Should a priest play the guitar at a baptism?

[Catholic4Christ]

I was attending Mass recently and there was a baptism during the service. The monsignor who was presiding is a very kind man (though a little quirky). He studied canon law in Rome, so I have no doubt that he is educated. During the baptism, he took out an electric guitar and sang a song (quite well, I might add). Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t really bothered by this. It was just a little unexpected and maybe unorthodox. Should this happen during a baptism?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

No, of course not. Neither the Mass nor a baptism is an appropriate place for the celebrant to show off his musical skills to a captive audience. His “job” was to preside at the Mass and to administer the baptism. To give an impromptu concert in the middle of this was a distraction, at best; at worst, it was a belittling of the dignity of the liturgy and of his own dignity as a priest. And, assuming that the parents were not expecting this “performance,” he also risked mortifying them. If the parents did want him to perform, it should have been scheduled for the post-baptismal reception.