The Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon (Revelation 22:20)! This thought is deeply in my mind as I write this post, for this is the last post of this liturgical and civil year which is part of the "A Look at the Mass" series. It is also the last part in the series on within the Liturgy of the Word. The future posts of this series, which will resume after Advent and the Christmas season, will all be part of the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the Concluding Rites of the Mass. And I find it highly appropriate that we will conclude these considerations of the first half of the Mass with prayer, i.e. the Universal Prayers of the Church, or more commonly called the Prayers of the Faithful.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20)." The name of the Prayers of the Faithful, then, are a bit misleading, in my opinion. The chief name found in the new Missal translation is the Universal Prayer, which seems to bring out the importance and tie in to this Scripture the best. If the petitions of only two or three can obtain the answer of God, how much more will the petitions of the entire Church united gain hearing before God!
This title also gives us an impression of what should be contained within these petitions. As the Mass is the public prayer of the Church, so the Universal Prayer, as a part of the Mass, should be public petitions. It's not the part where we specifically focus upon single people (with the exception of those public figures placed universally over us), but is where we unite and pray for all under a single grouping. This is not meant to neglect the individual needs or people or try and mitigate their specific human dignity, but is instead a means whereby we show our unity. There are many who suffer, and we pray for all of them.
Historically speaking, this seems to have been considered one of the three major parts of the Mass in the early Church, as recorded to us by St. Justin Martyr. All in the assembly stood for the offering of this prayer, highlighting its importance, similarly to how we stand for the reading of the Gospel alone. Indeed, until the Middle Ages, these prayers, or more properly theologically speaking, this prayer, was the turning point of the Mass. Although we consider it the final part of the Liturgy of the Word, it was previously thought to be the beginning of the Mass of the Faithful. Nevertheless, in various areas it served also as the conclusion of the Fore-Mass, especially since it was felt that the Catechumens be present for some of it, and they were not allowed at the Mass proper.
In this, we can see deep theological significance. This Prayer is our conclusion to the Liturgy of the Word, in the sense that our fervor for the Christian life, especially the call to charity, has been renewed by listening to God's word and by the homily. Therefore, we pray for all the needs of the Church. However, it also serves as the introduction to the Liturgy of the Eucharist in that we introduce the specific intentions we will offer to God through the Eucharist.
The Eucharistic Prayer was partially the reason this part of the Mass fell out of use, since all of the intentions were mentioned during that great prayer. Additionally, as mentioned in the post on the Kyrie (here), it became the point of intercessions, which would conclude with the, "Kyrie eleison," or, "Christe eleison," which was also the response used at the Prayers of the Faithful. It is easy, then, to see how they apparent repetitions led the Church to drop this part of the Mass for the sack of brevity.
It is, however, a wonderful restoration within the Ordinary Form. Now that the Kyrie no longer explicitly contains intercessions, and the intercessory parts of the Eucharistic Prayers are not quite as evident, it is important to remind the ministers and people that the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered for the needs of the entire Church, both Her members on earth and in Purgatory, especially as we move into the Offertory.
Now the Prayers were generally divided into specific categories. We see the remnant of these divisions in the Solemn Intercessions of the Good Friday Liturgy. There was generally always a prayer for the Universal Church throughout the world. This would be followed by a prayer for the Pope, and then for the Bishop and all his priests and deacons, generally followed by a prayer for the emperor (while Christianity was exclusively in the Roman Empire) and the civil leaders, that they may promote the Christian values. There would be prayers for specific groups of the Faithful, especially the Catechumens. The inclusion of these were the reason it was thought appropriate in some places that the Catechumens should remain present until the supplication to God for them was completed. The Faithful were also prayed for under contexts of those who could not be present, possibly due to infirmity or imprisonment for the Faith. Lastly, within the realm of the Faithful, those in special need would be prayed for, such as the widows and orphans who were under the care of the Church.
These prayers extended to all the world though, just as the Eucharist is the Sacrifice for the salvation of all. Thus, the Church did not hesitate to pray for the Jewish people especially, and for the Pagans. We must consider that at the time these prayers were first used, these were the two great opposing religions of the known world. There could also be prayers for peace and for good weather, deliverance from tribulation, etc.
It is integral these divisions and formats be remembered. As I said before, the Universal Prayers are not to be the source of random or obscure phrases, nor are they to be a means of promoting a specific agenda, save the agenda of the Universal Church. Therefore, although there may be intentions used for the local region, and on occasion even the local church or community, these should not be the norm or the focus of the entire setup.
Indeed it would seem to be best when the Universal Prayers start with the petition for the Church throughout the world, followed by a petition for the Holy Father. In this way, the true purpose of this part of the Mass may shine forth. From here, then, the prayers may become more localized, praying for the bishop and the diocese, and the nation and her leaders.
From here, the needs of the Church may then be brought to mind, also keeping the idea of decreasing universality in mind. For example, one may start with a petition for an increase in vocations to the Priesthood and religious life and for an increase in holy marriages (needed throughout the entire Church), following that with an end to all the crimes against human life and for the preservation of the dignity of marriage and the family (needed in many parts of the Church), then following that with a prayer for good weather (needed more particularly in the region), and then perhaps, if appropriate, for a specific need of the local church.
I wish to note that I am not saying all these specific intentions must be prayed for (excepting the universal Church and the bishops); indeed, the list of petitions could go on for 15 minutes if every need was explicitly prayed for. Instead, it seems good to limit the petitions to a minimum number and to rotate them, so that the Faithful are always able to easily remember the many, many supplications included in the Eucharistic Liturgy. In many places it is also customary to include the pious practice of praying for the specific needs and intercession the Faithful bring to the Mass, through a petition such as this, "Let us pray for all the intentions we hold in the silence of our hearts..." The Faithful are then able to interiorly unite their petitions to the rest of the Universal Prayers of the Church.
Lastly, by a rather old custom, the Church always concludes Her public intercessions with a petition for the Faithful Departed. It would be well to remember this practice in the Prayers of the Faithful, for it is our obligation to pray for those who cannot pray for themselves. In this way the needs of the universal Church are even more perfectly brought forth, for we are able to remember that the Church is made up of the souls on earth, in Purgatory, and in Heaven, all offering their praise to God!
The petitions are called to be led by the deacon, although in his absence a layman or woman may lead them, or even the priest himself. The reason for this being the deacon's role is that in the early Church he was seen as the one who would teach the people to pray. Therefore, he leads the intercessions in order to show us what we should pray for. In Eastern Liturgies, this role of the deacon is especially evident, for he is the one who goes between the priest, offering prayers to God for the people, and the people to instruct them how and when to pray.
However, the petitions are always concluded by the priest. Although no written prayer is here given, the rubrics seem to imply the idea that it should be structured in the same manner as the Collect, Prayer over the Gifts, and Prayer after Communion, for two reasons. First, because it is recited by the priest in the same way as the Collect and other prayers, i.e. with hands extended, and secondly because before the suppression of this part of the Mass in the early Church, this prayer served as the "Collect" for the Mass, as the Mass was seen to begin here at that time, the Liturgy of the Word being a sort of pre-service. Although our understanding of the Mass has developed, we may still properly say that this prayer serves as part of the "hinge" prayers of the Mass. It is, like the other three, called to focus our minds and it is offered, "Through Christ our Lord."
Through the petitions of the Universal Prayers and the concluding prayer to them, we fittingly conclude the Liturgy of the Word, in which we have been instructed in the Christian life and opened our hearts to God, and prepare, with open hearts, to offer ourselves to God with the needs of the whole Church and to receive Him in the wonderful and awesome Sacrament of the Eucharist!
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