"One thing only I ask you, that you remember me at the altar of the Lord." 

A Worthy Tradition Requiring Vigilance in Our Fulfillment

A longstanding part of our Catholic culture is the custom of offering Mass intentions. When a priest celebrates Mass each day, he offers each celebration of the Eucharist for a particular person, or intention. By doing so he applies special graces from God upon that person or intention. Similar to how we are able to intercede for others by our personal prayers, the Church is able to intercede for us through the celebration of the Mass. However, since the Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life” the Sacrifice of the Mass possesses a power that our personal prayers do not.

The practice of offering Mass for particular intentions is an ancient one, dating back to the early Church. “Inscriptions discovered on tombs in Roman catacombs of the second century [give] evidence [for] this practice: for example, the epitaph on the tomb of Abercius (d. 180), Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia, begs for prayers for the repose of his soul. Tertullian (c. 200) attested to observing the anniversary of a spouse with prayers and sacrifices, i.e. the Mass.” 

This tradition is also seen in St. Augustine’s Confessions (c. 397), where Monica asks Augustine, “One thing only I ask you, that you remember me at the altar of the Lord.” 

Canon Law confirms this practice and states, “In accord with the approved practice of the Church, any priest celebrating or concelebrating is permitted to receive an offering to apply the Mass for a specific intention” (Canon 945 §1). Furthermore, it continues by saying, “The Christian faithful who give an offering to apply the Mass for their intention contribute to the good of the Church and by that offering share its concern to support its ministers and works” (Canon 946).

The faithful request a Mass be offered for a person who is living or deceased, for a special occasion like a wedding anniversary or for a special intention. They frequently give an offering to the parish to apply that intention to the Mass. It is important to properly understand the Church’s discipline concerning the intention for which a Mass is offered and the monetary offering received by the parish from the faithful. The Mass, and indeed all sacraments, do not cost money. If a person is indigent and unable to afford the normal offering, the intention should not be refused (Canon 945 §2). The impression of charging for a Mass or trafficking in multiple Masses is an abuse which must be scrupulously avoided.