REQUEST FOR INFO: Mass Cards

From a reader… which I am turning over to the readership!

QUAERITUR:

Whenever someone passes away, I obviously get them a Mass card. What’s weird is lately rectories do not have them anymore. I understand having a mass said for someone is all that matters, but I wanted to send the family a card assuring them of our prayers.

Do you recommend any societies that do offer Mass cards? What’s the difference between a regular Mass card and an enrollment? Do You have a preference?

Anyone?

Some of you might not know what a “Mass card” is.

A Mass offering card, or memorial card, is similar to a greeting card which you send to someone after one of their loved ones dies to let them know that you will pray for and have Mass said for the deceased. You can get these at religious goods stores. Some religious orders make them. Some parishes have them.

And this doesn’t apply only to someone’s death. You can have Masses said for many reasons, including birthdays or name days, ordinations, confirmations, etc. And we don’t have to wait for people to die to pray for them. Right?

Perhaps some of you have had good experiences with sources for Mass cards. Let us know.

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23 Comments

  1. gracie says:

    You should be able to get a Mass card at any rectory. They will find you a Mass that as yet is not being said for anyone. It may be a year out – especially the Sunday ones. Then they’ll write the date of the Mass on the card, along with the deceased’s name and your name. You mail this to the family so that they know of it. Of course, you don’t have to mail the card to anyone – i.e., the deceased may be someone you personally want to have a Mass said for.

    Btw – I posted a previous comment and the blog and it went completely blank when I clicked on the “Preview” button. Apologies if they both show up.

  2. JKnott says:

    The FSSP take Mass offerings. Not sure if they have cards for it.
    The Legionaries, PO Box 1122, Cheshire CT Attn: Barbara DiSpirito , offer single Masses, Novena of Masses as well as a new Triduum of Masses for individual intentions and RIP. They also say the Gregorian Mass Series as well as have Enrollments. EWTN sends some over to the Legionaries for the Gregorian Masses. They send out the appropriate cards and documents to go with the Mass.
    FSSP of course is EF and LC Masses are very reverent NO, sometimes said in Latin.
    I think Franciscans also have Mass cards.

  3. fishonthehill says:

    I recently changed the Mass Card situation at my parish. Averaging about 100 funerals a year and upwards of 600 Mass Cards a year, I decided, with the help of my young curate (another Fr. Z) to change from the generic Mass Card to a personalized Mass Card. Using CatholicPrayerCards.org I ordered Mass cards with an image of a priest offering Mass… Angels and Saints and the Glories of Heaven depicted in the image… quite nice and great company. If you like I can mail you a blank card .

  4. Melissa Johnson says:

    I work at a parish and this is one of the things we do. As gracie says, we’re many months out in reserved Masses. I can’t imagine a Catholic church that wouldn’t offer Mass cards! We get ours at Barton Cotton. They’re not personalized, but our pastor does sign them, and he announces “This Mass is offered for the repose of the soul of —” before Mass. Which reminds me, I need to get him another stack to sign…

    You can also offer a Mass for the intentions of a still-living person, and we have cards for that as well. It’s a good thing not to confuse the two cards, so we do have two different imprints.

  5. A.D. says:

    This question has been bothering me for some time now. My understanding has been that Holy Mass could only be said for a living or deceased person who is Catholic, not someone of another or no faith. Yet, I have talked with others who say they have had Masses said for friends, even if they were not Catholic. Which is proper? Is there a difference between whether it is an publicized intention [announced or in the bulletin] versus a private intention of the priest? Thank you.

  6. AndrewPaul says:

    I just got a Mass card for my mother. Pauline Books and Media (run by the Daughters of St. Paul) has them and theirs is 6 daily Masses forever.

    Not sure if they can mail the cards to pages they’re not serving in.

  7. HeatherPA says:

    When we have someone in our family or friends die, we order a set of Gregorian Masses from either the Capuchins or the Pious Union of St. Joseph. Either organization sends nice cards out and the Pious Union will even list the month that the Masses are done.
    That said, the Pious Union also offers a novena of Masses for living or dead people or for special intentions, and we have alsodone these many, many times.

    The Capuchins offer some really nice novena Massea for the living, too, and individual Masses. The cards they send out are really nice.

    Our parish does send out Mass intention cards for Masses upon request.
    The Capuchin Gregorian masses-

    http://www.seraphicmass.org

    The Pious Union of St. Joseph-

    http://www.piousunionofstjoseph.org

  8. Hidden One says:

    Aid to the Church in Need is also a great option for having Masses said for the deceased (and the living). Different options exist in different countries where they operate and have websites.

    ACN, a pontifical organization of the good kind, desperately need Mass intentions and stipends for the poor priests in mission countries who they support.

  9. robtbrown says:

    HeatherPA,

    Are any of the Gregorian masses or Novena being concelebrated?

  10. gracie says:

    Oops! I just reread the post and realize that the person said that not all rectories have Mass cards. Extremely odd!!! It probably is a result of our digital age – ask them if they offer e-Mass cards! (I bet some of them do.) The problem is that fewer people are sending cards period to anyone, including condolence cards. Instead, funeral homes each have a webpage where you can post condolences to those who have lost someone. Instead of taking the time to write a heartfelt note that actually might comfort the bereaved, now people write the formulaic, “Our thoughts and prayers are with you” or – to express more individuality – “We’re going to miss you, Charlie!” or the ubiquitous, “RIP”, “RIP”, “RIP”. This approach probably is bleeding into the Mass card situation. I would be surprised if millennials even know what a Mass card is.

  11. Spade says:

    My parish has them, and our Pastor signed them all (somehow). You just fill in the name and date. They’re also booked out until forever.

    However, all of these cards cost money. You could always ask why they don’t have them, and maybe get some folks together to donate some if that’s why they can’t.

  12. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception accepts offerings for enrollment in a variety of Masses…while I’m pretty sure that their specific mass stipends are filled to capacity whenever they open the books…a lot of parishes have ‘mission priests’ who can use the stipends (I know our parish usually fills the yearly book the first couple days it’s announced that they are accepting requests, but sends the stipends and requests out to mission priests and a couple of abbeys). Nice thing about the shrine is that the name gets enrolled perpetually in the monthly novena at the end of the month, and is remembered in the daily rosary. We must remember that God’s love and mercy is not limited by our schedules…so even being one of many is infinitely more beautiful and helpful than not being remembered at all!

  13. HeatherPA says:

    @Robtbrown,
    The Pious Union sends the requests to their mission priests, and every indication is that your intended is the one that mission priest offers his Masses for.
    I think some of the Capuchin Masses are for numerous people at once.

  14. quo vado says:

    If you’d like the Traditional Latin Mass to be offered weekly for the deceased, I’d recommend the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius: http://canons-regular.org/go/apostolates/mass-association/

    If you’re okay with eCards, there’s Aid to the Church in Need. While the stipends are distributed to priests throughout the world, the intention themselves aren’t. It is only hoped that God knows them already. http://www.churchinneed.org/site/PageServer?pagename=MO_Mass_Offerings_Main

  15. robtbrown says:

    Brian Boyle says,

    We must remember that God’s love and mercy is not limited by our schedules…so even being one of many is infinitely more beautiful and helpful than not being remembered at all!

    1. Every mass is offered for all member of the Church.

    2. God’s Mercy is Infinite, but the recipient of that Mercy is not. Quidquid recipitur ad modum recipientis recipitur.

  16. Mike says:

    Frequently I request Traditional Masses to be offered by missionary priests through Operation Mission Stipends at the National Coalition for Clergy and Laity. They send the intentions to their priests but don’t send Mass cards. While it’s relatively easy to find memorial Mass cards at Catholic stationers, I’m having difficulty finding cards to send when offering Masses for the living, and would welcome guidance in that specific regard.

  17. mulieribus says:

    You can request Masses or Prayers online through the Norbertines of Orange County:
    http://www.stmichaelsabbey.com/
    You can also specify whether it be Extraordinary Form or Novus Ordo. They will send you a Mass Card for each intention.

  18. mo7 says:

    Is one of these a greater gift?: Perpetual Masses or a term of years card for collective intentions by a far away religious order -or- a single Mass offered for only the deceased at their home parish.

  19. brk says:

    The Norbertine Fathers at St. Michael’s Abbey send lovely Mass cards for you to use. They offer single Masses, perpetual Masses, novena of Masses, Gregorian series of Masses. You can request OF, EF, or a specific date. “The faithful may request that Mass be offered for a special intention, often for another individual, living or deceased.”

    https://stmichaelsabbey.com/mass-requests

  20. Thomas Sweeney says:

    Mass cards can be had at almost any rectory along with Spiritual Bouquets.

  21. Matthew Gaul says:

    Catholic Near East (CNEWA) will distribute your Mass card requests to priests in the Near East who need the donation.

    Since they hand them out to so many priests, you can buy dozens at a time if need be.

    I get almost all of my liturgy intentions through them. Just Google “CNEWA intentions.”

  22. Seppe says:

    The Marians of the Immaculate Conception (at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy) have an assortment of Mass cards for various occasions (i.e. birthdays, anniversaries, illness, etc.). They may be viewed and requested online at:
    http://www.marian.org/enrollments/

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