Offer a mass for the living as well as for the dead

18th November 2023

Of all the good deeds we can do for our deceased, the Church recommends the celebration of Mass as the most beautiful gift to offer for this intention. As a matter of fact, « 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. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead » (CCC 1032).

Why is Mass the best gift you can give?

The Mass renders present Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. Mass is celebrated for 4 main reasons, which remind us of the infinite value of Christ’s offering.

First, it is Christ’s sacrifice of adoration and praise to his Father: Christ fully fulfils humanity’s duty of adoration to God.

The Mass is also the Eucharist, i.e. a sacrifice of thanksgiving for all the benefits received from God.

It is also an expiatory sacrifice, because it obtains the remission of our sins: the Mass applies the satisfactions obtained by Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and the reparation of the consequences of sin.

Finally, it is an impetratory sacrifice: it is a prayer of petition – the summit of the Church’s prayer – in which the Christ intercedes for us and asks the Father for his gifts and graces for the living and the dead.

To have Mass celebrated for the dead is to enter into the expiatory and reparative dimension of the sacrifice of the Mass: the Eucharist heals what sin has wounded and damaged, purifies the souls of the dead by repairing the wounds caused by sin, and restores the bonds of charity. While it does not directly remit sins as does the sacrament of penance, it does obtain graces of enlightenment and conversion for those who are well disposed to receive them. In this way, it helps to remit the temporal punishment for sins that have already been forgiven.

Why celebrate several Masses for the same intention?

If the Mass has an infinite value – that of Christ’s sacrifice – why repeat its celebration? Quite simply because we only benefit from the fruits of the Mass partially, according to our inner dispositions and our degree of charity. The Mass produces its effect in the souls of the deceased according to the measure of their faith and their charity, according to the openness of each one’s heart: it must be freely accepted, consented to with trust and docility. The sacrifice of the Mass is effective only for those who accept it; it is not automatically effective.

An original idea: the perpetual Mass

Masses can be celebrated for the deceased in our parishes, either on the anniversary of the death, or on the occasion of a family reunion, or over the course of 9 days (a novena of Masses), or during a 30-day Gregorian Mass celebration… It is also possible to offer our deceased a perpetual Mass. This was the idea of Father Buguet, founder of the Fraternity of Our Lady of Montligeon, in 1884. For the past 140 years, this organisation – known as the expiatory organisation of Our Lady of Montligeon for the Deliverance of the most abandoned souls in Purgatory – has celebrated a Mass every day for all those who are registered with the Fraternity. This is why, every morning, in 5 places around the world, this perpetual Mass is celebrated for the benefit of several million people. For more information, go to the webpage: https://montligeon.org/en/offering-perpetual-mass/

Having a Mass celebrated is also an act of the theological virtues

Offering the sacrifice of the Mass for a deceased person is not a simple devotion. It allows us to enter more fully into the great mystery of the communion of saints, to help the souls – saved souls – who are being purified in Purgatory. The Mass frees them more rapidly from the sentence they endure in Purgatory for their sins.

It is primarily an act of faith: by having a Mass celebrated, we bear witness to our faith in Christ’s sacrifice; we show through a concrete gesture that we are linked, in the communion of saints, to the deceased who have gone before us on the road to Heaven.

It is also an act of hope: we desire and hope for the impending deliverance of the souls for whom we offer the sacrifice; we hope to see them again in the light of God and to benefit in return from their intercession.

Lastly, and above all, it is an act of charity: it is out of love for souls, that we entrust them to Christ in the Mass, to restore and increase their degree of charity. We continue to love the deceased by desiring the best for them: to be united with Christ in his act of offering to the Father.

A mass for the living?

In addition to the Masses celebrated for our deceased, we can have Masses celebrated for the living. Let us not forget the intercessory dimension of the Mass, an impetratory sacrifice. Have a Mass celebrated on the occasion of a grace received (“in thanksgiving”), for a baptism or wedding anniversary, or to ask for healing or deliverance. The Roman Missal offers numerous forms for votive Masses or Masses for particular occasions.

Don Thomas Lapenne,
Chaplain at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Montligeon

https://com-st-martin.my.site.com/s/offrir-une-messe?language=fr