St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

Updated Policy 5/18/23

Each Mass at St. John the Baptist is offered for a specific intention. An individual may schedule a Mass intention for several reason: for example, in thanksgiving, for another person’s intentions (such as on a birthday or anniversary) or, as is most common, for the repose of the soul of someone who has died. The tradition of offering Masses for other originates in the early Church. For example, Tertullian (c. 200), one of the early theologians of the Church, attested to observing the anniversary of a spouse with prayers and sacrifices, i.e. the Mass.

Mass intentions are able to be booked up to a year in advance but no further. The suggested donation of each Mass is $10. The parish office is open M-F, 9 AM-4:30 PM with an hour lunch break at 12. You may come in person or call. To better accommodate our large parish family, we have a few guidelines aimed to help more parishioners have the opportunity to schedule Masses.

• We allow seven Masses to be offered for a deceased family member in the first year of their death. Up to two of these Masses may be scheduled on a weekend.
  • For each subsequent year, we allow three Masses per person, with only one being a weekend Mass.
• All Masses for the same person must be six weeks apart.
• For recently deceased, 3 Masses (2 weekday and 1 weekend) will be reserved for the following month. On the first of the month, any Masses that remain untaken become available to the public.
• We allow a MAXIMUM of 10 intentions per person per year. All additional intentions will be sent to the Diocese of Lansing retired priests. Please note: that intentions sent to retired priests will have a randomly assigned date.

It is fitting to remember multiple deceased family members in one Mass intention. For example. A Mass intention might read “For the deceased members of the Smith Family” or “For the deceased members of the Smith and Jones families.” More than one name can also be noted, e.g. “For Fred and Betty Smith.”

Please note: Mass intentions for Christmas (vigil and day), Holy Thursday, and Easter (vigil and day) will be scheduled for the intentions of the People of the Parish.

Please also be aware of the Book of Petitions and the Book of Rememberance in the Gathering Space. You can mention the names of people you want prayed for, living or deceased. You can also note other prayer requests. We pray for the intentions written in the Book of Petitions at all the weekend and weekday Masses.

To schedule Mass intentions, please contact our office at 734-483-3360.