The programme is open to everyone, but especially those who wish to know more about the Catholic faith with a view to becoming a Catholic. Having looked at the evidence for God, who we are as human beings, made to the image and likeness of God, the impact of ‘Original Sin’ or ‘the Fall’ an overview of where the Bible comes from, we continue on January 19th by looking at the Ten Commandments. We meet at 7.30 in the small hall.
You will see from the ‘diary’ for this week, Masses are the ‘celebrant’s intention’; however, if you would like to have Mass offered for a personal or particular intention, please put details on a ‘Mass Intention’ envelope and hand it to Fr. Ian or drop it through the presbytery letterbox. You might like to have Mass offered for someone’s well-being, the repose of their soul, birthday etc. By tradition, the Mass ‘offering’, (rooted in Leviticus 7:28- 34 and Deuteronomy 18:3-8) should be sufficient to sustain a priest for the day. Many thanks.
Every now and again the question about Mass intentions comes up in regard to having a Mass for a particular intention, e.g. the repose of someone’s soul, a person’s health or well-being, thanksgiving etc. Priest are allowed to celebrate one Mass each day for a particular intention, such as those mentioned above, however it must be stressed that we cannot ‘buy’ a Mass! Remember, that the Mass, the Holy Eucharist, is the unbloodied sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross, Jesus offers Himself to God the Father on our behalf; through the action of the Mass He unites us to our Heavenly Father especially through Holy Communion, the Mass then, is the perfect prayer of the Church and is not something we can ‘buy’. The ‘Mass Stipend’ or ‘Mass Offering’ is a gift to the priest, (normally financial) when a particular intention is requested, its roots are in the Old Testament and the Levitical priesthood. The tribe of Levi, were set aside by God through Moses to administer the Tent of Meeting which later became the Temple in Jerusalem. The Tent of Meeting / Temple was the place of the Holy of Holies which contained the Ark of the Covenant; it was here that the Levites served God on behalf of His people, they were ‘set aside’ for such work. Part of the priestly work was to offer sacrifices to God, and the priests were allowed to take certain parts of the sacrificial animals so as to sustain themselves and their family (see Dt 18:1-8). In the same way, if we would like a Mass for a particular intention, we can always put details on a ‘Mass Intentions’ envelope (available at the back of the church) with an offering, and hand it to Fr. Ian or put it through the presbytery letter box. The financial offering, or ‘Mass Stipend’ is a personal gift to the priest and helps, as its roots suggest, in sustaining the priest personally for a day