A part of
Catholic culture that is sometimes hard to understand and very often
misunderstood is the custom of offering Mass intentions. What happens is the
priest offers each celebration of the Eucharist for a particular person, or
intention. By doing so he applies special graces from God upon that person or
intention. Similar to how we are able to intercede for others by our personal
prayers, the Church is able to intercede for us through the celebration of the
Mass. However, since the Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian
life” the Mass possess a power that our personal prayers do not have.
The practice of offering Mass for particular
intentions is an ancient one, dating back to the early Church. Inscriptions
discovered on tombs in Roman catacombs of the second century give evidence for
this practice: for example, the epitaph on the tomb of Abercius (d. 180),
Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia, begs for prayers for the repose of his soul.
Tertullian (c. 200) attested to observing the anniversary of a spouse with
prayers and sacrifices, i.e. the Mass. This tradition is also seen in St.
Augustine’s Confessions (c. 397), where Monica asks Augustine, “One thing only
I ask you, that you remember me at the altar of the Lord.” Canon Law confirms
this practice and states, “In accord with the approved practice of the Church,
any priest celebrating or concelebrating is permitted to receive an offering to
apply the Mass for a specific intention” (Can. 945 §1). Furthermore, it
continues by saying, “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).
What this refers to is a long standing
practice in the Church of offering a specified amount of money to the Church
for a particular intention offered by the priest. Upon hearing this practice
many people might be tempted to think it is “simony,” the selling of sacred
things for money. However, it is not simony, or the buying of a sacred thing,
to offer the priest money for saying Mass for our intention, because the priest
does not take the money for the Mass itself, but for the purpose of supplying
the things necessary for Mass and for his own support.” While it is true that
this custom has been abused in the past, the Church lays out specific rules
regarding the money paid for Mass intentions. Each council of bishops
determines the amount acceptable for the region, but the priest will offer a
Mass for an intention even if someone doesn’t have the money for it.
In many dioceses in Nigeria the
"official" cost of a Mass intention is N100 which is really quite
reasonable. The important part is to remember that you are not paying for the
graces from God (which is of infinite value and can not be paid for), but for
the material things that are involved with celebrating that particular Mass.
With that in mind it makes much more sense and is not something that should
cause scandal. Pope Paul VI said, “The Mass is the most perfect form of
prayer!” It has immense power and countless miracles and conversions have
occurred throughout the centuries by offering Masses for a specific intention
or person. Mass intentions are a great treasure of the Church and have a
spiritual weight that is incalculable.
Book a Mass today.
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