+JMJ
Dear Parishioners,
I recently read notes from the last meeting of the Presbyteral Council of the Diocese of Toledo. The Presbyteral Council is comprised, for the most part, all of the Deans of deaneries; and the Council meets with the Bishop quarterly. I am no longer Dean of our local deanery, so I was not present for the meeting. But the notes reveal that they discussed Mass intentions, especially in light of the Diocesan Pastoral Handbook's rule that intentions should not be announced at Mass; and in light of the fact that some parishes announce intentions still, and others do not. It was determined that the Bishop will be issuing a change in the local rule, so that it is clear that Mass intentions can be announced publicly. Although I do not know how long it will take for the official statement from the Bishop to arrive, I feel confident enough that it will happen to start announcing the intentions at our parish again, even now.
Please realize that what I wrote in the past about Mass intentions is still accurate. It is only the rule in the Diocesan Handbook that is changing (what we would call “particular” or “local” law). Nothing will change about what makes for a valid fulfillment of a parishioner's Mass intention. All that is required is for the celebrating priest to set that intention explicitly in his mind as he is preparing for Mass. For this purpose, I have a sheet with the scheduled Mass intentions in the sacristy, on the counter beneath the prayer of preparation I say for each Mass. During that preparatory prayer, I stop and look at the scheduled Mass intention. That same sheet of scheduled Mass intentions is also on the altar, so that during the Eucharistic Prayer I can pause silently to look at the intention at the “remembrance of the living” (if the intention is for somebody still alive) and the “remembrance of the dead” (if the intention is for somebody who has died). I even have a copy of scheduled intentions right next to the celebrant's chair, in case I want to look at it for some reason throughout the Mass. Of course, at every Mass, the Eucharistic prayer remembers all of the faithful departed, so nobody is left un-prayed-for.
The most efficient way to handle this at our parish is to have the cantor announce the Mass intention as part of the greeting at the beginning of Mass. The office will provide for the cantor notebook a sheet with the Mass intentions for the weekend. The cantor's greeting and announcement of the liturgical day being celebrated happens at the first bell before Mass. Then the prayer for the Eucharistic revival or the Diocesan prayer is prayed. The prelude song follows, if there is one.
May the Lord be glorified in our fully heartfelt worship in Mass, and may all of our faithful departed relatives, friends and parishioners be helped. Have a blessed week!
In cordibus Iesu, Mariae et Iosephus,
Father Poggemeyer