Dear Friends,
One of the most ancient and venerable practices in the Roman Catholic tradition is the offering of prayers for the dead. The basis for this practice is grounded in a text found, in all places, in the Old Testament Second Book of Maccabees (2 Mc 12:43 - 46) where it speaks of Judas Maccabeus taking up a collection among his soldiers so that it might be sent to Jerusalem where, in the Temple, an offering might be made for the sins of their deceased comrades, an offering that might atone for their sins and free them from the punishment due them.
In the Catholic tradition, it has been a custom from ancient times to remember the dead in our prayers each day. All the dead are remembered in prayer each day at every Mass and at evening prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours, prayed by the clergy and many laity as well. It is also a venerable custom to have Masses celebrated for our deceased loved ones, often on the anniversary of death, a birthday remembrance, or even a remembrance of a wedding day. It is also a worthy practice to arrange for Mass to be celebrated in thanksgiving for good health restored, a favor received, on a significant birthday of a loved one, or even a wedding anniversary. The Mass can be celebrated for intentions for the dead and also for the living.
Here at Precious Blood, Masses can be ar- ranged by contacting the rectory on Gulf Street, where the Mass Books are kept by mandate of the Archbishop. The office is open from Monday to Thursday from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM and Friday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The schedule of offerings for Masses is the same one that was in place when I came to Milford in 2012. I have not changed any- thing in that regard, with one exception, that being a slight increase in the offering for a funeral so that we could align better with other parishes in the city and surrounding area.
That being said, the Mass Book for 2021 will be opening soon and there are a good number of open dates for the current year as well. If you are making an offering for Masses, please make the check payable to Precious Blood Parish and on the memo line indicate the date and time of the Mass so we can keep good records. Of late, a few problems have arisen with Masses being arranged for a given date after the bulletin for that week has been sent to the publisher. Unfortunately, the intention did not get communicated to the priest and the Mass was not celebrated and had to be rescheduled. To that end, to avoid this problem going forward, no Mass can be arranged for an open date if the bulletin for that week has already gone to the publisher.
I was remiss last weekend in the bulletin in that I did not thank Hilma Nolan for all the work that she did to see that the sanctuary at St. Agnes was decorated so beautifully for Christmas. Hilma does good work at St. Agnes not just at Christmas but all throughout the year and I want to acknowledge her work and thank her for it.
Have a good week!
