Offering Masses for the dead

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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, I need help with the offering of Masses

May I know how I can offer Masses for a deceased family member and for the Holy souls in purgatory? Can I just approach a priest and ask him to offer a Mass on my behalf? What amount of stipend is appropriate for offering up one Mass?

I also came across a website (pious union of St Joseph) which offers Gregorian mission Mass wherein they claim that the Servants of Charity offers 30 Masses for a stipend of $160. I can make the payment over the net for the Masses to be said. Are they a legitimate organization and am I allowed to do that?

Thanks much in advance for any help rendered.
 
Call your parish office and ask if they are accepting Mass intentions. Many parishes have Mass intentions reserved months in advance. Ask the secretary what the standard offering is in your area.
 
I go to the parish office and the receptionist takes care of it. She tells me what weekdays and Sundays are available and then I choose. I give a stipend of $10., but if it is difficult it can be less.

If I am mailing a card to someone whose family member the Mass is for, she gives me a card and envelope.
 
In terms of the stipend or offering: Remember it is strictly forbidden in cannon law for any person to require a fee or charge for a Sacrament or blessing or any sacramental.

in the case of the sacraments there is a tradition of accepting a gift of a Stipend. The maximum permitted stipend is defined by the local bishop. A cleric may only accept one stipend per day (no matter how many masses / baptisms etc he performs) the remainder of any offerings must be returned to the donor or placed in the parish or diocesan funds.

Here in the UK i believe the maximum permitted stipend for a mass is £10 (About $12-13). Any donation above this amount must go not to the priest but to the parish.

It is forbidden for any priest to insist that a stipend is given for any request for a sacrament:
Saying a mass, baptising a child, celebrating a wedding, granting a blessing or any other sacramental or religious role due to his office as a priest.
 
Thanks for the replies Paul and Dorothy

If I do not know the person’s name(since she’s an extended family member) can I also offer a Mass on her behalf? How about a non-Catholic person, can I also offer Mass on his behalf? Do I have to offer three Masses, for the both of them and the Holy souls of purgatory or can I just offer one with a one time stipend amounting to three Masses?

On the other hand, anyone has information on ‘the pious union of St Joseph’ which is mentioned in my first post as they are the only ones I’ve came across to offer the Gregorian Mission Mass. 30 Masses seems like it can do a lot for the souls in purgatory.
 
anruari said:
In terms of the stipend or offering: Remember it is strictly forbidden in cannon law for any person to require a fee or charge for a Sacrament or blessing or any sacramental.

in the case of the sacraments there is a tradition of accepting a gift of a Stipend. The maximum permitted stipend is defined by the local bishop. A cleric may only accept one stipend per day (no matter how many masses / baptisms etc he performs) the remainder of any offerings must be returned to the donor or placed in the parish or diocesan funds.

Here in the UK i believe the maximum permitted stipend for a mass is £10 (About $12-13). Any donation above this amount must go not to the priest but to the parish.

It is forbidden for any priest to insist that a stipend is given for any request for a sacrament:
Saying a mass, baptising a child, celebrating a wedding, granting a blessing or any other sacramental or religious role due to his office as a priest.
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Hi Anuari

Thanks for the great information. Does this also mean that I cannot give a priest more than the permitted stipend as a gift? I know the priests in my country earns very little.

And also, is it that I cannot obtain the help of the said organization mentioned in my first post, PUSJ, since they require US$160 for the offering of 30 Masses? My apologies for being so adamant in the finding of information of PUSJ as I’m very intrigued by the idea of Gregorian Mission Mass. Are they like other Masses or are they different in any way?
 
Joybearer said:
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, I need help with the offering of Masses

May I know how I can offer Masses for a deceased family member and for the Holy souls in purgatory? Can I just approach a priest and ask him to offer a Mass on my behalf? What amount of stipend is appropriate for offering up one Mass?

I also came across a website (pious union of St Joseph) which offers Gregorian mission Mass wherein they claim that the Servants of Charity offers 30 Masses for a stipend of $160. I can make the payment over the net for the Masses to be said. Are they a legitimate organization and am I allowed to do that?

Thanks much in advance for any help rendered.
Click to expand...
You have two choices. You can have a Mass for the Dead celebrated or you can ask for a Mass to be offered for the intention of any dead person. It is normal to offer the priest a stipend. The normal amount will be local. You are allowed to offer more than the local normal stipend. You need to contact a priest and ask him to offer the Mass you want and to find out what the normal stipend is. If you genuinely cannot offord the stipend you may pay a lower amount or even have the Mass offered and pay no stipend.

I would go to your local parish or another church of your choice rather than through the internet.
 
Mass stipends in the US are typically $10. Simply ask your pastor or parish administrative staff what the process is where you live. You can offer a mass for any intention, for any person living or dead. You can also offer a mass for a “special intention” if you do not want the exact nature of the intention known to the public (Mass intentions are published in the bulletin typically).

Yes, you an give priests monetary gifts. You need to be clear how much is for mass(es) and how much is a personal gift. For example, if you give a priest $30, is that for 3 masses or is that 1 mass and an extra $20 for him to keep? Just make sure your wishes are known.

As to the “pius union”, they are legitimate.
 
Yes, you can also have masses said for the living. In our parish they are announced as “For the health and salvation of N”

Gregorian masses (the sets of 30) are always said for the dead.
 
Thanks a lot for all the helpful replies!

I’m sorry that I did not make it clear Mary Ellen, but the persons that I was referring to are deceased but I do not know their names. Can I offer Masses for them with the intention of helping them leave purgatory but without the names? Or should I lift up all the holy souls and God will know?

Thanks 1ke, I will probably give them a try and also get in touch with my parish office for the offering of these Masses. I’m sure there’s no such thing as offering too many Masses 😉
 
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