Policy for Requesting Mass Intentions (updated Oct 2025)
Offering Mass for a special Intention is a long-standing tradition in the Catholic Church. One must never forget the infinite graces that flow from the Sacrifice of the Mass which benefit one’s soul. Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical "Mirae caritatis" (1902) beautifully elaborated this point and emphasized the connection between the communion of saints with the Mass: "The grace of mutual love among the living, strengthened and increased by the sacrament of the Eucharist, flows, especially by virtue of the Sacrifice [of the Mass], to all who belong to the communion of saints." Masses are offered for many reasons, in thanksgiving, for the intentions of another person (such as on a birthday), or as is most common, for the repose of the soul of someone who has died.
To accommodate the many requests for Mass intentions in accord with Canon Law and Archdiocesan policy, the following is Divine Mercy's Mass intentions policy:
Terms
Mass Intention: The person or persons for whom the Mass is offered.
Mass with a Single Intention: Masses offered for only the requested intention of one person (The person requesting the intention(s)). One person can request multiple intentions for the same Mass including those Masses that are identified as single intentions. Masses with single intentions are Weekday Masses, Sunday at 8:30 AM and 4 PM and Holy Days of Obligation. (One Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation must be scheduled for the intentions of our parishioners known as Pro Populo (For the People) as required by Canon Law.) This requirement is alternated between Sunday Masses at 8:30 AM and 4 PM.)
Mass with Multiple Intentions: Masses offered for the intentions of an unlimited number of people making a request. Masses with Multiple Intentions are Saturday at 4 PM and Sunday at 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM.
Policy for Requests
1.A requested intention may be made for any person living or deceased, in thanksgiving, or for an intention fitting to the Eucharistic celebration (Vocations, World Peace, Holy Souls in Purgatory, etc.). 2.A Mass intention may not be made for an unknown or unspecified “Special Intention”. The Special Intention would be the name of the person who has a Special Intention. 3.The person requesting Mass to be offered can request an unlimited number of Multiple Intention Masses to be offered for their intention. 4.For Masses with a Single Intention, the person requesting is allowed to request the same weekly Single Intention Mass Time a maximum of three (3) times in a calendar year. (i.e. Sunday at 8:30 AM (3x’s) and Tuesday at 7:30 AM (3x’s) but no more than 3 for the same Mass time.) Additional Masses may be offered for this intention at Masses with Multiple Intentions.
Mass intentions scheduled at least two weeks prior to the Mass will be published in the bulletin for that week. We begin to accept Mass intentions for the upcoming year at a date set and published in the parish bulletin. Mass intentions will be honored on a first-come, first-serve basis. The suggested offering for each requested Mass is $5.
Mass Intention Request Form Please complete the Mass Intention Request Form. Forms are available in the narthex or on the parish website. Completed forms can be mailed or brought to the Parish Office. Mass Intention requests may also be submitted online at divinemercyparish.org/mass-intentions-mass-card-requests or can be emailed to [email protected]
Request a Prayer Blanket
To request a prayer blanket for someone who is ill, please call Meryl at (504) 472-4383 or email [email protected].