Announcements about Mass intentions published in the bulletin from January 10 through February 14. Each part was published twice and they are presented here verbatim.
Regarding Mass Intentions, Part 1
Dear Brothers and Sisters this message about Mass Intentions will be in multiple parts. For the first part I will explain what the differences will be going forward and later I will explain the reasoning behind it.
In brief, going forward there will be two changes regarding Mass Intentions. The first is that we will allow two different individuals to offer a Mass Intention for any given Mass. This has been the case for some time. We ask that there be a maximum of two particular names, given that we have a custom of mentioning those names during the Mass. In light of this change the suggested Sunday Mass offering will be $15.00 while the weekday Masses suggestion is $10.00.
The second change is that there no longer be Community Masses. This will free up 24 more Mass times per year to accommodate those who wish to pray for the living or the dead or any other appropriate intention.
Regarding Mass Intentions, Part 2
After listing the changes regarding Mass Intentions in Part 1, I will now share some of the experiences the parish has had in recent times that lead to those decisions, all of which in some way limit the availability of Masses.
The first issue arises from the fact that we offer the Mass in three languages and parishioners have a strong practice of only attended one particular Mass. So an example could be that if a person wanted an intention on a Sunday at 9:00 AM and it was not available but other Masses were, then effectively there were none available. For other parishes it would be different and would just mean attending another Mass time but that is not the practice by and large at a parish like Holy Ghost. The same applies to other similar parishes.
The limited amount of Masses joined with what is the standard in the Church, that there be one intention per Mass, then lead to strong competition for Mass times. As a result some would try to book Masses far in advance, or to schedule a great number of them at one time or have one person schedule Masses for many individuals. That is why some parishes are very strict about when the new Mass book opens for the following year. Many also have limitation on how many Masses any one person can schedule per year.
The Community Masses in English and Italian came about because of allowances in Church disciple regarding Mass intentions and to provide for all of the extra intentions that could not be satisfied. What has happened over time however is that the list became very long and was hard to manage. Only a small fraction of individuals on the lists were able to be accounted for but none could be removed without risking removing someone who was expected to be there.
Having the ability for two individuals to book Mass intentions for the same day will, I hope, increase the availability for Masses and also decrease the administrative burden on the Church office at the same time. However one Mass intention per Mass will be always be encouraged.
This message will be repeated in the bulletin for next week followed by another part.
Regarding Mass Intentions, Part 3
This third part regarding Mass Intentions will be brief and can be summarized by saying that the changes that have been made are intended to help people to be able to pray. It has seemed in the past to be a difficult achievement to schedule a Mass intention. I believe that the allowances in place will make it easier to schedule a Mass and therefore easier to pray.
I also hope that it will contribute to a refocusing of the proper attention that should be present when the people of God come together and pray. The reduction of competition for Masses can help us to realize that any time we come together and do what the Lord instituted at the Last Supper it is primarily about worshipping God and benefiting by active participation in the Sacred Mysteries.
To make it easier to book Masses I hope that there will be fewer instance of individuals insisting that “this is my mass,” almost as to say that all the grace is funneled into one direction to the exclusion of others. There have even been instances of near aggression with respect to who brings up the the offerings of the gifts to be sanctified at the altar, the bread and wine.
There can also be a tendency to hyper focus on hearing a name, and hearing it pronounced correctly, at the expense of listening to the Good News to which that intention is joined. Now that we have had a temporary change in practice because of the pandemic we have had an experience of how even though they are good things they are not primary, so much so that they can be omitted without any injury done to worship.
There is a share in grace at every Mass and liturgy that we celebrate; for the people as a whole which is not limited to the intention that the priest is asked to pray for, the the intention itself, and for the priest himself.
I do pray that the allowances for more that one individual to schedule Masses on any given day will help us to pray more easily and also encourage us to remember individuals and causes at the altar of the Lord.