November 14-15, 2026
Dear parishioners,
I know there has been confusion about our Friday morning Mass time when there is no school Mass. In the past, we have changed the time when this is the case. It usually plays out that many either don’t know about the time change, or they forget about it. So, to clear the confusion moving forward, the Friday morning Mass will always be at 9:00 during the school year, regardless of whether our students will be present for the Mass. Once the school year is completed, we will move the Friday time back to 8:00.
Last weekend, I mentioned in the announcements at Mass that we have more or less worked through the backlog of Mass intention requests that were on our books. As such, we are trying to find the right balance of how many Mass intention requests to allow per parishioner. At this point, we will allow 10 Mass (5 weekend and 5 weekday) intentions per requesting parishioner per year. The reason we need to place this limit is because Canon Law stipulates that parishes are not permitted to accept more Mass intentions than can be fulfilled in one year. As such, we simply need to shift from what has been the common practice at our parish. Instead of requesting a lot of Masses all at once, we will have to think of these requests as being made on a year-by-year basis.
Please note that the allowance of 10 Mass intention requests does not include requests made on the occasion of someone’s funeral. Often, memorial donations will be made to the parish for the purpose of having Masses offered for the recently deceased. This is a very good practice, and we are happy to make sure the sacrifice of the Mass is offered for that soul! However, we may not be able to accommodate these requests at the (unofficial) common practice of ten dollars per Mass. When possible, we will attempt to notify donors in advance when this is the case.
I think it is worth noting at this point that, as I just indicated above, there is no official cost for requesting Mass intentions. We are not permitted to charge for the celebration of the sacraments, so we cannot ask for a specific amount when we receive Mass intentions. Any donations made for Mass intentions are offered solely at the will of the one requesting. Likewise, a donation is not required in order to make the request. So, any amount given (or none) can be applied to the 10 Mass intention limit per year; because the donation is technically separate from the intentions themselves, a $150 donation, for example, would not be credited for more Masses than a $100 donation.
The celebration of the Eucharist can be applied to any soul, living or dead. Because it is the very same sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, presented before us on the altar in an unbloody manner, there are innumerable graces that are granted from having the Mass offered for someone. Spiritually, there is way more happening than the eye can see when the Mass is being offered for someone. Padre Pio, for example, testifies that souls in purgatory visited him to ask for his prayers, and that he offer the Mass for them because of the immense relief the Mass brought when applied to their soul. Likewise, some souls visited him upon being released from purgatory to thank him for offering the sacrifice of the altar for them.
While I am on the topic of the celebration of Mass, we continue to pray for those men whom our Lord is calling to be the future celebrants of the sacraments. For those men who are open to learning more about their own vocation, and are willing to consider if priesthood is what our Lord might be calling them to, it is not too late to sign up for the St. Andrew Dinner that will be held at St. Mary’s in Defiance this Wednesday, November 18, from 7:00p.m. – 9:00p.m. This event is for high school and college aged men who are simply open to learning about what a vocation to the priesthood is all about. Resources will be available at the event, but there is no further commitment after the event. Priests of the deanery will be present at the event to answer questions and provide insights from our own experience of hearing Jesus’ call to be one of his priests. To sign up, go to https://toledopriesthood.org/new-events. For any young men under the age of 18, there is also a parental permission form on the same website.
Blessings,
Fr. Ammanniti
