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Provide Mass stipends for 25 Priests in the Philippines For many priests all over the world these offerings represent an indispensable contribution to their material survival. Will you help us provide Mass stipends for these poor priests in the Philippines? Worldwide, there are over 400,000 priests who have the power to utter the words of Consecration in Holy Mass, whereby the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ – the most precious gift on earth. And yet, so many of them live in great poverty themselves. Some are old and sick, while others have to travel long distances and work tirelessly to bring God‘s presence and His Gospel message to the people. All this they do for love of
God – they do not receive any kind of salary. From earliest times, as an
expression of gratitude and support, the Catholic faithful have helped their
priests with Mass stipends – gifts of money or gifts in kind – while at the
same time asking them to celebrate Holy Mass for a particular intention. In no
sense should this be seen as “paying” for the Mass – which is beyond all price
– but rather as showing their solidarity as brothers and sisters in the faith
and providing material support for their priests, who shrink from no difficulty
or sacrifice to bring us Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. For many priests all over the world these offerings represent an indispensable contribution to their material survival. In particular, those priests in many poorer countries who teach in the seminaries, training a future generation of priests, often earn very little, since they have to be available at all times to support the seminarians – not merely providing a sound academic formation, but also helping them in their human and spiritual formation. Consequently, these priests have no parish community to support them, however modestly, but instead are dependent upon Mass stipends from abroad. We have decided to help 25 priests in the Diocese of Malolos, in the Philippines, with Mass stipends. They are priests teaching in the local seminary, and they will be only too happy to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the intentions of our benefactors. The area of present-day Malolos was first Christianized by the Spanish in 1572. The city of Malolos itself is especially renowned for the great festival that is held there every year on the last Sunday in January in honor of the Child Jesus. Each year, the celebrated image of the Santo Niño – the Holy Child – is displayed for veneration and there are great processions during which thousands of the faithful bring their own statues of the Child Jesus from home and carry them in procession. There are various dance and music groups who accompany the processions, dressed in traditional costumes. But Malolos also made the headlines not so long ago in 2011, when it was struck by powerful typhoons and flooding. At the time ACN gave emergency aid of $16,000 for the 12 most severely affected parishes. For the 25 priests of this diocese, we are proposing to give Mass stipends for a total value of $16,600. This represents just $664 per priest for the entire year. Will you help us fulfill this promise to prove Mass stipends for these poor priests in the Philippines? These priests are most grateful
for this support and have promised to celebrate the Masses requested for the
intentions of the benefactors who have given them.
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Keeping the Faith Alive
