A question about Special Intentions

[millstreet]

Hi - I’m not sure where to post this, but Spirituality seems right (I am not asking FOR Special Intentions, I am asking ABOUT them).

Our church provides envelopes we can put in the collection basket, with the donation-if-able, for Special Intentions. The envelope has space for who it’s for (living or deceased), who’s offering it, and two lines for donation - one for “Stipend” and one for “Amount”. So I guess I actually have two questions - the first being the difference between stipend and amount?

The second question is, when completing one of these, do we have to write out the actual intention and place it in the envelope? Or can it simply be a “secret” intention, where we just put the person’s name and don’t include anything else besides the donation? For reference, they always say “For XXXXXX, for whom this mass is offered…” at the mass.

I don’t really have a hesitation about putting the intention in the envelope, I just don’t want to do it if it’s not necessary. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[Sirach2]

Hi - I’m not sure where to post this, but Spirituality seems right (I am not asking FOR Special Intentions, I am asking ABOUT them).

Our church provides envelopes we can put in the collection basket, with the donation-if-able, for Special Intentions. The envelope has space for who it’s for (living or deceased), who’s offering it, and two lines for donation - one for “Stipend” and one for “Amount”. So I guess I actually have two questions - the first being the difference between stipend and amount? [This is simply a *free will offering - a stipend for a scheduled mass is a specific amount, usually $10.]

The second question is, when completing one of these, do we have to write out the actual intention and place it in the envelope? Or can it simply be a “secret” intention, where we just put the person’s name and don’t include anything else besides the donation? For reference, they always say “For XXXXXX, for whom this mass is offered…” at the mass.

This seems odd to me. For public Mass intentions, it is usually required to schedule them at the parish office, select the anniversary date if it is a decedent, name the person for whom you want the Mass prayed by the celebrant, and make the customary offering (stipend). The priest is obligated to celebrate Mass for that intention alone.
If there is another Mass already on the parish books for that date, you would need to inquire about a date that is “open.”

When placing a general intention in the collection basket, if that is what you are talking about, then the intention is simply prayed for in a general way . . . perhaps in the Prayers of the Faithful after the Creed. The Mass itself is NOT offered for the person you name on your envelope, nor does it go into the parish bulletin.

We have a “book of intentions” in the vestibule of the Church where people may list their intentions. (No stipend required for this) These many intentions will be remembered in the Prayer of the Faithful, such as “For all those needs listed in the Book of Intentions, let us pray to the Lord.”