Every Mass celebrated in our parish is offered for a specific intention. This is an ancient practice, but one that is often misunderstood. Many people believe that Mass can only be offered for the deceased, but in reality a Mass can be offered for any good and noble intention: in thanksgiving for answered prayers, for the intentions of another person on their birthday or anniversary, for the repose of the soul of a loved one – the possibilities are quite endless.

When a priest goes to the altar to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass – the selfsame Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross offered once and for all – he does so with three intentions in mind. First, to offer the Mass reverently and validly in accord with the rubrics and norms of the Church. Second, to offer the Mass in union with the Holy Father, the diocesan bishop, and for the good of the whole Church: for all the faithful both living and deceased. And third, to offer Mass for a specific intention, usually entrusted to him by a member of the faithful. Each priest who approaches the altar each day carefully brings these intentions with him, and throughout the entire Eucharistic Prayer is prayerfully and purposefully joining the specific intention of the Mass and offering it up to God the Father along with the Lord’s Body and Blood. The benefit of a Mass intention is not simply that that the community can hear the intention read aloud at Mass or see it printed in the bulletin (although this is quite fine!) – the real benefit is having this particular intention remembered and raised to God by the priest in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.

In the early days of the Church, when a member of the faithful wanted to have the priest offer Mass for a specific intention, it was customary to then provide the physical means needed for the offering of the Mass: for example, the bread, the wine, the altar candles, etc. This sacrificial offering on the part of the person – called the stips oblata – gave them a concrete way to join their offering to the offering of the priest on the altar. In a sense, it is the priest and the member of the faithful joining together to bring this special intention to Christ Who receives it and offers it to the Father. It modern days it is impractical for people to offer the physical items needed for Mass, but through a monetary offering they are still able to have a material participation in the offering of Mass. The customary offering of $10 is only a representation of the basic cost of offering Mass: it represents the cost of the bread, the wine, the candles (and even the electricity and heat!) The priest receives this $10 once each day that he goes to the altar, and this helps to provide for his sustenance.

All of the faithful are encouraged to have Masses offered regularly and often for their intentions, and they may do so for a wide variety of reasons. They can certainly ask that Mass be offered for the repose of the souls of their loved ones, but also for any intention that is good and that profits the health and salvation of their family members, friends, neighbors, and fellow parishioners.

If you would like to have Masses offered for your intentions, please fill out the form below (one intention per form) or call our parish office at 207-827-4000.