Guidance for Composing the Prayer of the Faithful



The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 69 says, “In the Universal prayer or Prayer of the Faithful, the people respond in some sense to the Word of God which they have received in faith and, exercising the office of their baptismal Priesthood, offer prayers to God for the salvation of all.” This is a wonderful opportunity, the only, in which the laity can exercise their baptismal priesthood in the liturgy. However, there are a few rules that must be followed. 

1.     The structure of the intercessions should be consistent in all the petitions. Petitions should take this form: 

           “For_____, we pray...”

2.     There are four basic things we pray for, and these are outlined in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 70. They are:

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 

There should be at least one intercession for each of these intentions. It is permissible to compose more than one intercession for each intention in order to avoid making each individual intercession too long. 

3.     Finally, the intercessions should always be addressed to the people and not to God ie.

Incorrect:  Dear Lord, we ask that you be mindful of the needs of the sick.

Correct:  We ask the Lord to be mindful of the needs of the sick.

In the same way, the celebrant will introduce the intercessions by addressing the congregation. However, in ending the intercessions, he will offer a final prayer to God on behalf of the Church.

As the celebrants would normally have sight of the intercessions before the commencement of the Sunday Masses at which they will be read, those writing them on a particular weekend are asked to submit them, by the Friday before, to the parish office at office.strobert@dioceseofleeds.org.uk