It is a time-honored
tradition of our Catholic faith to have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered
for friends and relatives, both living and deceased. Most often this happens at the time of death
as an expression of sympathy to the family and as a tangible spiritual benefit for
the person who has died. This is a much
more substantial and enduring gift than the sending of flowers or other condolences.
In addition, a Mass can also be offered
for a living person and their intentions or to honor a significant milestone in
someone’s life. In describing the
spiritual benefits of the Mass, the Church teaches that
…the Eucharistic sacrifice, the memorial of
the death and resurrection of the Lord, in which the sacrifice of the cross is
perpetuated through the ages is the summit and source of all worship and
Christian life, which signifies and effects the unity of the People of God and
brings about the building up of the body of Christ.
Also part of our
tradition is the custom of the faithful making a free will offering, or
stipend, to the priest who celebrates the Mass.
This is not to be seen as “paying” to have a Mass offered. Rather, it is one of the means by which the
priest is able to support himself. The
need for this kind of support is particularly acute in the missions. Many priests in mission territories receive
no salary and the people whom they serve are too poor to support them. They
rely heavily on Mass stipends for their very survival.
The benefit of Mass
stipends sent to missionaries is twofold.
Those who request a Mass and those for whom the Mass is offered benefit
spiritually and the priest receives financial support to enable him to carry
out his ministry. Our office receives
many more requests for Mass offerings from bishops for their priests in the
missions than we are able to fulfill.
You can help greatly to support the missionary work of the Church by
using the Mass cards from The Society for the Propagation of the Faith. We will be happy to send you a supply at your
request. Please contact our office at
617.542.1776. Your support of the
missions is deeply appreciated by those who rely on your generosity to enable
them to carry out the work of preaching the Gospel.
For further information
concerning the missionary work of the Church, see our website, www.propfaithboston.org.
Rev. Rodney J. Copp JCL
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