- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
I must chime in with those who object to this woman having a christening if she is treating it merely as an excuse to have a perfect party. It's the natural progression of "I'm (foot stomp) the Bride, It's My (foot stomp) Day and It's (foot stomp) MY Way or Else!"
Christenings, like weddings, are about the family -- the baby or bride and groom are merely the props. Weddings are about joining families together; christenings are about welcoming a child into the church.
Years ago, my mother was in high dudgeon for months because my younger brother and his wife were not going to have their child baptised in the Catholic Church. It wasn't that she thought he should be baptised: It was that there would not be a member of our family baptised in the beautiful handmade christening gown that had been worn in baptisms by almost everyone in our family since my grandmother.
Naturally, she twisted this around and claimed it was about the Church, but of course it was merely the damn dress.
I tried to explain that my brother and his wife were actually showing more respect to the Church by not going through what would, for them, be an empty ritual. The baptism would amount to a promise they had no intention of keeping. But of course, the ritual was more important than the people involved. Just as it seems to be for your LW.
