Paying to ask for a blessing?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Fidei
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
F

Fidei

Guest
i just have one issue in mind and it’s been bothering me for a long time.

a story goes that a poor woman won Php1000 in illegal gambling, and claimed that she won with the help of the spirit of her sister who recently died, so she wanted her sister’s name to be mentioned in mass so that her soul can be blessed. Fearing that the priest might not mention the sister’s name or she might only belong to the “other souls in purgatory”, the woman paid Php500 to the parish just to include her sister’s name in the list to be mentioned therefore drastically reducing her prize money to half.
“is this right!?” they argue…

A lot of protestants have accused catholic priests of being corrupt because they ask for a sum of money just to mention the souls to be blessed. They argue that the blessing of the souls is just a way for the church to steal money from its members.

How do i respond to such accusations? should we even pay an amount to bless a soul purgatory? i know priests have stipend, but why cant they perform this as free service? if not, then wouldn’t it look like were paying our way into salvation? or acting as if a blessing is something to be paid?

I know there are answers out there… I just need to know what they are…🙂
 
Erm… That sounds absolutely wrong. I cannot imagine any situation where we, as clergy, should pay priests to perform specific duties (especially as regards souls in purgatory). How can you assume this to be an acceptable practice, if it indeed it is anywhere…?

Edit: I have just read that the money was obtained from illegal gambling… I am sure there must be something sinful here, or at least unlawful.
 
Fidei said:
i just have one issue in mind and it’s been bothering me for a long time.

a story goes that a poor woman won Php1000 in illegal gambling, and claimed that she won with the help of the spirit of her sister who recently died, so she wanted her sister’s name to be mentioned in mass so that her soul can be blessed. Fearing that the priest might not mention the sister’s name or she might only belong to the “other souls in purgatory”, the woman paid Php500 to the parish just to include her sister’s name in the list to be mentioned therefore drastically reducing her prize money to half.
“is this right!?” they argue…

A lot of protestants have accused catholic priests of being corrupt because they ask for a sum of money just to mention the souls to be blessed. They argue that the blessing of the souls is just a way for the church to steal money from its members.

How do i respond to such accusations? should we even pay an amount to bless a soul purgatory? i know priests have stipend, but why cant they perform this as free service? if not, then wouldn’t it look like were paying our way into salvation? or acting as if a blessing is something to be paid?

I know there are answers out there… I just need to know what they are…🙂
Click to expand...
Re underlined question: We certainly would not be “paying our way into salvation” since only those who are already saved (but still in purgatory) can receive any benefits from having a Mass said for them. There is no help for the dead who are not saved (those in hell).

As to offering the priest a stipend, the amount is very small. Actually, there is no set price as far as I know - but there does tend to be sort of an accepted amount which people give. It has changed with time. Personally, I recall when $2 was the practice; then $5. Currently, here in the U.S., $10 has become the amount most people give. But, there is no rule or regulation regarding the amount, and I personally know instances where someone regularly gave less and the priest always said the Mass for their intention. He probably would have done it upon request without any remuneration.
 
There are three levels of “intentions” that may be brought to the Altar by the priest. The first is for a Mass to be arranged for a specific intention of someone who has paid the priest a stipend to perform this service. Only one such intention may be brought at each Mass (in other words, a priest may not accept multiple intentions and stipends and satisfy them with a single Mass).

There is no fixed amount, but some offering should be made on our part. In the US, the longtime customary offering is $5, though it has recently risen to $10. But a priest will not refuse a lesser amount, though SOMETHING should be given (even if it is a penny). This represents our share in this offering.

There is nothing shameful about a priest accepting money to perform the services of his ministry. St. Paul makes it clear that a minister has a right to be paid for his services (although Paul chose not to exercise this right himself, which is his prerogative):
Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? (1Cor 9:7-11)
Click to expand...
php1000 is (currently) about $11.25 in US dollars. Half of this is in line with the longtime customary offering of $5 USD (which is about what one would pay for lunch at a fast-food place).
 
Fidei said:
i just have one issue in mind and it’s been bothering me for a long time.

a story goes that a poor woman won Php1000 in illegal gambling, and claimed that she won with the help of the spirit of her sister who recently died, so she wanted her sister’s name to be mentioned in mass so that her soul can be blessed. Fearing that the priest might not mention the sister’s name or she might only belong to the “other souls in purgatory”, the woman paid Php500 to the parish just to include her sister’s name in the list to be mentioned therefore drastically reducing her prize money to half.
“is this right!?” they argue…

A lot of protestants have accused catholic priests of being corrupt because they ask for a sum of money just to mention the souls to be blessed. They argue that the blessing of the souls is just a way for the church to steal money from its members.

How do i respond to such accusations? should we even pay an amount to bless a soul purgatory? i know priests have stipend, but why cant they perform this as free service? if not, then wouldn’t it look like were paying our way into salvation? or acting as if a blessing is something to be paid?

I know there are answers out there… I just need to know what they are…🙂
Click to expand...
In the first place if the story is correct then the woman committed a grave sin by participating in illegal gambling and she committed a further grave sin by claiming the spirit of her dead sister helped her win. That is pure superstition and is a grave sin against the First Commandment.

As for paying the priest I don’t think that is true. When I want a Mass said for someone I make a small voluntary donation at the parish office and I think that just covers the administrative costs involved in getting that done.
 
thistle said:
As for paying the priest I don’t think that is true. When I want a Mass said for someone I make a small voluntary donation at the parish office and I think that just covers the administrative costs involved in getting that done.
Click to expand...
Actually, according to Canon Law , the priest is entitled to the stipend (Canon 941), but he is entitled to only one stipend per day, even if he celebrates more Masses with intentions on a particular day (in which case, the additional stipends should be distributed according to the direction of his Bishop (except on Christmas), per Canon 951).

The idea of a Mass stipend has been tainted in modern times by protestant televangelists and ministers who send out “prayer request cards” and promise to pray “over each and every intention,” which, at best, means the guy will raise his hands over a big stack of cards and make some prayer. In the Catholic Church, if you offer a Mass intention, the priest is required to specifically record this intention in a specific book, and also record when the intention was satisfied. In some cases, a priest who is unable to fulfill an intention may delegate it to another priest (and transfer the stipend), but he is responsible for making sure the other priest fulfills the intention. Ultimately, the Bishop is required to inspect all of these records to insure that everything is being done properly.
 
DavidFilmer said:
Actually, according to Canon Law , the priest is entitled to the stipend (Canon 941), but he is entitled to only one stipend per day, even if he celebrates more Masses with intentions on a particular day (in which case, the additional stipends should be distributed according to the direction of his Bishop (except on Christmas), per Canon 951).

The idea of a Mass stipend has been tainted in modern times by protestant televangelists and ministers who send out “prayer request cards” and promise to pray “over each and every intention,” which, at best, means the guy will raise his hands over a big stack of cards and make some prayer. In the Catholic Church, if you offer a Mass intention, the priest is required to specifically record this intention in a specific book, and also record when the intention was satisfied. In some cases, a priest who is unable to fulfill an intention may delegate it to another priest (and transfer the stipend), but he is responsible for making sure the other priest fulfills the intention. Ultimately, the Bishop is required to inspect all of these records to insure that everything is being done properly.
Click to expand...
Okay I understand. I wasn’t actually pressed to pay anything but I always voluntarily donated anyway. maybe they would have asked me if I had not offered.
I see it only applies to one Mass per day. That must be why at our Church at one of the Sunday morning Masses there is a screen showing all the names for whom the Mass is being said. Sometimes there are several dozen names on the screen so the priest refers to the names on the screen but does not state them individually.
 
What I found prosperity is not a secret. You can only have an idea you want, need and deserve. Oh, you already tried that and nothing else so far.

translation agency
 
To help Protestants grasp this they need to understand the historical context.

In the Middle Ages, there was rampant abuse with this. Lots of clergy were demanding huge sums of money to have masses said for various intentions.

To correct this problem, the Church began to give appropriate dollar amounts as a “suggested donation”. The idea was that clergy could no longer demand huge sums of money, because a very reasonable amount was set by the church that would allow most people to offer intentions freely without being cheated.

This practice is continued today just to help ensure that no priest / bishop will attempt to make money off of prayer intentions. It is adjusted at fairly regular intervals to account for the average income of a given person in a given culture.

The problem is most Protestants just see a Church assigning prices to prayer intentions and think that the church is trying to get money out of it. But it is the exact opposite. The Church does this to PREVENT the abuse. Trust me, the church isn’t making any money off $5 prayer intentions. Also emphasize that it is listed as a SUGGESTED DONATION, not as a rigid price that MUST be paid.

I’ve had several Protestant friends drop this claim after I used this approach. It’s really just a historical misunderstanding. Hope that helps!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top