Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church
Hot Springs Village, Arkansas
When is a good thing, not completely a good thing?  The answer is: when it has to do with Mass Intensions that are requested at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church.  In part, because we have an "older" traditional congregation that appreciates the benefits of prayers and Masses being offered for people, especially the deceased, and in part due to the number of deaths we have each year in our parish, we have received an abundance of Mass Intention requests. Scheduling them in a timely manner is a great challenge.  When a loved one or friend dies, most of us want a Mass offered for him/her within a reasonable time.  Having the first Mass offered for him or her four or five months after they have died, doesn't seem reasonable for most of us.  I have therefore decided to place priorities on when Masses that are requested, are offered.

We will give priority to "death" anniversaries when someone requests a Mass for their loved one.  Also, I would like to see us schedule Masses for those who have recently died, no longer than one month after their death.  If more than one Mass is requested for that person, we will try to offer Masses for the happy repose of his/her soul at least once every two months during the first year after their death.  Other Masses that are requested may need to be sent off to priests (especially in Arkansas) who do not have enough Mass requests to fill the number of Masses they celebrate each year. Some of them are missionary priests who truly apreciate the money that is given by the person requesting the Mass. Also, we are blessed to have Father Mike Hinken still in the Village on an extended sabbatical from an assignment from his religious order.  He has been willing to accept Mass Intention requests as he celebrates Mass every day.  If he takes some Masses, we may try to indicate in the bulletin, which Masses are being offered by him on a particular day if we can coordinate that with him.  This could help especially on days when a death anniversary has been requested by two different people.

The bottom line is that we will do our best to respect the wishes of the person asking for the Mass Intention and try to satisfy it in a timely way, given the realities of the number of Masses that can be offered by one priest in this parish every year.  Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.