Part 2 of 3:  Why Celebrate Baptism in the Sunday Liturgy?

Today, many parishes celebrate Baptism within the Sunday Eucharistic Liturgy.  Why?  All of the Sacraments are community events.  They are not primarily “private” moments or individual celebrations.  The Sacraments are celebrations of the whole Church, represented by the parish family!  This is especially true of Baptism, because it changes the status of the one being baptized into a member of the Church community.  The baptized person enters into a special relationship with the Church and with God.  This status or identity is renewed in Sunday Eucharist.  Celebrating Baptisms of babies during Sunday Eucharist signifies that baptism is incorporating the baby into both the Church and the Life of Christ.  It also gives mature Catholics a chance to reflect on the meaning of their own baptism which happened so many years ago.  Next week we will learn about the importance of the parish community at Baptism.  This update is part of a series on celebrating baptism during Mass. This will be an option for our parishioners beginning in December.