Last week, I wrote about the opening of our Mass Book for the upcoming year which will occur this coming Thursday, July 20th. This week I wanted to share with you some thoughts on how we offer a Mass for someone.

  While some may attempt to change the wording to simply remembering someone at Mass or wording like that, the reality is that we don’t simply remember someone at Mass, we offer the Mass for them. What we do at Mass is not simply think of and remember the intention of that Mass, we offer the sacrifice of the Mass for them. We can remember someone when we’re thinking about them, we can remember someone when we visit their grave, but when we gather for Mass we do more than just remember, we offer sacrifice & we do it, we offer the sacrifice of the Mass, for a very specific intention. While there may be only 1 named intention at each Mass, that does not mean that we cannot have our own individual intentions. When we take that time to pause & offer our own intentions in the silence of our hearts at Mass, that is a perfect time to remember who we are offering that Mass for.

  The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic Sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God” (#1032). We offer the Mass in the sense that the prayers that we offer are intended to help gain that person’s purification & eternal reward. Our prayers offered for that person are more beneficial than simply sending a sympathy card or flowers. Our prayers, offered on behalf of someone, can help that person, especially when that person has died, be purified of their sins & gain eternal rest with God in heaven. When the person is still living, offering a Mass for them can help that person grow in the grace they need to repent from sin & live a more Christlike life.

  So, as we prepare to open the 2024 Mass Book, we do more than simply remember at Mass, we offer Mass.