children who were to be baptized (and their families, of course) were seated together in reserved pews at the front of the church for Mass. The imminent Baptisms were announced during the “weekly parish announcements” at Mass, and anyone who wished to attend was invited to stay; somehow, the topic of sacramental Baptism usually made its way into the homily. After Mass concluded, the congregation exited and the priest did his usual post-Mass greeting to people as they left; once the church was pretty well emptied out, he returned and began the Baptisms. So, the children’s Baptisms were intertwined with, yet separate from, the Mass. Works for me…

 

[CB_Catholic]

The parish I currently attend celebrates baptisms during Mass. We have been pretty lucky, as we have had at least one baptism a weekend since Easter.

There are other parishes in my diocese that have baptisms on a Sunday afternoon, outside of Mass.

There are still others who allow a family to pick a private time, again outside of Mass, for baptisms.

I have heard some, over the years, grumble about Baptisms during Mass, as they tend to make Mass a little longer than the typical 60 minutes or less.

IMHO, all baptisms should be, so long as there are not dire circumstances( i.e. danger of death) celebrated in the context of the Mass. Not only is the child being baptised being born again into a life with Christ, through baptism they are becoming a new member of the community, and it is the responsibility of ***all ***the members of the faithful to stand along side with the parents and Godparents, as they profess their faith and desire to raise their child in that faith.

What happens in your parish?

Thoughts, comments?

Our infant Baptism schedule varies according to the week of the month:
1st Sunday at 9 am Mass
2nd Sunday at 2M, outside of Mass
3rd Sunday at 10:45 am Mass
4th Sunday at 12:30 pm Mass

Adults or older children outside of RCIA (which occasionally happens) can be baptized at any Mass. No baptisms at the Sat. Vigil Masses.

This is a set schedule announced in the bulletin, and it allows both for parishoners to be present at baptisms if they regularly attend a certain Mass, or for those who don’t wish to be present d/t time constraints, to attend another Mass. I think it is fair and considers the needs of the entire parish.

I love baptisms at Mass.

 

[Phemie]

In our parish baptisms are always celebrated during Mass. The pastor prefers to have them at the Saturday anticipated Mass but once per quarter they will be celebrated on Sunday.

I personally prefer Sunday morning because the choir is there and the acclamations are sung at all the place where they are called for. On Saturdays I become the one who is expected to chant the Litany of the Saints and I will begin an ‘Alleluia’ & hope the rest of the congregation join in. While nobody has rushed out of church due to the assault on their ears, I know they’d much prefer the choir director’s dulcet tones to my voice any day – I know I do.

We have also celebrated them during weekday Masses either because of a non-Catholic parent who felt more comfortable at a weekday Mass with few people or because dad was unable to be present on a weekend due to work commitments (either working out of town and only home for a few days or a shift worker with few weekends off).

 

[puzzleannie]

my opinion is irrelevant, the fact is the Church prescribes celebration of sacraments of initiation in the context of Mass unless there is no alternative. That being said, the parish has to work with the resources of time, space and ministers available. Here the deacon baptizes 6 times a year, allowing time for the preparation classes mandated by the diocese, there is a celebration in English on Saturday morning, and another in Spanish on Saturday afternoon, and each pretty much fills our church, so during Sunday Mass, even allowing for weekly baptisms, would be a challenge. The last Mass is SRO as it is and the others are also pretty full.

 

[ljubim]

wait, weddings are done during Mass
mine was

but at least its not during the publicly scheduled Mass

Oh I thought they were right before Sorry!

I guess there’s different options

 

[Phemie]

Oh I thought they were right before Sorry!

I guess there’s different options

The Rite of Marriage is right after the Homily and ends with the General Intercessions. Then Mass continues as usual until the Lord’s Prayer, after which is the Nuptial Blessing.

 

[choy]

i’m not sure about the options here in North America but in the Philippines its always a full mass with the Marriage Rite. its not a big problem there because most people are Catholics so chances are those getting married are both Catholics

i know when my sister was getting married the priest didn’t allow them to have a full mass because my brother-in-law was not confirmed yet at that time. they couldn’t wait because they wanted the date(7-7-7) so they pushed through with the wedding. so the priest just conducted the Rite without Mass (so no Communion)

 

[SMHW]

The majority of the baptisms at my parish are after the last Sunday Mass (which ends around noon.) It’s not uncommon that you see families at that Mass who will be having their child baptized following Mass.

But anyone who wants to have the child baptized during the 9:00am or 11:00am Masses can make arrangements to do so. It seems that there is usually a limit of two children per Mass (but I’ve seen more) so that Mass does not become unduly long. As a result, the parishioners love to see babies and young children baptized at Mass.