The Hidden Depths of the Mass #16

The Liturgy of the Word – The Prayers of the Faithful

Following the Creed, we conclude the Liturgy of the Word with the Prayers of the Faithful.  They are also commonly called the General Intercessions or Universal Prayer.  The priest introduces the prayers.  The lector then reads the individual petitions followed by a concluding prayer.  To each individual petition, we generally respond, “Lord, hear our prayer.”  We collectively respond “amen” to the priest’s concluding prayer.

The petitions offered are not prayers for any one person.  The intentions are those of any one person but rather those representing the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ here and across the world.  Thus, we pray for the needs of the church, for public officials, for the sick, for the dying, and for needs representing what is going on in the world, and for our own local community.  For all these needs, we pray to the Lord.

(Previous articles in this series can be found online at https://www.renewaloffaith.org/bulletinmass).