Are Mass Stipends a form of Simony?

by Michael Shackleton · March 10, 2015

Our archdiocese recently increased the stipend from R20 to R40 for a Mass intention. Please explain why we are asked for a payment for a Mass intention, especially as regular scheduled Masses are already being celebrated. And why do parishioners have to pay for the November Masses for the holy souls? It has been suggested that paying for prayer/Mass is a form of simony. Name withheld

Peter’s conflict with Simon Magus by Avanzino Nucci, 1620. Simon is on the right, dressed in black. (Wikipedia)

The Acts of the Apostles 8:14-24 tells of a certain Simon, after whom simony is named, who saw Peter and John lay their hands on a group of Samaritans, giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Simon offered the Apostles money if they would give him the same power. Peter refused, saying that money cannot buy what God has given for nothing.

Your question seeks clarity on whether we are also buying with money what God gives for nothing in the Mass.

We know that there is no quid pro quo between the Mass and a stipend, as if there was a material equivalence between the infinite fruits of the Mass and the finite gift of money. So it is normal to say that the stipend is not a quid pro quo because it is a contribution to the support of the priest.

It is more. If you offer your R40 for Mass to be celebrated for your intention, this sum or any other, represents your personal oblation of yourself, sharing in the sacrifice. It provides you with a spiritual connection with the Mass, a sense that your money may go to the priest but, more especially, it is a free sacrifice of some of your income for your own spiritual welfare and the support of the Church, which is a sacrificial community. This is not simony.

In the early days people donated bread and wine and, later, money for the poor and the support of the clergy. Their offering was often accompanied by a request for a specific intention of their own to be remembered in the Mass. That�s how Mass stipends began and they are there to draw us closer into the mystery of the sacrifices we must all make for Christ.

Instead of thinking of �paying� to have a special Mass said for you, think of your cash offering as a sacrifice of part of your substance to share in the sacrifice of the Mass, as if you were part of the offertory procession at that Mass.

November Masses for the holy souls should be seen in the same light.

Local bishops fix a minimum sum of money as a guideline to assist us to make an appropriate gesture for the priest�s services. Those who can�t afford the fixed sum will always be accommodated by the clergy.