One of the greatest acts of charity is to pray for the living and the dead. The greatest and most powerful prayer we have is the Mass, since the fruits of the Mass are the very fruits of Jesus’ redemption. For that reason, all are encouraged to have Mass offered for loved ones who have died, or even for the living who have some need. This is an ancient Catholic practice, and all are encouraged to take it up.
The following policies are now being implemented to accommodate in a reasonable and fair manner the numerous Mass requests received by our parish.
- Mass intention requests for the calendar year 2023 are now being accepted. Requests will be honored on a first-come-first-serve basis in the order in which the request is received at the Parish Office.
- Each household may request a maximum of five (5) Mass intentions per calendar year, which includes Masses requested for the recently deceased. Of these five intentions, only two may be scheduled on a Saturday evening or Sunday, due to the limited number of weekend Masses. We regret that we cannot honor all requests of specific Mass dates and times.
- We ask that requests for Mass intentions be submitted in written form to the Parish Office. Please mail your request or place it in the drop box attached to the exterior of the Parish Center, addressed to the attention of Karen Eldrenkamp, Parish Secretary. Requests may also be submitted to Karen Eldrenkamp via email at keldrenkamp@sjalisle.org. Thank you.
- If you wish to request more Mass intentions than can be accommodated at St. Joan of Arc Parish, we encourage you to contact the Diocese of Joliet Chancellor’s Office at 815-221-6148, and request to have the Masses offered by retired priests or those serving in the Missions. Your offering will help to support these priests and Missions.
- Each intention is limited to either two names or one group name (e.g. “John & Jane Doe”, or “The Living & Deceased Members of the Doe Family”). Please indicate whether the person(s) for whom the Mass is requested is living or deceased.
- The offering is $10.00 for each Mass request, even if two names or one group/family name are listed in the intention. Please make checks payable to St. Joan of Arc, and include the date/time of the scheduled Mass intention(s) with your offering.
- Please note we can only accept one Mass intention per Mass.
- Although we make every effort to offer Mass intentions on the day and time for which they were originally scheduled, our Mass schedule is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances, and thus the parish reserves the right to change a date of a Mass intention if necessary. In that case, we will make every effort to contact the person making the Mass request to reschedule that intention. Otherwise, the intention for the Mass will be rescheduled on the next available opening.