Prayers of the Faithful
The Prayers of the Faithful. This is the title of a segment of Mass which I think of as the transition from Liturgy of the Word to the Liturgy of the Eucharist. It’s a time when a member of the congregation comes to read (pray) the prayers of the community and invites everyone to pray in unison.
This moment during the Mass is when we are preparing ourselves for the sacrifice that is about to happen at the altar. We have gathered, acknowledged our sins and asked for them to be forgiven, and listened to God’s Word. This transition time is when we reflect on what we want to do better, recommit ourselves to our beliefs by speaking the words of the Nicene Creed and then praying the Prayers of the Faithful.
These prayers are written by a staff member or the priest or collected from those within the community. I’ve been to daily Mass where in some churches, the priest will invite individuals to speak their prayers aloud one at a time. There are also prayer resources available which help plan the liturgy in which the prayers are written based on the message of the scripture. While others write flowery prayers which almost sound like a poem.
I learned there is even a template to use to write the Prayers of the Faithful. According to the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops), one is to pray for the “needs of the Church, public authorities and the salvation of the world, those burdened by any kind of difficulty, and for the local community.” Many churches then add a fifth prayer of silence to allow the people in the community to pray for any personal needs.
No matter the practice, the importance is in the words and action. It is called the Prayers of the Faithful for all gathered to pray together as one body, one church. The prayer is read and then all respond, requesting God hear the prayer for which we desire.
When I was a child, I remember not being too engaged in this part of the Mass. I’d hear, blah, blah, blah, then say, Lord, hear our prayer. Sometimes the words used in the prayer I didn’t understand, or I wasn’t sure what exactly we were praying for or didn’t know who the person was who was sick or had passed away. It wasn’t until I got older that I began to appreciate the Prayers of the Faithful.
The difference was not that I understood as an adult, what I failed to understand as a child. The difference was that I understood prayer and it’s power. I understood the words we used to pray the Prayers of the Faithful were specifically chosen, well thought out and intentional to meet the needs and requests of the entire community. I further knew that all of the prayers we prayed during the Mass I attended, were similar, if not the same as the prayers prayed during the Prayers of the Faithful at the Catholic Church 5, 500 or 5,000 miles away.
Then, just as the words are intentional, so is the response from the faithful gathered. “Lord, hear our prayer” is what we recite in unison, pleading for God to listen and reply. It was when I was older that I began to truly listen to the requests and lean into the prayer with my body.
I now listen to the Prayers of the Faithful and respond with my heart. Such a change from when I was a child and merely wanted to survive this portion of the Mass. I feel many people still see this time during Mass as less important; a good time to go to the bathroom because it feels like a pause. However, imagine how powerful our prayer would be if more people gave themselves into the Prayers of the Faithful…I pray perhaps we will find out one day!
