Mass Intentions
It is an ancient and noble practice to pray for the living and the dead at Mass. The greatest and most powerful prayer we have is the Mass, since the fruits of the Mass are the very fruits of Jesus' redemption made present to us. Therefore, so many of us seek to book a Mass intention for our loved ones. In our parish there are many requests for scheduling Mass intentions.

Canon Law requires that only one intention be taken per Mass. However, for the past twenty-one years our parish has been taking multiple intentions per Mass; a temporary practice put in place to help fulfill the many intentions from multiple parish communities merging into two parishes (as the merger resulted in fewer Masses at which to book an intention)--a practice I inherited and ultimately have the responsibility to guide toward the norm of canon law. Twenty-One years is a long time for “temporary permission” to remain in effect. In this current year there were weekday Masses with one intention requested and surprisingly there
were weekday Masses with no intention requested. You may not have noticed because I filled the openings with an intention in various ways to promote the common good. This has been an indication to me that now may be a natural time in the life of our parish to observe the norms of canon law, which is expected of every parish. The following policies are now being implemented in order to accommodate the numerous Mass requests in a reasonable and fair manner.

In order to give the opportunity for all parishioners to schedule a Mass intention for their loved ones and to accommodate recently deceased individuals,  one weekend and one weekday per deceased may be requested. Please call the office at 603-752-2880 or email [email protected] to request a mass intention. We will accept Announced and Unannounced Mass Intentions. One Announced Intention will be taken per Public Mass, published in the bulletin and read out loud during the Universal Prayers (prayers of the faithful). Unannounced Intentions may be requested which are not said at a public Mass. These intentions will be offered privately and published as a list in the bulletin periodically as “Fulfilled Unannounced Masses”.

Guidelines for Mass Intentions

1. Universal Church discipline as contained in canons 945 – 958 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law strictly regulates the offerings made for the celebration of Mass.

2. A Mass intention may be requested for a Mass for: a deceased loved one; a living person who is sick or suffering; a living person who is celebrating a birthday, anniversary or other special moment in their life; in thanksgiving to God (including the Lord Jesus or the Holy Spirit); in thanksgiving for a prayer from a Blessed or a Saint; or for a prayer intention (so long as the intention does not contradict Church teaching).

3. A Mass intention may not be requested for a prayer intention that contradicts Catholic moral doctrine.

4. Lengthy intention listings cannot be published in the Bulletin and must be edited for the sake of brevity.  Since the purpose of publishing the intention in the Bulletin is to notify the family and friends of the intention, we suggest the omission of middle initials, titles, etc.  Each intention is limited to either two names or one group.  Please be sure to indicate if the person for whom the Mass is requested is living or dead.

5. A maximum of five (5) Announced intentions per week may be requested by any one individual.  Additional Unannounced Masses may be requested; however, they will be said privately by our parish priests on their days off, at a concelebrated Mass, in private nursing home Masses, when they are away on retreat, etc. These unannounced Masses will be said within the calendar year and published after the fact in the bulletin on a monthly basis so that you may know the intention has been filled.  This might be ideal for the intentions you have been offering for many decades, acts of thanksgiving for a favor received, for someone who is suddenly sick. Or any intention.

6. Requests will be honored on a first-come, first serve basis in the order in which the request is received at the Parish Office.

7. A $10 stipend, as determined by diocesan policy, is to accompany each Mass request.  Intentions will not be recorded until the stipend is received.  Canon Law requires that all stipends taken for Mass Intentions be said for the intention as designated.

8. Please note that Mass intentions may be requested for Sundays, most holiday and weekdays throughout the year.  Mass intentions cannot be scheduled for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, or All Souls Day (November 2).  One Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation must be scheduled for the intentions of our parishioners known as Pro Populo (For the People) as required by Canon Law.  Scheduling of multiple ‘stipend’ intentions for one Mass is prohibited by Canon Law.  

9. Announced Mass requests will be granted as close to the requested date and time as possible.  If it is not possible to comply with the primary request, the next closest date and time will be scheduled. Unannounced Masses will be said in the order they are received but will take into consideration the nature of the request such as for someone who is facing a sudden gravity of illness, crisis for which immediate pray is needed. These will be determined by the discretion of the parish priests.

10. The schedule of Mass intentions is subject to change according to the Mass schedule and there is no promise that they will be said on the scheduled day due to priest illness, schedule change, diocesan obligation, etc.  Attempt will be made to contact the concerned parties ahead of time, but that is not always possible.

11. Masses can be booked by calling the office at (603)752-2880 or via email at [email protected]