From the Pastor:
In the bulletin each week is listed the daily Mass schedule as well as the special intention of the priest for each Mass. Next to most of these is a small cross, which indicates that the person for whom the priest is praying is deceased. If there is no cross, then the person(s) is still living. A few examples of a Mass intention for people still living is the wedding anniversary of a husband or the school staff at the beginning of the year.
The spiritual power of the Mass is far greater than most of us realize. When we truly participate in the Mass with all of our heart, mind, and soul, our prayers and intentions are powerful before God. Just as you bring (hopefully) many prayer intentions to the Mass, so does the priest. Your intentions may be the same or different than his, and either is fine. This is also true of the intentions listed to the right for each Mass. They are the special intention of the priest and not necessarily the intention of everyone at the Mass.
Someone asked me if their prayer intentions at Mass are as powerful before God as that of the priest. First we recall God telling us that the prayers of a holy person are powerful. So if two people are sitting in church quietly praying, God responds to both people, but those of the holier person are more powerful, even if the other person is a priest. However, when that same priest puts on his vestments and stands at the altar during Mass, his prayers become more powerful because he is acting in persona Christi. No priest would ever claim he is worthy of acting in such a way.
Those three Latin words (in persona Christi) are the Church’s way of saying that the priest acts in the name and power of Jesus himself, literally, in the person of Christ. This happens through the sacrament of Holy Orders. When a man receives the sacrament of Holy Orders, or a man and woman the sacrament of Matrimony, God does something that cannot be undone. The sacraments change reality.
For the man ordained a priest, God chooses to act spiritually through him when that priest acts in the name and power of Christ. That is exactly what happens at Mass, and that is why the special intention list in the bulletin for each Mass becomes powerful, because the priest is acting in the name of Jesus. Something very similar happens when a priest performs an exorcism. Demons are much more powerful than any human person, but when the priest acts and speaks in the name and power of Jesus, the demons flee.
So, as you see the names or other intentions listed before each Mass to the right, keep in mind a small cross before the intention indicates it is for the deceased. Consider adding your family and friends to the list so that the priest can offer them to God in a special way at the Mass. That is the most powerful prayer that can be offered for them.
Prayerfully,
Fr. Miller