Mass intentions for the same deceased people every Sunday for years?

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Laetus said:
It’s sad that so many focused on the money and not the frequency. I question if it’s proper to have someones’ names at the same Mass every week, year after year. It demeans the tradition to me. In smaller parishes with fewer Masses the intentions could quickly be “bought out” for the entire year. Would it really be OK in a small parish with only one Sunday Mass for some number (possibly 4-6?) of people to buy-out all the Masses for the year at that parish for 4-6 individuals of their choosing? That seems terribly wrong.

I don’t think there is a canonical prohibition but it does seem like something a pastor should prohibit. Having 3-4 Masses/year celebrated for one’s deceased parents would be beautiful. Have 52+/year (and always on Sundays) seems quite wrong.
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I do not understand what your problem is? Someone is doing his Christian duty to offer masses for the dead and you complain about it? I think that at this point you have an obligation to explain why it is wrong because your statement is insulting to people that truly believe in the obligation of praying for the souls of purgatory. What is next? People should not be allowed to weekly confession year after year because they have not built a Church? You are saying that a pastor should prohibit something that the Church strongly encourages us to do, what is the theological explanation for such an idea?
 
Laetus said:
In smaller parishes with fewer Masses the intentions could quickly be “bought out” for the entire year. Would it really be OK in a small parish with only one Sunday Mass for some number (possibly 4-6?) of people to buy-out all the Masses for the year at that parish for 4-6 individuals of their choosing? That seems terribly wrong.
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I live in such a small parish, we have one week day Mass and one weekend Mass per week. Yes, there are times when Mass intentions for someone take up many weeks. One parishioner who died last year was the mass intention every week for probably 8 months because many people gave Mass offerings. No one reacts as you do, on the contrary people are happy these masses are being said.

Canon law governs the mass intentions, and if there are more than can be said in the parish in one year then those intentions and stipends are given to others-- for example retired priests in the diocese. The masses do not go unsaid.
Laetus said:
I don’t think there is a canonical prohibition but it does seem like something a pastor should prohibit. Having 3-4 Masses/year celebrated for one’s deceased parents would be beautiful. Have 52+/year (and always on Sundays) seems quite wrong.
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I really have no idea why you think this way. It puzzles me greatly that you would see anything wrong with remembering someone at Mass. :confused:

But, again, as suggested in a prior post-- simply ASK your parish priest about it.
 
1ke said:
I live in such a small parish, we have one week day Mass and one weekend Mass per week. Yes, there are times when Mass intentions for someone take up many weeks. One parishioner who died last year was the mass intention every week for probably 8 months because many people gave Mass offerings. No one reacts as you do, on the contrary people are happy these masses are being said.

Canon law governs the mass intentions, and if there are more than can be said in the parish in one year then those intentions and stipends are given to others-- for example retired priests in the diocese. The masses do not go unsaid.

I really have no idea why you think this way. It puzzles me greatly that you would see anything wrong with remembering someone at Mass. :confused:

But, again, as suggested in a prior post-- simply ASK your parish priest about it.
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I don’t know the maximum intentions your parish typically has for a given Mass but let’s say it’s six (it’s four in my parish.) How would you feel if six people arranged for six of their loved ones to be the six intentions at all 52 of your Sunday Masses? It doesn’t seem very proper to me. It cheapens the meaning of a Mass intention to me. FWIW if I asked my pastor about it he would say “it was like that when I arrived” while shrugging his shoulders.
 
Laetus said:
I don’t know the maximum intentions your parish typically has for a given Mass but let’s say it’s six (it’s four in my parish.) How would you feel if six people arranged for six of their loved ones to be the six intentions at all 52 of your Sunday Masses? It doesn’t seem very proper to me. It cheapens the meaning of a Mass intention to me. FWIW if I asked my pastor about it he would say “it was like that when I arrived” while shrugging his shoulders.
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You seem to be seeing a problem were no problem exists. Unless you have asked, you have no idea what is happening.

Again, I will ask, have you tried to have a Mass said but were told, sorry, they are booked up for these same people for the next year?
 
maryjk said:
You seem to be seeing a problem were no problem exists. Unless you have asked, you have no idea what is happening.

Again, I will ask, have you tried to have a Mass said but were told, sorry, they are booked up for these same people for the next year?
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What you need to do is ask yourself if you have prayed for patience and understanding lately. It sounds as if the people you are dealing with require a great deal of patience and understanding if you are to somehow maintain your Christ like love for them.
 
Laetus said:
I don’t know the maximum intentions your parish typically has for a given Mass but let’s say it’s six (it’s four in my parish.) How would you feel if six people arranged for six of their loved ones to be the six intentions at all 52 of your Sunday Masses? It doesn’t seem very proper to me. It cheapens the meaning of a Mass intention to me. FWIW if I asked my pastor about it he would say “it was like that when I arrived” while shrugging his shoulders.
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Wouldn’t bother me, there are other masses during the week. And yes, I’ve ran into this situation when there were masses being said for my dad when he passed away, we didn’t get all the dates we requested and we were fine with the way it worked out.
 
1ke said:
One.
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I have seen that as well. I don’t know how many Masses/Sunday your parish has but would it really be OK if some people just bought them up for the year?

The more I think about it, the more I am appalled by seeing these same names at the same Sunday Mass every week for years.
 
HelenRose said:
What you need to do is ask yourself if you have prayed for patience and understanding lately. It sounds as if the people you are dealing with require a great deal of patience and understanding if you are to somehow maintain your Christ like love for them.
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What have I written shows you that I need to pray for patience and understanding??:confused:
 
Laetus said:
I have seen that as well. I don’t know how many Masses/Sunday your parish has but would it really be OK if some people just bought them up for the year?
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My parish has one weekend Mass and one intention for that Mass.

Yes, it is fine if someone gives 52 mass intentions. As I mentioned, one parishioner who died last year had Mass intentions that lasted for almost the entire year last year.
Laetus said:
The more I think about it, the more I am appalled by seeing these same names at the same Sunday Mass every week for years.
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And yet, you provie no reason for this. You can give us no teaching of the Church, no law of the Church, and not even any substantive reason of your own making other than that you don’t like it.

Why can you not tell us the reason you don’t like it? Why will you not ask your priest about this? Why are you determined to simply be a complainer?
 
Laetus said:
I have seen that as well. I don’t know how many Masses/Sunday your parish has but would it really be OK if some people just bought them up for the year?
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Do you have reason to believe people are unhappy because they cannot have Masses said on specific days at specific times?

Has this been a problem for you or someone you know?
 
Laetus said:
The more I think about it, the more I am appalled by seeing these same names at the same Sunday Mass every week for years.
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This seems to be a personal spiritual problem for you.

I would advise you to schedule sometime with your pastor to discuss this and by that I mean your issue, not the actual fact that the Church allows for multiple Mass intentions for the same person to go for a very long time, but the issue that you do not like what the Church allows for this.
 
Laetus said:
It’s sad that so many focused on the money and not the frequency. I question if it’s proper to have someones’ names at the same Mass every week, year after year. It demeans the tradition to me. In smaller parishes with fewer Masses the intentions could quickly be “bought out” for the entire year. Would it really be OK in a small parish with only one Sunday Mass for some number (possibly 4-6?) of people to buy-out all the Masses for the year at that parish for 4-6 individuals of their choosing? That seems terribly wrong.

I don’t think there is a canonical prohibition but it does seem like something a pastor should prohibit. Having 3-4 Masses/year celebrated for one’s deceased parents would be beautiful. Have 52+/year (and always on Sundays) seems quite wrong.
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What do you want them to do, hold a raffle for intentions??

:confused:
 
Laetus said:
I have seen that as well. I don’t know how many Masses/Sunday your parish has but would it really be OK if some people just bought them up for the year?

The more I think about it, the more I am appalled by seeing these same names at the same Sunday Mass every week for years.
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You are appalled by praying for someone’s salvation? 😦 I think it’s touching that someone cared enough to enroll those people in the intentions for that Mass. Maybe they had slipped in their faith when they died, and their family members need all the help they can get, in order to get them to Heaven.

Why don’t you pray for your own loved ones who have passed on, during the personal intentions, and then maybe you won’t be so annoyed at having to pray for these people.
 
A long time member of our parish recently passed away. This lady had been very well-off financially, and she left a very sizable amount of money to the church with the stipulation that the money was to pay for mass intentions. Even with eight masses a week, it would be well into the next century before they were used up. Our priest had a sit-down with the legal representative of her estate and made arrangements to use some of the money for other purposes. As a result, our church now has a new roof and an air conditioning system.

Whenever it’s raining or the temperature is in the 90’s, I say a little prayer for her.

I still see her mass intentions in the bulletin every week.
 
52+ Sunday Mass Intentions every year? Doesn’t sound right. Seems to cheapen the tradition. Just write a check though, huh?
 
Laetus said:
52+ Sunday Mass Intentions every year? Doesn’t sound right. Seems to cheapen the tradition. Just write a check though, huh?
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You are not coming across as a very charitable person here, Laetus. Let it go already.
 
Laetus said:
52+ Sunday Mass Intentions every year? Doesn’t sound right. Seems to cheapen the tradition. Just write a check though, huh?
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Have you ever had a mass said for one of your deceased loved ones? You wouldn’t be so quick to say “just write a check”. You haven’t experienced the comfort that being able to attend a mass said for your deceased parent, spouse or child provides and you wouldn’t be so quick to judge others that have the means to have masses said so often for their deceased loved ones.
 
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