Catholic Mass

I think you give what you can personally afford but you can ask the priest for guidance

Just give whatever you can afford. Occasionally I have had a mass said - I usually give £20.

Thank you so much for your help. Much appreciated.

There is a fixed rate st my church (a London suburb) and it’s £10.

In my Church it is what you can afford but it is always made clear that it is not a requirement, the Mass will be said for your intention.

My parish is the same.
You give what you can afford and if you cannot afford a donation, the Mass will be said anyway.

I know from experience, most people give between £5 and £10.

Yes, £20-25, is what I would offer, but no priest would turn you down because you only offered £5. They work constantly with people in poverty and need, so are well aware how monetarily stressed many people are. I try to be generous because I can afford it.

As a Catholic I am always a little ashamed about paying for Mass. it’s against canon law to pay for any sacrament or Mass as the poor would be left out, but it is expected if money isn’t a problem to make a donation towards the upkeep of the clergy . I give either £10 or £20.
At the moment I have emailed the bishop and Cardinal Vincent Nichols to close the churches to stop the virus. I have not received a reply. ?

In my church I usually give £5 to £10. Does anybody give the priest a donation when he comes to the cemetery for a funeral? At a family funeral my well off aunt gave the priest £40 and said it had been a lovely service. I thought that was a nice gesture although many people could not afford that much.

It's standard practice here, to give priest a donation and also the altar servers, organist and grave diggers.

Most of the stipends are sent to the missions.
In Scotland, a number of measures have been put in place, to try and keep people safe.
In my Diocese, all vulnerable adults and the elderly have been given a dispensation from attending Mass.

The priest gets paid to do his job. You don't have to pay tip him.

Surely church gatherings will come under the 'limit contact' advice from government - and be cancelled for now!

Vampirequeen, the priest is a prominent part of the Catholic church. The priests do not get a lot of money that is why parishioners always contribute to the priests outgoings and always for the retirement of the clergy. I s that too big a price to pay for the work the priest does in his church and community? I do not think it is. Many of the churches have lost the layman priests because the funding for giving them any money is depleted making the work for just one priest.

Yes I think it is. The priest has more than he needs. I'd never seen a state of the art music system until I visited a priest. The Jesuit brothers had paid for it. If they have the money for that then they have enough money.

I have no truck with paying for Masses or any other ceremony that doesn't require the building to be opened especially for the occasion. In that case you should pay towards the opening costs but only if you can genuinely afford to. I've seen too many poor people hand money over to the priest because they felt obliged to and too many priests benefit from legacies from parishioners. I know of one priest who retired with over £250K in the bank and wasn't ashamed to tell people. He said he prayed extra hard for the people who had left him money. You're not supposed to have to buy sacraments or any other form of solace.

vampirequeen : there are no living on benefits or anything like that for priests they choose to go into the priesthood. They have neither much money or anything and many have lived
frugal lives as missionaries in much poorer countries.

Many people only give what they can afford to the church and many parables and psalms talk about those who live in humility and poverty which is why so many feel accepted by the church. You will know the sermon about gold and money these things will not go to the grave with you and God alone has no interest in someone having one million pound and someone having nothing when we arrive before him that is not what he will see.

Priests in both the RC church and Cof E church are relatively poorly paid. My DH is a retired vicar. People don't go into ministry for the money but there are many other rewards. I think you have presented a very unusual case of an ordained person vampirequeen

I was struggling to find the right words. Thank you, mumofmadboys I couldn't have put it better myself.
The RC priests I know, dont have huge salaries, many rely on the support generosity of family and parishioners .

* MariaEliza* I heard today that all church services are suspended now.

Not in the Catholic Church in Scotland.
Only vulnerable and elderly parishoners have been given a dispensation from attending Mass. Business as usual at the moment.

Last time I requested a Mass I gave £10 to the parish secretary. It was very gratefully received and was definitely accepted as a donation rather than a 'payment'.

I was of the impression that financial bequests left to RC priests are accepted only on behalf of the diocese.

I'm sure that this was the way it used to be. I know of one priest in Ireland who certainly did this 20 years ago. He had taken the 3 vows and lived only on a stipend. I don't think he actually "owned" anything.

Maybe there are lots of different vows according to order?

When the Parish Priest is on holiday, I make a note of all the mass requests and donations. Sometimes people can't afford a donation, but the Mass will still be said.
The majority of the money is actually sent oversees to mission schools etc to help those who need it more.

It doesn't go straight into the priest's pocket, as some think.
Of course there will be priests, who are materialistic, just like in secular society. Please don't tar them all with the same brush. There are many who are humble people, who would give people in need, their last penny.

Re the mass donation, it IS a donation and as someone else said, the mass will be offered without one.
Just offer what you feel comfortable with.