June 7-8, 2025
Dear parishioners,
Very shortly before Pope Francis died, he approved a decree from the Dicastery for the Clergy regarding the norms governing Mass intentions. At the end of the day, the decree did not contain any new information, but essentially stressed the importance of following the norms in all circumstances. His goal was to safeguard the spiritual integrity of the Eucharistic sacrifice and also the faithful’s trust in the Church’s handling of any offerings that are made for Masses to be celebrated. So, while the decree did not contain any new missives, it does provide a worthwhile opportunity to explain some of the stipulations surrounding Mass intentions and stipends in general.
For example, the decree emphasizes that the sacrifice of the Mass must be offered for a requested intention even if the person requesting it does not provide a stipend to the parish. In fact, the document goes further to highlight the fact that the centuries-old practice of accepting a monetary offering for a Mass intention “must always distance itself from the danger of, or even the semblance of, a commercial exchange of sacred goods.” In other words, a parish can never charge a price for a Mass intention, because it is never permitted to put a monetary price on the sacraments. In fact, the common colloquial expression of “buying a Mass” is incorrect, because one can never buy a sacrament. One is always welcome to make a donation to the parish in memory of those for whom he is requesting the celebration of the Mass, but this is always a free-will offering. The decree reaffirms that the practice of making a free-will offering is a form of spiritual participation in, and support of, the Church’s mission.
The above-mentioned decree also reiterates that a Mass intention can only be fulfilled by applying the celebration of the Mass to that same intention. That is, a Mass intention cannot be fulfilled by substituting the Mass for any other sort of prayer. This is something most of us likely already know, but its mention in the decree is a reminder to all of us of how powerful the Mass is to obtain graces for any soul (Mass intentions can be requested for anyone- dead or alive). Because the Mass is actually Jesus’ same sacrifice on the Cross made present once again on the altar, when Mass is celebrated for a particular intention, Jesus’ sacrifice is applied to that soul, whether it is on earth or in purgatory.
On a much different note, the following is a summary of what I announced at the end of the Masses last weekend. First, we have not yet had any luck finding a contractor to take a look at our sound system in our Payne church. We reached out to a few contractors already, but none of them have panned out; special thanks to those who have made suggestions since I made this announcement!
The second item announced was that we are finally able to move forward with putting stone on the driveway of the new section in our cemetery in Payne. The total cost of this project will be $6,000; we have half of this money already secured. If you would like to make a donation toward the second half of this amount, please contact us at the parish office.
The third item announced was that we finally found and repaired the leak that was coming through the ceiling by the elevator in the Paulding church. The flat rubber roofing above that space needed to be replaced; the cost of this project came to $10,000.
Lastly, I announced that, in addition to the generally increasing cost of labor and materials for maintenance projects, lots of other costs are increasing as well. One of these is the cost for providing healthcare insurance for employees of the parish and school. Across the Diocese of Toledo, all parishes will see a 15% increase in our employee healthcare benefits expense.
Blessings,
Fr. Ammanniti
