From the very earliest days of the Church, the custom of asking a priest to offer Mass for a particular intention has been practiced in the Church. Crypts in the catacombs in Rome, dating from the second century, have inscriptions asking people to remember them at the sacrifice of the Mass, particularly on the anniversary of their death. 

Why do we do this? Quite simply, as Pope Paul VI once said, “The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer.” God grants us such special graces through the Eucharistic Sacrifice.

At first, the Mass was offered for the local Christian community, the parish if you will. This is still important, for we need those special graces for living out the vocation that God has called us to. In fact, the pastor of a parish is still required to offer one Mass each week “pro populo” – “for the people.”

As it became apparent that Jesus’ second coming would not be immediately, and Christians died, the idea of offering the Mass for the repose of the deceased person’s soul became common. The current Code of Canon Law says, “The Christian faithful who give an offering to apply the Mass for their intention contribute to the good of the Church and by that offering share its concern to support its ministers and works” (945 §2).

As the Church continued to grow in the early centuries, the ministerial priesthood became more of a full-time job, so the donations that the faith gave the priest for the celebration of Mass was the source of the priest’s income. It was then that it became more common to also have Masses offered for birthdays, wedding anniversaries, in thanksgiving for a particular grace. All good things, but as human nature is still fallen, it also led to some abuses. In the extreme, there were priests who would say one Mass after another, all day, just for the stipends.

Because of these abuses, the Church established several Canons in its law, regarding Mass intentions and stipends. Most importantly, “Any appearance of trafficking or trading is to be excluded from the offering for Masses” (Canon 947). As required, the bishops in the province of New Jersey has established the norm for a Mass stipend at $10 per Mass. Canon Law goes on to say that each Mass should only have one intention, but for pastoral necessity, a Mass can have more than one intention but people have to know that there may be more than one intention for the Mass (which is the case here at Resurrection Parish). The priest may only receive one stipend per day. Now a priest is only suppose to say one Mass each day, with permission to offer a second Mass for pastoral necessity (typically a funeral Mass), and on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation the local bishop can allow a priest to say a third Mass (which I have received). But even when saying more than one Mass, and even if the Mass has more than one intention, I still only receive $10; the other stipends Bishop O’Connell has instructed me to send to the Diocesan Mission Office. Priest are also expected to offer the Mass within a year of receiving the stipend.

At first, we were only accepting one intention per Mass, but all of our Masses for 2019 were filled up by April 1, so I told Mariana that from now on we will accept up to two intentions per Mass. I also made a decision which I expected would disappoint some people, namely that I will only accept Mass intentions for the dead. It is true I could accept them for other reasons, but since it is seen as a contract with me, I needed to decide who I would disappoint.

When I was a seminarian, a man came to the parish office to have a Mass said for his sister, who had just died. While we were talking, he sadly said that now there would be no one to have a Mass said for him when he died, because all his siblings were dead, and none of his nieces and nephews went to Church. I promised him, that if I became a priest, I would offer a Mass for him – a promise I kept when he died. But that incidence had a profound impact on me. It is a spiritual act of mercy to pray for the dead, yet so many younger people seem to not think it is important. It breaks my heart when I see the children of someone who has been a church-goer all their lives, not have a funeral Mass for their parent when they die. Maybe it is due to presumption – so many people today think everyone goes directly to heaven – but we seem to have forgotten the souls in Purgatory. If you have been to confession to me, you know that when I give the penance to say so many Our Fathers and/or Hail Marys, I usually add “for the souls in Purgatory.” I have also witnessed the disappointment of a person who has not been able to get a Mass said for a loved one who just died because the Mass Intention book was full.

So for now, I only offer Mass for the intention of someone who has died. I want all those special graces of the Mass to flood on souls in Purgatory. I am sorry if you are disappointed that I will not offer a Mass for your birthday or wedding anniversary – those are truly wonderful things to celebrate, and if you tell me when they are, I will offer my Rosary that day for you. But right now, I rather not disappoint a person who has just lost a loved one who wants to have a Mass said for them.