Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church,  
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
 
Yes, we still believe that!
It is still a wonderful Catholic custom to offer prayers for the faithful departed.  A few weeks ago I wrote here about our continued belief in Purgatory and the efficacy of our prayers for those who have died.  This week I focus on how we do this specifically by offering Masses for people.  After all, if we want to pray for people, why not offer the most perfect prayer there is - the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  This custom comes from the early centuries of the Church.  One example is St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, asking her son upon her death to specifically remember and pray for her at the altar.  This custom developed and over time a “stipend” became associated with this practice.  The priest offering the Mass was given a stipend for his efforts of praying for the particular intention requested.  To be clear, this is not “paying for” or “buying” a sacrament.  The stipend is not a requirement but became a way for people to show their appreciation and also to help meet the financial needs of priests.  In fact at that time this was the priests only real income.  This is still the case in some areas of the world where the church is not as well established.  In our society, priests receive salaries and benefits for their service to the Church, so Mass stipends are not necessarily a make-or-break scenario for us.  Someone might protest that this practice can be abused.  While it is possible for a priest to go around racking up stipends, it is difficult to abuse because there are church laws governing how many stipends a priest can keep.  There can be complications with this (especially during tax season), but fundamentally the stipend is a gift for the priest who is offering a particular intention that you request .
Mass intentions do not have to be for someone who has died (although they often are).  It can also be a general intention like the ending of abortion or for the newly married couples at a parish.  Obviously the intention must be consistent with truly loving and Christian sensibilities (I would not offer a mass for someone to lose his job or be harmed). 
A mass intention does not have to be publicly announced; it is only required that the priest have the intention, but it is not wrong to announce it.  Here at St. Paul’s we announce the intention before Mass begins so that all may remember the intention in their prayers.  At the same time, do not think that each person at Mass must then limit their prayers to that intention.  
 
Yes we still believe in offering particular Mass intentions.  It is customary though not required to offer a stipend to the priest for taking the time to celebrate the Mass.  The spiritual benefits are growth in belief that prayer is efficacious, especially the Mass, and it reinforces our communion by sharing concern and compassion for one another in our prayer.
 
Mass Book Opening
What prompted the above is that the Parish Mass intention book will open soon to schedule intentions for the next six months.  St. Paul’s has a procedure that limits the number of intentions an individual can schedule at one time.  This is so as many people as possible can have chance not only to schedule intentions, but to do so on days that they can attend the Mass.  This policy is not to discourage intentions, but to encourage new people.  In my experience, my generation is oblivious about this custom.  If we do not encourage others, then this custom will fall by the wayside and perhaps we will not have many people offering Masses for us when we die!  Spread the word that Prayer works, Mass is the perfect prayer, so offer Mass intentions! 
  
Parish Pastoral Council
This weekend will be the blessing of our pastoral council for their new term. Over the summer we had nominations and our members are: Rev. Matthew Pfeiffer, Dcn. John Amedeo, Jim Rohner, Bill Canan, Denis Randall, Ellen Barber, John Woofter  Minda Garbinsky, Leah Evans, Joe Guzi, and Tracy Tonkovich.  I am very pleased to work with these fine parishioners and look forward to moving ahead with a pastoral plan that helps us fulfill our mission of … well … you know what it is, right?
 
But just in case - Forming Disciples of Christ in Community and Proclaiming the Gospel
 
May God bless you!
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Pfr