|
Twenty-fifth
Sunday after Pentecost
Thoughts for the Week - Fr. R. Taouk
15th November 2015
What is a Mass
Stipend? by Rev. Fr. M.J. Huber C.Ss.R.
A Mass stipend is an offering
which a person makes to a Priest with the understanding
or agreement that the Priest will offer a Mass for the
intention of the person who makes the offering. It is
not correct to call this offering which is made to the
Priest a donation. A donation is something which is
given to another without any agreement or condition,
without any resulting obligation on the part of the
person who receives the donation.
A Mass stipend is
not a donation because a Priest, when he accepts it, binds
himself by a serious obligation to offer a Mass for the
intention of the person who gives the stipend. The giving
and taking of a Mass stipend is not a purchase or exchange.
In a purchase or exchange one person gives something that
can be measured in terms of value and expects to receive
something of equal value. In the case of a Mass stipend,
there can be no question of purchase or exchange because the
Mass is something spiritual and its value or worth cannot be
measured or bought by material things like money. It is easy
for persons who do not understand clearly what a Mass
stipend is to use expressions that are not only incorrect
but somewhat embarrassing to a Priest and misleading to
those who are not Catholics. One of the most common
expressions is, "How much does a Mass cost?" Another is,
"Father how much do you charge for a Mass?" The correct
words are, "How much is the stipend for a Mass?"
It is true that the person for
whose intention the Priest offers the Mass derives great
personal benefit―it is good and praiseworthy to keep
this in mind―but there is another and a far nobler view.
It is that of the glory we give to God and the benefits
we procure for our fellow-men living and dead. It is
God's will that holy Masses, with all their wondrous
effects, be offered up continuously. In order to make
this possible, the Priests who celebrate these Masses
must be supported. It is God's will that we all help in
this matter, each in proportion to his means, the widow
with her mite, the rich man with his treasures. There is
no question of buying one's way into Heaven. The graces
we need to live a good life and die a good death are not
set up for sale like remnants on a bargain counter. We
cannot haggle with God over the price of salvation.
Money helps us to get to Heaven, just like any of the
other natural gifts God has given to us, if we
acknowledge that it really belongs to Him and that He
has merely loaned it to us, and if we gratefully and
generously use it in His service.
A genuine test of faith and love
of God in any family, parish, or country is the zeal
displayed in having Mass said as often as possible. It
is not a question of the man with the most money buying
the most graces, but a beautiful example of the unity of
Christ's Church, where rich and poor, Priest and people,
contribute each of the gifts he has received, to further
the glory of God, the welfare of the living, and the
cleansing of the souls in purgatory by the perpetual
celebration of the holy, adorable, and all-powerful
Sacrifice of the Mass. Having a Mass said remains the
most effective means of praying for material and
spiritual needs, and for the souls of loved ones called
by God in death. In sickness, of oneself or of others
dear to one, in the need of a job or a home or victory
over some temptation, in the desire to reach beyond the
grave with charity toward the dead, the good Catholic
thinks at once of "having a Mass said" for his special
and urgent intention.
|
