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Regulations

 

All the Parish Priests are obliged to offer mass for the intention of the people (MISSA PRO POPULO) on all the Sundays and Days of obligation namely Christmas, Assumption of B.V.M. (Canon 534).

One Mass is to be offered for the donors of the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith, Rome in the month of October every year.

 

MASS FOR THE DECEASED CONFRERES

Whenever any one of our confreres dies, all the priests of the Diocese are requested to offer one Mass for his repose as early as possible.

 

MASSES FOR OTHER INTENTIONS AND MASS STIPENDS

  1. Mass: Low Mass                                                                     Rs. 100/-

          High Mass                                                                     Rs. 150/-

  1. Mass of Foundation (For 25 years only)                                Rs. 10,000/-
  2. Set of Gregorian Trental (30 Masses)                                    Rs. 10,000/-
  3. Eleven Masses are to be offered for the sake of ECMF and PRF for the intentions of the diocese.
  4. One mass is to be offered for the donor of Propagation of Faith.

 

     Legacy masses of perpetual Foundation will no more be accepted. But the Foundation legacy masses will be offered only for 25 years at the end of which period, the stipend for the legacy mass shall be the same as for Low Mass.  After verifying the donor’s willingness to abide by these conditions, the Parish Priest should apply to the Bishop for the formal decree of acceptance of Legacy.

 

Con-celebration:

Concelebrants do not receive any stipend for that Mass except the main celebrant or that is the only mass one celebrates that day.

 

Coupling of Mass Stipends:

When many intentions / stipends are given for the same day, people must be informed that the Parish Priest is allowed to take only one stipend for a day. Though many intentions are received and announced during that particular mass, the obligations are fulfilled by him on subsequent days or they are sent to the diocese for fulfilling the obligations.

 

THE CHURCH FUND TO BE COLLECTED BY THE PARISHES DURING THE INITIATION OF SACRAMENTS AND SACRAMENTALS

  1. Baptism                                                                         -   200
  2. First Holy Communion                                                   -   350
  3. Confirmation                                                                   -   300
  4. Fee for writing and Reading the marriage banns           -   500
  5. Dispensation from reading banns

             One dispensed                                                             -   200

             Two dispensed                                                             -   250

             Three dispensed                                                          -   300

  1. Marriage celebration [Church Fund]

               (Mass stipend, Electricity extra)                                  - 2000

  1. Marriage rectification                                                     -   400
  2. For the cemetery if any, PPC & PFC will decide 
  3. For the issue of certificate                                              -     50
  4. Dispensation: Third Degree Consanguinity                   -   400

                       Fourth Degree Consanguinity                            -   200

                       Disparity of Cult                                                 -   400

                       Mixed Marriage                                                  -   400

 

  1. Sacraments to be celebrated outside regular mass timings          - 2000

N.B.:

  1. If any parish wishes to collect more than the fixed amount, it has to be decided together with the Parish Pastoral Council and Parish Finance Council and it should be approved by the Bishop.
  2. Receipt is to be issued for the money collected and the amount is to be entered in the Parish account. Office Copy (OC) for the receipt has to be kept for auditing.
  3. Subscription and Thalaikattu Vari are to be collected from the parishioners in consultation with the parish finance council and vouchers must be issued for the same. The money has to be entered in the parish account.

 

HOSTS TO BE FRESH AND FREQUENTLY RENEWED

     1. The Consecrated Host, both for communion of the Faithful and for the exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament, shall be fresh and shall be frequently renewed, the old ones being properly consumed (Canon 939).

     2. If all the consecrated Hosts cannot be distributed within 15 days the priests will take care to consume the remaining Hosts and consecrate new ones.  The same applies for the Host in the Monstrance.

 

COLLECTIONS

     The collections prescribed in the Diocese of Thanjavur are the following:

  1. January             : 1st Sunday – Comminuio India
  2. February           : 2nd Sunday - the Holy Childhood
  3. March                : Hunger & Disease
  4. March/April       : Good Friday, for Holy Land
  5. May                   : 1st Sunday “Vocation Sunday”
  6. June                  : 29th June Solemnity for Peter’s Pence
  7. July                   : Holy See
  8. August              : 2nd Sunday – Communication
  9. September        : 4th Sunday – Bible
  10. October             : 3rd Sunday – the Society for the Propagation of Faith
  11. November         : Any Sunday – St. Peter the Apostle
  12. December         : For Africa

  These collections should be sent to the Diocesan Financial Administrator immediately after they are made.

 

MARRIAGE

1.  No banns should be written before obtaining the necessary certificates, the certificate of marriage preparation course and dispensation if any.

2.   The age (for the boy, 21 years completed and for the girl, 18 years completed) according to the law of the Republic of India should be observed.

3.   When a marriage is to take place, the Parish Priest can collect all arrears due to the parish fund. (Office Copy (OC) for the receipt has to be kept for auditing). But the exaction of such payment is never to be considered as a sine qua non for the celebration of the marriage. Receipt is to be issued for the money collected and the amount is to be entered in the Parish account.

  1. As it is a commendable custom to offer the Nuptial Mass for the bride and bridegroom, let the Parish Priests exhort the marriage couple to give the stipend for the Nuptial Mass.
  2. The dispensation for 3rd degree consanguinity will be given only in extraordinary circumstances.
  3. The parish priest can dispense from reading one banns and the V.F. two banns; dispensation from all the three banns is reserved to the Local Ordinary. The fee amount collected for the dispensation goes to Parish, Vicariate and the curia respectively. The Dispensation forms should be sent to the Chancellor.

 

FASTING AND ABSTINENCE

  1. The law of fasting and abstinence is binding only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
  2. The law of abstinence alone is binding on the other Fridays of Lent, while all other Fridays of the year are days of penance.

        Law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year (C.1252).  The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority (i.e., eighteenth year, until the beginning of their 60th year) Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence are taught the true meaning of abstinence.

 

FEAST OF OBLIGATION

     It is obligatory to participate Holy Mass and abstain from servile works on all Sundays of the year and days of obligation, namely, the Assumption and Christmas.