We pray for many people during the celebration of Mass. During the prayer of the faithful, we pray for public authorities, even by name if appropriate, as well as other groups, and during the Eucharistic prayer, we specifically name the pope and the local bishop, as well as commend to the Lord, in a general manner, the faithful departed. That being said, a priest has the right to offer a Mass for any specific person(s), living or deceased (cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 901). In addition, it is the Church’s long-standing practice to allow a priest to accept a monetary offering in view of applying a Mass for the donor’s intention. Since this practice is connected with “the most august sacrament” (Canon 897), it is no surprise that canon law carefully regulates the practice of accepting Mass offerings and even prescribes sanctions for priests who illegitimately profit from them (cf. Canon 1383).

Knowing how easy it can be to lose track of this practice’s many regulations, we will offer here, in question-and-answer format, a refresher on the dos and don’ts of Mass offerings.

1. It is not uncommon to announce that a Mass is being offered for a specific person or intention. What does that mean?

It means that the priest or, more likely, the parish accepted an offering for a Mass to be applied according to the donor’s intention. Pope St. Paul VI explained that in making these offerings, “the faithful associate themselves more closely with Christ offering himself as victim and thereby reap a more abundant supply of fruits” (“motu proprio” Firma in Traditione). The notion of applying a Mass for a specific intention implies something of the doctrine of the fruits of the Mass, which are the merits Christ gained for humanity by his sacrifice on the cross. Since in every Mass “the Sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated through the ages” (Canon 897), the fruits cannot be quantified, but due to our limitations as creatures they are received only to a limited extent.

While there is no definitive teaching on this matter, one approach ascribes a portion of the fruits to the priest’s free application, which is sometimes called the special fruit in contrast to the general fruit that is ordered to the good of the entire Church. It is this so-called special fruit that the priest, who alone acts in persona Christi in the celebration of the Mass, applies to the donor’s intention. The consequence of this teaching is that the priest is neither required to pray for nor publicly mention the specific intention during the celebration of the Mass, although local custom may suggest otherwise (only the names of Catholics may be mentioned in the Eucharistic prayer). What is required is that the priest intends the application of the fruits left at his disposal to the donor’s specific intention.

2. Does canon law ever designate that Masses be offered for specific intentions?

Yes. On Sundays and holy days of obligation, diocesan bishops and administrators, pastors and parochial administrators have the obligation to apply a Mass for the people — that is, pro populo — entrusted to their pastoral care (cf. Canons 388, 429, 534, and 540.1). This obligation arises not because an offering was accepted since none was made but from the law. For these officeholders, applying a Mass pro populo is a personal obligation, but another priest may fulfill the obligation when the officeholder is impeded from doing so — for example, due to illness. Alternatively, the officeholder can apply the pro populo Mass on a different day, even in a different location. If the officeholder has the care for more than one community, he is only required to offer one pro populo Mass.

3. Can a priest determine the amount of the offering?

No. Each ecclesiastical province determines by decree the maximum amount that may be requested (cf. Canon 952.1). In the absence of such a decree, the customary amount requested in the diocese is the maximum that may be solicited (cf. Canon 952.2). While a priest may not ask for a larger offering than the established amount, he is free to accept a smaller or even a freely given larger offering. Once an offering is accepted to apply to a Mass, according to the donor’s intention, an obligation arises until the Mass is offered, even if the offering is later lost or stolen (Canon 948).

4. After the Mass is applied according to the donor’s intention, what happens to the offering?

The celebrant (or concelebrant) may keep the offering for himself.

5. Does that make sense?

Yes, since this corresponds with the purpose of Mass offerings: “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).

6. In my diocese, when priests celebrate parish Masses to which offerings are attached, they do not keep any for themselves. Are we doing something wrong?

Probably not. In some dioceses, before a man is ordained to the priesthood, he waives the right to retain Mass offerings received through the parish in view of receiving a higher salary. That the priest waives his right legitimates this practice, which can have the benefit of promoting income equity among a presbyterate’s membership.

7. What if a priest celebrates two Masses in a day and each Mass has an offering attached?

The priest may only keep one offering for himself, either of the two. It is presumed here that the priest is legitimately celebrating additional Masses as permitted by the law — for example, to celebrate three Masses on Christmas and All Souls’ Day (cf. General Instruction of the Roman Missal, No. 204) — or authorized by the local ordinary — that is, for a just cause to offer two Masses on any day and, if pastoral necessity requires, to offer three Masses on Sundays and holy days of obligation (cf. Canon 905.2). There is one noteworthy exception to the one offering per day rule: A priest is permitted to keep for himself up to three Mass offerings for celebrating three Christmas Day Masses. Furthermore, whatever additional compensation beyond the Mass offering is given to the priest in consideration of his time, travel expenses, preparation, etc., even when given for a second or third Mass, the priest may retain for himself.

8. What happens to the other offerings?

The other offerings are to be turned over to the fund designated by the priest’s ordinary. For diocesan priests, the diocesan bishop usually designates the fund. For priest-members of clerical religious institutes of pontifical right and clerical societies of apostolic life of pontifical right, the fund is designated by the priest’s religious ordinary. However, an authentic interpretation of Canon 951.1 determined that if the priest-member of an institute or society is a pastor or parochial vicar, then the additional offerings are turned over to the fund designated by the diocesan bishop. This refers to when the priest-member offers Masses in his capacity as pastor or parochial vicar, which would be verified when he does so in the diocese where he holds his office.

9. Can a priest, having already celebrated or concelebrated a Mass for which he received and kept an offering, accept a Mass offering to concelebrate a second Mass on the same day?

No. Under no circumstances may a priest accept an offering for concelebrating a second Mass, not even to transfer the money to the fund designated by his ordinary. This holds true even if the concelebration is not chronologically second — for example, a priest who concelebrates a Mass in the morning with his bishop knowing that he will later celebrate a parish Mass to which an offering is attached. What is more, the priest may not receive any other form of compensation for concelebrating a second Mass.

10. What if a priest celebrates an anticipated Sunday or holy day Mass the evening before and two Masses on the day of precept, and all of them have an offering attached? How many may he keep?

A priest can keep for himself one Mass offering per 24-hour period, which begins at midnight. If the anticipated Mass is the only Mass the priest celebrates that day, then he can retain that offering for himself as well as one of the offerings from the Sunday or holy day Masses.

11. Can a priest accept several Mass offerings and then, on his own initiative, combine them to satisfy the separate obligations with one Mass?

Although the faithful are always permitted to combine their offerings, generally speaking, priests may not. Regarding a priest who combines the offerings on his own initiative, the then-Congregation for the Clergy’s 1991 decree Mos Iugiter warns that the priest assumes the moral responsibility for not fulfilling the obligations to apply separate Masses for each offering. That being said, the same decree provides a carefully worded, regionally based exception: “It is true that the faithful have always, especially in economically depressed regions, had the practice of giving the priest modest offerings, without requesting expressly to have a single Mass celebrated for a particular intention. In such cases, it is licit to combine the various offerings in order to celebrate as many Masses as would correspond to the fixed diocesan stipend.” At the risk of oversimplifying, if a priest has no awareness that he is in such a region, then he should not invoke this provision.

While the above provision does not constitute a true exception to the law because the faithful are not requesting a single Mass, Mos Iugiter does contain a true exception to the law known as a “collective intention Mass,” whereby a priest combines Mass offerings and satisfies the donors’ intentions with a single Mass. Mos Iugiter, which itself has the force of law, prescribes the three conditions for collective intention Masses: (1) the donors must be explicitly informed and freely consent to combine their offerings into a single offering (cf. Mos Iugiter, Article 2.1); (2) the time and place for the celebration of such Masses must be publicized (cf. Article 2.2); and (3) they are permitted, at most, twice a week in a worship space (cf. Article. 2.2). Nevertheless, from the combined Mass offerings, the priest may only keep an amount equal to the fixed diocesan offering (see question 3 above). The rest of the money is to be turned over to the fund designated by the priest’s ordinary (see question 8).

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The Specifics of Canon 951.1

Canon 951.1 reads, “A priest who celebrates a number of Masses on the same day may apply each Mass for the intention for which an offering was made, subject however to the rule that, apart from Christmas Day, he may retain for himself the offering for only one Mass; the others he is to transmit to purposes prescribed by the Ordinary, while allowing for some compensation on the ground of an extrinsic title.”.

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12. What does this mean for novenas of Masses?

It is certainly praiseworthy for a parish to offer novenas of Masses, but if this involves the solicitation of offerings, specifically for the purpose of applying a Mass on nine consecutive days, each according to the donors’ intentions, this would violate Mos Iugiter’s twice-a-week rule. It is possible to offer the Masses on nine consecutive days if, for example, names are enrolled in the novena without requesting any offerings. Alternatively, donations for flowers or other Church decorations could be solicited in memory of certain individuals for whom the nine Masses will be offered. In both of these examples, there is no offering attached to any of the novena’s Masses. If it is preferred that collective intention Masses be offered for the novena, their celebration could be spread out to avoid violating the law — for example, once a week for nine weeks.

The canonical regulations on Mass offerings are many and specific. However, careful adherence to these rules, which are infused with the Church’s pastoral wisdom, is about more than just obedience to canon law. Rather, from another perspective, a priest’s adherence to these laws will contribute to his continuing to hold the Eucharist in the highest honor (cf. the 1983 Code of Canon Law, Canon 898), which is nothing less than “the summit and source of all worship and Christian life” (Canon 897).

FATHER JOHN CHRYSOSTOM KOZLOWSKI, OP, is a Doctor of Canon Law and pastor of St. Rose Parish in Girard, Ohio.

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What are Gregorian Masses?

“Gregorian Masses are a series of Holy Masses traditionally offered on 30 consecutive days as soon as possible after a person’s death. They are offered for one individual soul. The custom of offering Gregorian Masses for a particular soul recognizes that few people are immediately ready for heaven after death, and that, through the infinite intercessory power of Christ’s sacrifice, made present in holy Mass, a soul can be continually perfected in grace and enabled to enter finally into the union with the most holy Trinity — our God, who is love itself.”

— Source: Shrine of Divine Mercy

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