"Please scroll down to the bottom to see how to avoid the JustGiving 15% surcharge."
Having Mass celebrated
One traditional and praiseworthy way of supporting Priests is to make a donation for the celebration of a Mass. The Mass is then offered for the particular person or intention requested by the donor.
Referring to the evangelising work of the Apostles, Jesus said: The worker deserves his hire (Matthew 10:10, Luke 10:7). St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: You know, surely, that those who preside at the Altar share the Altar's offerings. And so it is that the Lord has bidden the heralds of the Gospel live by preaching the Gospel (I Cor 9:13-14).
In his Confessions, St. Augustine speaks of the dying wish of his mother St. Monica (+ 387): The one thing I beg of you is that you will remember me at the Altar of the Lord, wherever you are.
The Canon Law of the Catholic Church regulates the practice of accepting stipends for Mass, to ensure that abuses do not occur (cf. can. 945-958).
Explanation
Every Mass has in principle infinite scope and power, since it makes sacramentally present the action of Christ the High Priest, interceding for us.
Also, the Eucharistic Prayer of every Mass includes mention of those who are specially prayed for: the Pope and local Bishop; those present; the faithful departed etc. The Prayer of the Faithful may propose other names or situations or causes for the intercession of all. But in addition to this, as an act of devotion, the ordained Priest, standing in the place of Christ, may offer the Eucharistic sacrifice with a particular intention in mind. This is what is meant when it is said "a Mass will be offered for you".
According to custom, each day before Mass the Priest signs a register or book, which assigns and records such specified intentions. At Pluscarden, the vow of poverty means that the individual Priest would never personally receive any money offered for a Mass.
In practice
Normally a minimum donation of £10 is offered for each Mass requested.
Please use the web form above to request a particular Mass intention. Alternatively, email the brother stipendiary at: stipendspluscardenabbey@gmail.com
A card, signed by the Priest celebrating the Mass, may be sent, if desired, to the person and address you specify. If you would like such a card, it would seem reasonable these days to add £10 to your offering, in order to cover the postage and other costs of the card.
If a specific date for the Mass is requested, we will try to fit in with that. But in some circumstances the Mass may have to be celebrated on a date close to the one requested.
If more Masses are asked for than we are able to fit in, the surplus intentions, with their attached stipends, are sent to Priests in the Third World. Sometimes this is a very significant means of support for such Priests.
Please help us build the new St. Joseph's Guest House for ladies
The community is seeking financial help from our friends, especially to help cover the considerable cost of building our new Guest house for Ladies.
God bless all our benefactors! We rely on them, and could not continue without them!
We previously advertised the possibility of marking a donated slate or stone for the new building. The suggested donation was £10 for a slate or £200 for a stone. So a lot of slates and stones now have the names of benefactors, or those for whom they wish to pray, inscribed on them! But the project has now advanced past the point where such marking can be done.
Other ideas for specific gifts will surely be suggested in due time.
For all donations towards the completion of St. Joseph’s Guest House, please contact our Project manager John Gleeson: john@gleesonhbconsultants.co.uk
God bless you for your generosity.
How to pay, without any extra costs, via JustGiving
The donations Box on this page marked “Donate with JustGiving” offers a convenient way of sending money to the Monastery.
For UK taxpayers who fill in the appropriate boxes, JustGiving will automatically add a 25% Gift Aid top-up to the donation.
The Company claim not to charge a platform fee, but in fact they add a 15% surcharge to every donation received. They call it a “tip”.
Benefactors who may not wish to pay this tip do not need to do so.
Please note that at the end of JustGiving’s transaction dialogue, there is a slide, enabling you to reduce your tip to only 10%. But below that there is a line “Enter custom amount”.
Click on that. You will find some reasons put before you to give a tip to JustGiving. But if you so wish, you can enter a figure in the box they provide: £0.00.
That will be accepted, and your donation will all come to the monastery, without any extra costs!