Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church at 451 S. Getty Street, Muskegon, MI 49442 US - The Scheduling of Mass Intentions

Prayer for the dead was a practice of the Jewish people even before the time of Christ. For Christians, it flows from our belief in the resurrection of the dead and the communion of saints.

Mass intentions and the accompanying offering or stipend came about at a time when such stipends were the primary or even sole means of support for the clergy. Today, priests receive a fixed salary which is drawn from the parish budget.

According to Church Law, once a stipend has been received, no other intentions may be published for the same Mass. It is easy to understand the intent of the law and the abuses it wishes to prevent. It certainly has nothing to do with the value of our prayer at the Eucharist. The Eucharist has infinite value and the prayer of the faithful insures that everyone’s intentions are prayed for, not just those mentioned in the bulletin or in the prayers of the Mass. Prayers of the Mass are not bought or sold. The New Testament condemns that practice as “simony.”

In addition to Mass intentions on the anniversary of death for the deceased or the occasion of a birthday, intentions are also requested for the anniversaries of marriage, health of a person, and safe travels for loved one.

A few years ago, the Bishop approved new sacramental guidelines which clarified the practice of Mass intentions. We have been examining our current practice and how we can best respond, especially given the increase in funerals and requests to remember the deceased at parish Masses. The number of requests has exceeded the number of Masses in the parish within a year’s time. To accommodate the large and growing number of requests for all Mass intentions, a new procedure was required. This will be implemented on March 1, 2007.

We will continue to accept Mass intentions, but we will not accept a stipend (a monetary fee) for a particular Mass. This will allow us to schedule more than one intention for each Mass. If a family or individual wishes, they can make a donation in honor of the loved one and, as is presently done, the donations will be placed in a Mass account and will be used for needs of the parish. Please understand, you may still request a special day, but your loved one may be among many remembered.

The intentions will continue to be published in the bulletin, but will no longer be mentioned in the general intercessions (Prayers of the Faithful) at Mass.

For those who still want to make a monetary contribution for a sole intention at a Mass, the stipends’ will be received in the parish office but will be directed to missionaries or other priests (retired priests, chaplains) who rely upon the Mass stipends’ for financial support.

We trust that these adjustments to the times and circumstances will continue to promote remembering our loved ones, especially the faithful departed.