Q. Can you have a Mass offered for a non-Catholic or a lapsed Catholic? What if the person is in hell?
A. When I was serving at my first assignment (shout out to St. John’s in Lincoln), it was our practice to let everyone know who the Mass was being offered for before Mass began.
There was one particular day when I was celebrating Mass and got to the sanctuary and read the intention for that Mass, which was “For the repose of the soul of Robin Williams.” I had the brief thought of ‘huh, someone has the same name as the actor Robin Williams,’ only for it to sink in that the actor Robin Williams had just died, which meant I was offering Mass for him.
I will admit I was a little taken aback. Celebrating a Mass for the repose of the soul of Robin Williams was not on my priest bingo card. But my surprise quickly abated as I was reminded of the fact that the Church is called to pray, sacrifice, and exercise Love through Truth so that all peoples can be saved, Catholic or not. It is basically why She exists.
St. Paul urged that “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men… that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2,4) and, in the spirit of St. Paul, that’s what the Church continues to do. “A priest is free to apply the Mass for anyone, living or dead” (CIC c. 901). A priest can offer a Mass for anyone, living or dead, not just Catholics, so that all may be saved.
We do not offer Masses for people because they are perfect and have everything figured out. We do it because no one is perfect and everyone needs our prayers, especially those who are farthest from God or going through a difficult time. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). We are called to pray for everyone, especially sinners, so that they might have a conversion of heart. Those who are in hell because they chose sin over God are the only ones beyond saving.
Still, since we do not know who is in hell and who is not, and we constantly implore God’s mercy on all, if a Mass is offered for someone who is in hell, we can trust that the graces are not “wasted” but are, for lack of a better term, “distributed” to where they are most needed. It is important to avoid thinking in too concrete/earthy terms when it comes to grace received through prayer and the Mass.
One final note, since we live in a time where some people do not seem to be able to understand that praying for someone is not the same as giving approbation to that person’s conduct/beliefs, priests are to exercise prudence when publicly stating that a Mass is being offered for a notorious public sinner. Again, we pray for everyone, but if someone was going to Mass and the priest said that the Mass is being offered for Joseph Stalin, it goes without saying they may find that a little peculiar.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
