Celebrating Sacraments During Sunday Mass

It’s Saturday or Sunday – time for Mass. When you walk into the sanctuary, you observe that the pew where you normally sit has a “Reserved” sign on it: it’s saved for a family with a child making 1st Communion…or being baptized…or maybe even Confirmation. Maybe there are several “Reserved” pews. Why are children and sometimes adults receiving sacraments during Mass? Don’t the pastor and the staff understand that these disruptions add literally minutes to the sacrifice of the Mass?

Can’t sacraments like Baptisms, First Communions, and Confirmations be celebrated in ways that don’t disturb Sunday Mass for the rest of us? The short answer is yes – Baptisms can be celebrated outside of Mass completely, and those making First Communion and Confirmation could, and sometimes do, have their own special Mass.
But should these sacraments be celebrated outside of Sunday Mass?

Let’s pause for a moment and ask how Jesus would respond. In the Gospels, Jesus says to the Apostles, “Let the children come to Me, do not hinder them … for to such belongs the kingdom of God" (Mk. 10:14) and "Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 18:3).

Pope John Paul II reflects, “How important children are in the eyes of Jesus...a child represents the joy not only of its parents but also the joy of the Church and the whole of society.”

The Rite of Baptism for Children strongly recommends that Baptisms take place on Sunday and include the active participation of the assembly along with all the elements of a genuine celebration. The obvious way to meet these recommendations is to incorporate the sacrament of Baptism into the parish Sunday Mass, a practice that is encouraged because it enables the entire community to be present.

Nothing touches, or teaches, an assembly more than the sight of a vulnerable baby dripping with the waters of baptism. Sharing Eucharist together after such an experience takes on a dimension which makes the inconvenience seem trivial. Watching a little girl or boy reverently receiving Holy Communion for the first time takes us back to a remembrance of our own First Communion, such a special time. Seeing the bishop anoint the forehead of a young man or woman confirming their Faith and devotion to this Church stirs the hope in our hearts.

We are the Body of Christ, and, to feed our own souls with joy and hope, we need to participate in the celebration of the sacraments with joyful hearts.