Donation (charge?) for Mass Intentions

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Wow! I knew the priesthood was not a route to riches but I didn’t know they were paid so little. That’s well below the National Minimum Wage (NMW)*. I know there’s things they don’t pay out like a lot of us, e.g. mortgage or rent, but still it’s very small sum.

*I’m aware priests don’t qualify for NMW because legally they’re office holders and not employees.
 
The median annual salary for priests in the US is ~$45,000/year.

The median annual salary for other professions in the US with a similar education level is ~$65,000/year.

It is true that we get most of our expenses paid for, though. I’ve got housing and food provided for, and a fairly healthy car allowance. At the same time, I have to pay taxes on all of those things.

-Fr ACEGC
 
No one is charged or made to feel they must make a donation merely to be included in the Mass intentions at my parish.

Nor at my late father’s parish. I called to have a Mass said for him and his intentions. I was not asked for money at all.
 
That seems better but the amount cited AuldP works out roughly to about US$10,600. It just seems a small amount. Food shopping is getting really expensive here in the UK so a lot of a priest’s salary is going to go on that.
 
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Tom I should have said that Accommodation, food etc is paid by the Parish as is the services of a Housekeeper. My PP was just telling me last night, after mocking my son for not ironing his own shirts, that his housekeeper irons his socks - so life is not all bad lol
 
I never understand why people want to argue with others when something is not done the same at their parish. There is more than one way of doing things, and obviously, that is what is happening. But you know what? Even if the priest is making a measly 10 bucks on the mass, who cares?? What is the big deal?
 
It seems we have very different experiences with our parishes.

I have interacted with about 20-25 parishes in heavily Catholic areas of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland and they pretty much all do like I said, except for a few that serve inner city/ social justice parishes or else are way out in the suburbs with very modern parishioners who likely do not have the same expectations as Irish, Italian, Polish, German etc -American Catholics.

I can tell you that if the elderly Italian or Irish or Polish ladies aren’t offered their Mass card they will ask for it, because they likely want to give it to someone.

The parish I went to last week for a Mass, an old Polish parish, had Mass cards at the ready and did not even ask me if I wanted one, even though the card is obviously just going to me as the wife of the deceased (they asked my relation to the deceased and wrote it in the book). They made out the very nice Mass card, put it in an envelope, gave it to me, wrote my husband’s name in the book. I was touched to have been given the card, I will put it with husband’s funeral things. If they had asked me first I would have probably told them they didn’t have to because the parish doesn’t have a lot of money, but she had it all written out before I could say anything.
 
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I know those things are paid for but it did still seem a very small amount to me.

Before I left the family home my ‘housekeeper’ ironed socks and underwear and I told her she was daft for ironing them.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I have interacted with about 20-25 parishes in heavily Catholic areas of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland and they pretty much all do like I said
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I have interacted with numerous parishes in Texas, Wisconsin, Iowa, and a few others. No one does this in any parish I’ve ever requested a mass from, nor do we do it here where I am in charge of the mass stipend scheduling and mass stipend books.

Perhaps that is a New England or Northeast thing.

I don’t think it’s an Irish or German Catholic expectation because that is the ethnic background of most of our parishioners going back 150 years, and I have no evidence mass cards were sent out at any time in the past. My mother in law who is 90 did this for years before I took it over, so it’s not a recent thing.

Oh, and our prior pastor is Polish and he did not do mass cards. And his current parish is primarily Polish and we’ve sent masses, and have not received mass cards.
 
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I rest my case. And neither way is "better " that is just how it is.
 
Well, I’m glad I attend where I do, as I am used to the custom here.
If they do something else different there, perhaps it suits the people there, but it would not be my preference, or my mother’s either. and I like to do as my mother did.

Too many churches have let a lot of things go or just not bothered with small touches that can really make people feel cared for.

God bless.
 
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If Catholics gave more generously to their parish in the regular offering, the tradition of collecting stipends and fees for this and that could perhaps be revisited.
My evangelical wife is very firm in writing out that literal 10% of her gross cheque to her church every Sunday. Her church is floating in cash with a long list of paid ministers and endless programs. No fees ever collected. No need. Not that we need to do that as Catholics… but I feel many in the pews could give a bit more.
 
The problem with requiring tithing is that it would look even more like you’re being forced to pay to be part of the Church.
Having Masses said is an optional activity. Those who do it usually don’t have any issue with paying the little stipend.
But everybody thinks the Catholic Church is rich and doesn’t need the money and is only out to get people’s money. When really we are one of the few churches that isn’t forcing people to cough up that 10 percent.

There is a church I’ve attended that recently suffered tornado damage and someone had the nerve to tell people not to donate to a fundraiser for the church because the Diocese has insurance and the Church is wealthy anyway. That’s how bad people’s perceptions are. Never mind that this church is also trying to help the local residents who lost homes and businesses through such things as community meals and other help, in addition to needing to do a lot of rebuilding themselves, which might not all be covered by the insurance.
 
Yes that perception is a big part of the problem.
To be fair, the German Church does impose the Church tax, and the Catholic Church has universally imposed tithing in times past (though I don’t think for centuries). I agree it’s not the route to go…
 
I bet you would be surprised at what happens (or could happen) at your parish. At ours, the stipend is never asked for or required, but it’s mentioned casually in a few places (e.g., when you complete a request form, on our generic envelopes, etc.) and the secretary will sometimes ask if you would like a card sent - but not always. The calendar isn’t easy to navigate, so it’s no quick check for availability, and the stipend given goes directly to the priest (even the religious order ones around here are allowed to keep it for themselves up to a certain limit). I don’t think 90% of our parish knows about these details, though.
 
If you don’t like it, then don’t have the Mass said. There is no requirement that you have a Mass said. Go to Mass yourself, offer your Mass and your Communion for the intention.

Perhaps ask the Holy Spirit to send you more understanding and tolerance about traditional Catholic practices too, and increase your charity towards our hardworking priests and the Church.

It’s unfortunately that a ten-dollar donation request (or based on your prior post, a 5 dollar donation request in your case) has this kind of effect on people when like I and others have said, they will happily blow 10 dollars or more on some junk for themselves that they do not need.
 
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1ke said:
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Tis_Bearself:
I have interacted with about 20-25 parishes in heavily Catholic areas of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland and they pretty much all do like I said
Click to expand...
I have interacted with numerous parishes in Texas, Wisconsin, Iowa, and a few others. No one does this in any parish I’ve ever requested a mass from, nor do we do it here where I am in charge of the mass stipend scheduling and mass stipend books.

Perhaps that is a New England or Northeast thing.

I don’t think it’s an Irish or German Catholic expectation because that is the ethnic background of most of our parishioners going back 150 years, and I have no evidence mass cards were sent out at any time in the past. My mother in law who is 90 did this for years before I took it over, so it’s not a recent thing.

Oh, and our prior pastor is Polish and he did not do mass cards. And his current parish is primarily Polish and we’ve sent masses, and have not received mass cards.
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Normally the parish does not send the cards; they provide the card and envelope, and the requester may mail it. My FSSP parish doesn’t give Mass cards, but every other parish in the Archdiocese of Atlanta seems to do so. When I lived in Florida, parishes there did the same. My cousins in Southern California always get them from their parishes. While it isn’t universal, even in the US, it’s far from being a northeastern thing.
 
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