Q: Recently, our parish received a $10,000 check (made out to the parish) for Masses to be celebrated in memory of the deceased mentioned. This in effect would boil down to hundreds of Masses celebrated every day for several years.
What options, if any, are there here?
May such a request be intentionally included in all parish Masses so as to more expeditiously fulfill the request? Or, must all of the Masses be said for that person solely?
I understand the “tradition” of farming such intentions to missions, senior clergy, et al., but at the same time, I am mindful of the parish/priest(s) as the designated beneficiaries of the bequest, per the Will.
May I add that it would be nice if it would not take “forever” to fulfill this bequest.
Thank you!
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A: You probably have to ask a canonist for a better answer. Somewhere in my training I learned that there is no “price” for a Mass, so in a case like this a reasonable number of Masses could be said to fulfill the wishes of the donor. The donor surely would not have intended to exclude other souls from the prayers of the parish.