Donation (charge?) for Mass Intentions

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A dear Catholic lady is mourning the loss of her family member. She recently requested her loved one please be included in the Mass Intentions. She was kindly invited to donate (charged?) $10 for this service. She’s a long-standing involved member of her parish and will most gladly do this, yet is wondering the reason for the donation. (Now, so am I.) Is this a common routine? I told her I’d share this question with all of you. Thank you for your thoughts!
 
It is common. My parish suggests a $5 stipend for a Mass intention. My understanding is you shouldn’t be denied a Mass intention if you don’t give money, but I have never tested that theory out. I too struggle with the reasoning behind it.
 
I see this question from time to time and I always wonder why people would not gladly pay $10 for a mass without question. Yes, it is quite common. The priest is not pocketing the money and getting rich. But someone has to take the time to schedule the mass, notify the person that puts it in the bulletin, and there are other small costs involved like utilities and maintenance.

$10 is a very small price to pay for a mass for a loved one. Think of all the things people waste money on regularly. I can think of no better thing to spend $10 on than a mass.
 
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Yes, giving an offering for a mass intention is customary. And the customary amount in the US is about $10, but she can give any amount she’d like or is able. And if unable, she can put in an intention without an offering.

The offering is several fold. First, in some countries it is the sole support the priest has— and the laborer is worth his wages. In the US the priest receives a salary, but in our diocese the mass offerings are calculated in to his total compensation. Mass offerings are taxable wages.

In addition to that, the mass offering is a sacrificial offering on our part. We are asking the priest to offer the mass for our intention, this is accompanied by a small token of our thanks.

It is not a charge. It is not purchasing a mass. It is not purchasing anything.
 
1ke said:
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Irishmom2:
The priest is not pocketing the money and getting rich.
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You are correct, he isn’t getting rich. But he does keep the mass offering. This goes directly to the priest, within the regulations set out in canon law.
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Unless he is a member of a Religious order.
 
The stipend suggested is for the priest! It is a long tradition and a way for the priest to earn some money. He will do if for free if you can’t afford it. Baptisms and weddings are also events where a stipend is suggested. All other things the priest does, masses without special intentions, confession, anointing of the sick are free. The priest salary is very modest and he usually gets room and board. He provides for transportation cloths and entertainment.
 
It’s customary for someone requesting a Mass be said to make the usual small donation, which in the US is generally 10 dollars.
If you can’t afford it then you tell them you can’t afford it and the priest will make some arrangement. I’ve also seen parishes in poor areas where the customary donation is listed as lower, about 5 dollars.

In USA these days, most people including those of limited means frequently spend 5 or 10 dollars on junk food, entertainment, the lottery or other non-necessities. This isn’t an unreasonable request to ask for a customary stipend. But like I said, if you truly can’t afford it then say so, donate what you can, and the priest is supposed to say the Mass anyway for your intention.

I would add that if this lady is a long-standing member of the parish, then the idea of a stipend for Mass intentions shouldn’t be something new to her. Churches have been doing it this way for decades. Every year the church will let people know the Mass intentions book is open for year 20xx and the requested donation for a Mass is “X” amount. People then go sign up at the parish office for specific dates of Masses they want, which are often anniversaries of people’s birthdays, death days, marriages, etc. The vast majority of us who have had a loved one die have gone and requested a Mass at the parish at some point and even those of us who haven’t can see the announcement regularly in the Bulletins about Mass intentions.
 
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Irishmom2 said:
I see this question from time to time and I always wonder why people would not gladly pay $10 for a mass without question. Yes, it is quite common. The priest is not pocketing the money and getting rich. But someone has to take the time to schedule the mass, notify the person that puts it in the bulletin, and there are other small costs involved like utilities and maintenance.

$10 is a very small price to pay for a mass for a loved one. Think of all the things people waste money on regularly. I can think of no better thing to spend $10 on than a mass.
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I don’t think this is the reasoning because there is a “fee” even if the mass is already being said (ie a regular weekday mass or weekend mass)
 
This donation goes to the priest. A little bit of gas in his car to make it to sick calls, a bag of groceries, etc.

Donations are voluntary. There is never a charge, and if someone wants to donate a nickle, that is never looked down on.
 
The office still has to take time to check the schedule, put the name in the bulletin and on the Altar, provide the Mass card, mail it, etc.
 
CatholicSooner said:
I don’t think this is the reasoning because there is a “fee” even if the mass is already being said (ie a regular weekday mass or weekend mass)
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You may be correct that the Masses are going to happen anyway, even if no one 'signs up" for an intention for the particular Mass. However, paying the stipend is a way of supporting your local priest and parish. As the stipend goes to the priest, you are contributing to his support in gratitude for the service he is doing for you through saying the Mass for your intention.

Unless you are truly very poor, it’s pretty rude to expect a priest to just pray for your special intention without you offering anything. It’s like you want all the benefits without giving up something yourself.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Churches have been doing it this way for decades.
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The Catholic Church has been doing this for centuries, not decades, back to the first days of the Church.
Tis_Bearself said:
Every year the church will let people know the Mass intentions book is open for year 20xx and the requested donation for a Mass is “X” amount. People then go sign up at the parish office for specific dates of Masses they want, which are often anniversaries of people’s birthdays, death days, marriages, etc.
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That may be how it works in your parish, that is not how it works everywhere. We do not do this. Mass intentions come in on and are accepted on a rolling basis, there is no announcement of a “mass book for 20xx”. Special dates are accepted if they are available.

Mass intentions can only be accepted if they can be said within one year from the date you receive it (per canon law). Mass intentions that are received and cannot be said within the year are to be sent to other priests (based on diocesan policy, in our diocese they are sent to the diocese and then are distributed to retired priests of the diocese and to the mission office). Our mass offerings over the one per day that a priest may keep (except on Christmas when he may keep 3 per canon law) are sent to the diocese and deposited into the priest’s retirement fund.
 
TheLittleLady said:
The office still has to take time to check the schedule, put the name in the bulletin and on the Altar, provide the Mass card, mail it, etc.
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Hmmm. It must be done differently here. It is simply stated in the bulletin. That is it. There is no cost for this.

And checking a schedule as an excuse doesn’t hold water either. A paid employee does this in 10 seconds.

I understand the reasoning for the fee but lets not act like it is b/c it is for anyones time.
 
In the several diocese where I spend time, there is almost always a bulletin announcement near the beginning of the year or at the end of the preceding year that the book is open, and perhaps an announcement at midpoint throughout the year that dates are still available. This inspires people to go “sign up”.

Of course they also take the requests on a “rolling basis”, but many people want specific dates which may not be available if they wait. Like I said, many people want to have that Mass said for their deceased parents on what would have been their parents’ wedding anniversary, or have a Mass said for a deceased person on a birthday, death day, or other day of special significance.

I just read one of these “reminders” that a certain parish still had Mass dates available so I went into their office and requested a Mass for my late husband. His birthday was not available so I selected the day before.

I don’t know if this sort of operation of a Mass book is an ethnic custom but it’s how the Mass books have been done in my experience pretty much everywhere I’ve been. Some people, if they can’t get the specific date they want, will take their Mass intention someplace else that can accommodate.
 
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As one of those paid employees, it is more than 10 seconds! A greeting card would cost someone $5 alone, and that cost is covered by the parish.

If it takes us one second or one hour, the donation goes to priest. He may only accept one stipend per day, no priest is getting rich off stipends.
 
TheLittleLady said:
As one of those paid employees, it is more than 10 seconds! A greeting card would cost someone $5 alone, and that cost is covered by the parish.

If it takes us one second or one hour, the donation goes to priest. He may only accept one stipend per day, no priest is getting rich off stipends.
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You send greeting cards out for every mass intention?
We don’t do that at our parish.
 
Many if not most parishes will give you a Mass card. You can choose to not have a Mass card if you don’t need it or are trying to save the parish some money.
 
Some people want a Mass card mailed, some do not. I’ve never experienced a parish that does not offer Mass cards.
 
Here in Scotland A priests salary is around £60 a week, and if he drives a car then fuel allowance will take him up to around £100. He is allowed to accept one mass offering per day - as I understand Sunday Masses must be offered for the general parishioners intentions -so no offering there. If the offerings average £10 then he has a total weekly take of £160. Not a lot really.
 
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