parishes in the U.S. subscribe to one of OCP’s missal programs,” and among the “worship resources” they provide are pre-composed prayers of the faithful.Posted on 01/28/2010 3:40:24 PM PST by NYer
The Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy called for a restoration of the “prayer of the faithful” saying:
Especially on Sundays and feasts of obligation there is to be restored, after the Gospel and the homily, "the common prayer" or "the prayer of the faithful." By this prayer, in which the people are to take part, intercession will be made for holy Church, for the civil authorities, for those oppressed by various needs, for all mankind, and for the salvation of the entire world. (SC 53)
Exactly how this takes place with regard to form and the specific intercessions offered can vary from parish to parish. The General Instruction for the Roman Missal offers only sparse direction, saying:
It is for the priest celebrant to direct this prayer from the chair. He himself begins it with a brief introduction, by which he invites the faithful to pray, and likewise he concludes it with a prayer. The intentions announced should be sober, be composed freely but prudently, and be succinct, and they should express the prayer of the entire community. (GIRM 71)
Given the open-endedness of the instruction, it is easy to understand why the prayer of the faithful can vary from place to place with regard to specific content, but it is still amazing how often the idea of “free but prudent composition” is taken to mean “free to promote pet ecclesial and political agendas from the lectern.”
One of my all-time “favorites” went something like this:
“For world leaders; that they may put an end to the disastrous effects of manmade global warming…”
Gives new meaning to the practice of “green” vestments for ordinary time, doesn’t it?
In all seriousness, it’s no laughing matter that agenda-driven intercessions are not all that uncommon these days. Even though it seems that just about everyone has had a similar experience, I had always just assumed that such intercessions are the work of one or more parish liturgical staff members gone wild.
While this may frequently be the case, I recently stumbled upon an on-line treasure trove of “prayers of the faithful” that many of us have no doubt heard in common. They come to us courtesy of Oregon Catholic Press (OCP); a non-profit enterprise that enjoys no official status (much less authority) within the Church, yet according to the company’s website “two-thirds of the parishes in the U.S. subscribe to one of OCP’s missal programs,” and among the “worship resources” they provide are pre-composed prayers of the faithful.
In my experience the majority of the most poorly written, doctrinally questionable, and downright irritating intercessions I’ve ever endured fall into the category of those “made for holy Church.” For example, consider the following gems from our friends at OCP:
“For the Church throughout the world and for its mission to become one, holy, catholic and apostolic…”
“That ecclesial authorities do everything in their power to preserve the eucharistic nature of the Church…”
No, I’m not making this stuff up. The irony of offering an intercession like the former mere moments after professing (in the Creed) that the Church is indeed one, holy, catholic and apostolic is as rich as it gets! The mission of the Church, of course, has been given to Her by Christ and it reflects the aforementioned marks (one, holy, catholic, apostolic); i.e. the Church’s mission isn’t going to become anything other than what it already is.
As for the latter intercession and the idea of “preserving” the Church’s “nature”; this reflects a similarly flawed ecclesiology that presumes that human beings enjoy the autonomy to manipulate the Church’s very essence. Of course, the members of the Church can do nothing of the sort, even as we must strive to reflect the Church’s immutable nature as we attempt to answer the call to holiness.
One wonders; are these OCP prayers simply the ramblings of a few poorly catechized writers, or are they deliberately subtle messages designed to serve as a recruiting tool by those who wish to “sing a new church into being?” You decide. (Incidentally, the insipid song by that same title is copy written and distributed by none other than… you guessed it… OCP!)
Some OCP prayers are even more transparent in their agenda of dissent. For instance:
“That the Church seek creative ways to bring the Eucharist to all who hunger in spirit…”
And just in case you missed the point, consider this one:
“For all who gather freely at this table, that they remember those who are prohibited from worshipping…”
OK, so maybe the benefit of the doubt says the latter is a prayer for Catholics in China. As for me, that seems a bit naïve. Considering the source, I think it’s reasonable to understand this prayer as one for the Church to welcome to Communion the divorced and remarried along with the generally unrepentant; especially in light of the former intercession implying that the Church isn’t doing a very good job of feeding the spiritually hungry. Again, you decide.
The common thread in many of these prayers is an implication that something is wrong with the Church, and more specifically, with the sacred hierarchy.
“For those who lead the Church – may they trust the power of the Holy Spirit…”
“That the Church embrace the gifts of every person…”
Yes, God’s knows that if the hierarchy would only trust the Spirit and embrace everyone’s gift we’d have plenty of priests, many of them married – and at least half of them women!
Then there are those prayers that indicate that the Mass is all about us:
“For all who serve in liturgical ministries – may they renew their spirits and their enthusiasm for hospitality…”
This would be a lovely little prayer if not for the pesky fact that the liturgy is not an exercise in hospitality at all; unless of course you’re a member of a “new church.”
Enough for now, as I presume the point has been well made and I am certain that readers have many more examples of their own to share.
In conclusion, I’d like to offer an intercession of my own:
For those who enjoy the incredible privilege of writing prayers for the general intercessions; may they always do so faithfully and well; without any hint of a dissenting agenda, we pray to the Lord…
Do I hear a “Lord hear our prayer?”
I’m fortunate in that our community is small, faithful and has a priest and a deacon who would whap the offending sentiment right out of our sanctuary.
In parishes that take their liturgy seriously, the canned intercessions usually disappear on Sunday, to be replaced by intercessions composed locally by responsible parties, sometimes with the aid of thoughtful resources like Magnificat. The solution to the weekday problem, I suggest, is to regularize and routinize the petitions at daily Mass, making them serenely formulaic and thus immune from the temptation to political or cultural homiletics.
Here’s one possible scheme for such a “reduction:”
For the holy Church of God throughout the world, let us pray to the Lord.
For Benedict, Bishop of Rome, and the bishops in communion with him, let us pray to the Lord.
For this local Church of [name of diocese], for [name of bishop], its chief shepherd, and for the priests and deacons of [name of diocese], let us pray to the Lord.
For this parish of [patron of other name], its pastors and its people, let us pray to the Lord.
For an abundance of vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life, let us pray to the Lord.
For the unity of all Christians, for the relief of those suffering persecution for their Christian faith, and for the conversion of their persecutors, let us pray to the Lord.
For the civil authorities, that we may be governed in justice and truth, let us pray to the Lord.
For those who are sick, and for all those with special needs, let us pray to the Lord.
For our beloved dead, let us pray to the Lord.
That, I suggest, covers the most important bases. Such a scheme also locates the local parish within the broader Christian community of the diocese, and locates the diocese within the ambit of the universal Church: facts about which Catholics in America often need reminding. And such a formulaic schema avoids politics while making clear that we should pray regularly that the politicos recognize both the responsibilities and limits of their power.
Try it. It is, if you’ll permit me, the best option.
There are two sets of "prayers of the people" which in the old days were called Collects -
One is found in Morning Prayer.
Scroll down to page 17 and there they are.
Additional prayers for use in Morning Prayer are here. They start on p. 35.
The short form for use in Holy Communion is here, starting on p. 74:
Let us pray for the whole state of Christ’s Church.
ALMIGHTY and everliving God, who by thy holy Apostle hast taught us to make prayers, and supplications, and to give thanks for all men; We humbly beseech thee most mercifully to accept our (alms and) oblations, and to receive these our prayers, which we offer unto thy Divine Majesty; beseeching thee to inspire continually the Universal Church with the spirit of truth, unity, and concord:
And grant that all those who do confess thy holy Name may agree in the truth of thy holy Word, and live in unity and godly love.
We beseech thee also, so to direct and dispose the hearts of all Christian Rulers, that they may truly and impartially administer justice, to the punishment of wickedness and vice, and to the maintenance of thy [holy Church], and virtue.
Give grace, O heavenly Father, to all Bishops, [priests, and deacons], that they may, both by their life and doctrine, set forth thy true and lively Word, and rightly and duly administer thy holy Sacraments.
And to all thy People give thy heavenly grace; and especially to this congregation here present; that, with meek heart and due reverence, they may hear, and receive thy holy Word; truly serving thee in holiness and righteousness all the days of their life.
And we most humbly beseech thee, of thy goodness, O Lord, to comfort and succour all those who, in this transitory life, are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity.
And we also bless thy holy Name for all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear; beseeching thee to grant them continual growth in thy love and service, and to give us grace so to follow their good examples, that with them we may be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom. Grant this, O Father, for Jesus Christ’s sake, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.
That's probably the best place to start as it is about the right length, with prayers that fit the lectionary for the day added as desired. I have added quick and dirty corrections [in brackets] to take out the occasional access of rabid Puritanism here and there, I'm sure they could be tuned up a bit more.
But there's enough good, solid, godly and apolitical stuff there to keep everybody busy for hours.
No need to reinvent the wheel, especially if OCP is involved -- their wheels won't roll.
I like them but I think there should also be some that are also more personal and nourishing to the individual parishioners. How about:
For the strength to carry the burden that is troubling us, let us pray to the Lord.
For health, unity, and peace within our families, let us pray to the Lord.
For the insight to use the gifts God gave us to live our lives to the fullest and in the way He wants of us, let us pray to the Lord.
That we may grow in our understanding and practice of our Catholic faith, let us pray to the Lord.
That we might feel God’s presence in a very real way today and be comforted by His love, let us pray to the Lord.
We all want strength, faith, health, peace, love, unity, and discernment.
Really, some of our petitions are awful at Mass. I cringe sometimes because they are poorly, awkwardly, or shallowly worded. It also seems to me that they are often written by liberals. Very kumbaya.
That with God’s grace our hearts will be renewed in this season of Lent. With His help, may we triumph over the obstacles that lead us to sin, and learn to appreciate more deeply the sacrifice He made for us.
We pray to you O Lord
That in imitation of Christ who emptied Himself for our salvation, more men and women will share in His passion for souls, through a vocation to the priesthood or religious life.
We pray to you O Lord
May God accept our prayers as we seek to draw closer to Him, during this holiest of weeks, and strengthen our faith so that we may be a sign of His love in the world.
We pray to you O Lord
Those are beautiful intercessions. I especially like the third one.
Oh, if only we ran the world!
I was going to add some typical examples. But I shrieked when I saw the ones from OCP.
Everyone needs to go to Oregon Catholic Press and find the feedback/contact us button and shriek at them.
Fortunately our priest and office staff do not follow their recommendations.
I’ll see if I can find the feedback link and post it.
Our priest always puts a pro-life prayer in there too.
I very often submit intercessions to him — and you have a great suggestion — I get my inspirations from the readings. Sometimes my suggestions are used (especially during Lent); other times they are not.
I could not find an active email -- feedback link, although I have used it before.
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal gives good guidance that should be followed (but usually is ignored or twisted):
69. In the Prayer of the Faithful, the people respond in a certain way to the word of God which they have welcomed in faith and, exercising the office of their baptismal priesthood, offer prayers to God for the salvation of all. It is fitting that such a prayer be included, as a rule, in Masses celebrated with a congregation, so that petitions will be offered for the holy Church, for civil authorities, for those weighed down by various needs, for all men and women, and for the salvation of the whole world.[67]
70. As a rule, the series of intentions is to be
a. For the needs of the Church;
b. For public authorities and the salvation of the whole world;
c. For those burdened by any kind of difficulty;
d. For the local community.Nevertheless, in a particular celebration, such as Confirmation, Marriage, or a Funeral, the series of intentions may reflect more closely the particular occasion.
71. It is for the priest celebrant to direct this prayer from the chair. He himself begins it with a brief introduction, by which he invites the faithful to pray, and likewise he concludes it with a prayer. The intentions announced should be sober, be composed freely but prudently, and be succinct, and they should express the prayer of the entire community.
The intentions are announced from the ambo or from another suitable place, by the deacon or by a cantor, a lector, or one of the lay faithful.[68]
The people, however, stand and give expression to their prayer either by an invocation said together after each intention or by praying in silence.
What I have taken up the habit of doing is saying "Lord, hear our prayer" (or whatever) in a clear, distinct and forceful voice (not shouting, but making sure I can be heard) after each one of the prayers. However, if I hear one that I recognize to be inappropriate (does not line up with Catholic teaching, advocates a political position, or whatever), I remain silent. After all, why add my voice to a prayer that I know is in contravention with the teachings of the Church?
Although my complaints on the matter of politicized intentions has, so far, fallen on deaf ears, I think that the above serves as a more-or-less silent protest to this modernism that we witness far too often.
For the personal intentions of those gathered here today.
We pray to you O Lord
Our parish has also begun a weekly prayer campaign. Each week the name of a parish family is announced and we keep that family in our personal prayers throughout the week. We all need prayer and this keeps the parishioiners focused on their community as an extension of family. Naturally, we also maintain a prayer request for the sick of the parish.
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