THE QUALITY OF MERCY IS NOT STRAINED, AND HAS NO PRICE-TAG

 
     We have arrived at the Octave of Easter, the end of the “Eight-Day Day,” and we celebrate today as “Divine Mercy Sunday.”  Is there anything more central to the experience of Easter than this?  I don’t think so.  Neither does Pope Francis:  remember that the first (I think!) book he published upon being named the new Bishop of Rome is “The Name of God is Mercy.”  And that brings me to reflect on a directive published by the Vatican a couple of weeks ago, from the Dicastery for Clergy, on the issue of Mass stipends.
 
 People want to have Masses offered for their specific special intentions, and they often want to make an offering for them.  Here’s the problem:  no one can “buy” a Mass!!  This is the sin of simony (read all about it in Acts 8:9-25).  Sadly, the Church’s practice (usually thanks to clever casuistry) has verged on this sin far too often.  
 
 The Council Fathers at Vatican II seriously considered banning all Mass stipends as wrong.  It finally hesitated because of the numbers of missionaries and pastors of rural communities in impoverished countries (I’m thinking of Temascalapa, now) where priests have no salaries, and their income for living expenses comes solely from these offerings.  But of course, this does not apply here in the United States.
 
So, the new decree emphasizes that offerings must truly be offerings—free-will gifts with no set “price tag.”  How do we deal with this here in the Archdiocese of Mobile?  How do I deal with it, here at Our Savior?
 
 I am now permitted to accept “multiple offerings from different donors for a single Mass with a ‘collective intention’…”  Every one of those donors must explicitly agree to this.  An example:  there is a common practice of having Mass envelopes for All Souls’ Day Mass.  It means I might have as many as 100+ envelopes (with the same number of intentions), and I can “cover” them all with one Mass on November 2.  Yes, this practice is explicitly permitted; but once I got to Our Savior, I ended it.  Instead, I brought in our “Book of the Deceased,” and all those names are prayed for (silently, during the Eucharistic Prayer) at every Mass in November.
 
 Additionally, all our office staff know that there is NO SUCH THING as a “price” for a Mass.  You may give what you wish, or you may give nothing—if you “book” a Mass, it will be offered.  I might mention other names as also in need of prayers, but those names have no stipend attached to them.
 
 Have missionaries who are overwhelmed need help?  Our Archdiocese typically gets lists of Masses to be offered, and they can be “applied for” by contacting the Chancery.  We did this when I was St Ignatius—those intentions were offered, for example, if one of us concelebrated Mass on our day off, or if there were no other intention.  We sent records of those Masses and intentions back to the Chancery on a regular basis.
 
 Please know that here we are dedicated to praying for and offering Mass for those folks who have asked for our prayers and Masses.  There is NEVER a “price-tag”!  Really, after all:  what kind of “price-tag” could be put on our communal participation in the unique sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us?
  -Fr. David