Dear Father,
Is it okay to have a Mass offered for someone who is still living? If so, is it better to have Masses offered for the living or for the dead?
Harry
Dear Harry,
Having a Mass offered, which entails asking a priest to celebrate a Mass for a specific intention, is a venerable form of prayer in the Catholic Church, reaching back to the earliest centuries.
Christ our Lord, when he established the Eucharistic sacrifice at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, wanted the fruits of his sacrifice to be available in all the ages to come after his death and resurrection. “Do this in memory of me,” he said.
At the Last Supper, Christ prayed for all persons of all times. It is the most powerful prayer in the world, and we have the opportunity to participate in it every day.
We receive the spiritual fruits of the Mass when we are physically and mentally present at Mass. Still, we can also receive them when we are legitimately prevented from attending Mass.
Of course, we are obliged to worship through the Mass weekly and on certain holy days, but even on days when we are not required to attend Mass, we can and should avail ourselves of the fruits of the Mass. This is called a “spiritual communion,” and it is simply asking God fervently to be united with him in the Eucharist.
We can also ask the priest to offer the Mass for a particular intention, such as the peaceful repose of a loved one’s soul. At every Mass the priest asks God for special graces for a host of people, living and deceased. The priest also offers the Mass for particular intentions recommended to him.
When a priest offers the Mass for the intention someone has asked him to pray for, the priest makes that person’s intention his own.
We do this all the time when we offer prayers because someone has asked us to pray for someone or something. When the priest does this, he brings that intention to the most powerful prayer of the Eucharistic sacrifice.
Not only do many ask for Masses to be offered for deceased persons, but quite a few people also ask for the Mass to be prayed for someone who is living.
These Mass requests include praying for the restoration of health or for the conversion from sin, for the end to social evils like abortion and euthanasia, for the success of good deeds or to know one’s vocation, thanksgiving for blessings received or the healing of relationships, and so much more.
The graces of the Mass are infinite and most powerful. Even so, the disposition of the person for whom the Mass is offered plays a part.
God does not force his divine grace on any soul. On the other hand, such influential love can penetrate hardened hearts and change lives. It is amazing that even the most inveterate sinner can change his mind and turn away from sin with the help of God’s grace.
The only thing that stops the human will from changing is death. At the moment of death, when the soul is separated from the body, no more decisions can be made.
In this sense, we can see why a Mass offered for someone living in this world can have a greater effect than one offered for someone who has passed into the next life.
Praying for the souls in purgatory is essential because they can no longer help themselves. We owe it in charity to pray for the faithful departed so that their purification might be complete and they see the Lord face-to-face.
A Mass offered for someone in this life provides graces that help him to change, to grow in holiness, to leave aside evil habits, to live for God.
How many incarcerated persons have experienced conversion on account of a Mass offered for him or her? How many deathbed conversions have taken place because a relative or friend had Masses offered for that person?
Masses help not only those who have left the straight and narrow path; they are essential for those whose feet need steadying on the rough path to heaven (Matthew 7:13-14).
It is good to have Masses offered for loved ones so that they may grow in virtue and holiness, to deal with the trials of life they face, to remain strong in the face of temptation and that their zeal for heaven might grow stronger each day. That includes having Masses offered for priests and religious.
Father Basil Cole, O.P. (Order of Preachers) says that “one Mass offered for anyone living will have a greater efficacy for that person because in this life all are capable of freely cooperating with any grace, and the graces of a Mass may even change the direction of someone’s life, including one’s own.”
It might be the case, however, that the person for whom we are praying, especially by having Mass offered for that individual, is not ready for the grace. Years – or dozens of years – might go by before the particular grace of the Mass is accepted. That’s why, Father Cole says, we “must take a long-term view of supplications for loved ones still on earth.”
A story is told of a widow who met St. John Vianney as she was leaving his church. She was distressed because her husband had committed suicide by jumping off a bridge.
As the lady was leaving, St. John Vianney came to speak with her and said, “he is saved.” Imagine the lady’s disbelief.
The priest leaned toward her and said firmly, “I tell you that he is saved. He is in purgatory, and you must pray for him. Between the parapet of the bridge and the water he had time to make an act of repentance.
“It is the Blessed Virgin who obtained this grace for him. Remember the shrine to Mary in your room? Sometimes your husband, although irreligious, united himself to your prayer. That merited repentance and the supreme pardon for him.”
If such can happen as a result of our daily prayer and good example, how much more the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass bestowing infinite graces!
Questions about the sacraments should be sent to sacraments101@columbuscatholic.org.