Understanding the Eucharist

The Mass Series:

PART 7 – LITURGY OF THE WORD – PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL
We’ve said that we believe what we have heard, we’ve professed our faith and then our faith becomes a prayer.

But it’s a very particular kind of prayer that we sometimes call the ‘Prayer of the Faithful’ – those who have put their faith in the word they have heard.

This prayer is really a prayer of priestly intersession.  Because you see, the whole community of the faithful is a priestly community and part of priestly service is to intercede for the people and for the world.

So that this is a prayer – the prayer of the faithful – that does look to the church and looks to ourselves as well, perhaps our families, whatever the needs might be, but essentially it is the priestly people – the Church – interceding with God, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in the power of faith, for the whole world.

And the prayer of intersessions is a mysteriously powerful thing.

It’s hard to know exactly how it works, it’s not twisting God’s arm, but God wants us to enter into dialogue with Him in prayer. He has spoken to us, now we speak to Him.

He wants us to be part of bringing peace out of violence, bringing joy out of sorrow, bringing life out of death. He wants us to work with Him.

And in a sense that’s what our prayer of intersession recognises, that the God who has called us to Himself, is the God who listens to our prayer and wants us to work with Him for the salvation of the world.

So that’s what the prayer of priestly intercession is all about.

Normally there is an intention, for the Church in every place on earth and then a silence and then the prayer.

But whatever the form of these prayers of the faithful, it essentially a prayer of priestly intercession, in the power of faith, the faith of those who have said yes, to the Word of God that they have heard.

https://brisbanecatholic.org.au/beliefs-and-works/mass/