A Tour through the Mass!

Prayer of the Faithful

This prayer has very ancient roots.  It goes back to the liturgy of the Jewish synagogue which had its prayer of the eighteen blessings in which God was blessed and praised and asked to keep bestowing his blessings.

We find mention of this prayer as early as the mid second century, in the writings of Justin the Martyr, who is describing what Christians did at their assembles and mentions this prayer which is prayed, not only for themselves but for people everywhere.  As the centuries passed, this prayer lost its place in the liturgy.  Part of the reason for this was that it was the priest’s prayer which was considered to have real value, rather than that of the whole People of God. 

The name ‘Prayer of the Faithful’ indicates the nature of this prayer very well; it is the prayer of the People of God who are united to Christ as his body, as St Paul would say, and so was considered to be of great value.  In some places in the ancient church, catechumens were dismissed before this prayer precisely because they were not yet members of the faithful and so could not pray it.

The prayer is also called ‘The General Intercessions’ which underlines the fact that this prayer is not just for those praying but for all.  It originally had the long form that the Good Friday Intercessions have today.

There is a suggested pattern to the intentions presented in this prayer.  The pattern aims to make sure that this prayer is not too ‘I-centred’ or just concerned about the congregation gathered there and then.  So, a general pattern is suggested and that is that there should be prayers for the needs of the church, for the world and those responsible within it, for those in need and for the situation of the local community.  There is also a prayer for those who have died which usually concludes the intentions. 

On particular occasions such as funerals, marriages, confirmations etc. the prayer can be formulated to suit the occasion.

This prayer is to be formulated by the local community of the church.  There are models given in the Roman Missal which are just that – models which give those writing the prayer patterns to follow.

In its structure, the priest invites the congregation to pray, a particular minister presents the intentions and to each of them the people respond, then to conclude the priest holds these intentions before God, and the people respond with their ‘Amen’, their ‘So be it’.

By Fr Frank O’Loughlin