The Mass: "Let us pray to the Lord."

On Sundays and on solemnities during the week, the priest introduces the prayers of the faithful, which are sometimes called the universal prayer, after we recite the creed together. On most weekdays when the creed is not part of Mass, the celebrant does so immediately following the homily. We have become accustomed to praying the universal prayer at every Mass, but that practice is recent. The prayers of the faithful as a part of Mass disappeared over 1,000 years ago before being reintroduced after the Second Vatican Council.

It seems that up to the fifth and sixth centuries, something like the final parts of what we know today as the Litany of the Saints was sung by the deacon either after the readings or even at the beginning of Mass. Today, for example, we hear “Guide and protect your holy church, Lord, we ask you hear our prayer,” or “Bring all peoples together in true harmony, Lord, we ask you hear our prayer.” At different times in the past, the response of the people to the intention sung by the deacon might simply have been “Lord have mercy,” or “Lord, hear our prayer.” In any event, for reasons that are not clear, the litany sung by the deacon after the readings eventually disappeared from Mass. The only hint that it had been there were the words “Let us pray” said by the priest before beginning the offertory of the Mass. The intentions that normally followed “Let us pray” were entirely absent.

In 1963, the Second Vatican Council called for the restoration of the prayers of the faithful in the vernacular language at Sunday Mass (Sacrosanctum concilium, nos. 53-54). In 1964 and again in 1965, the Holy See provided guidance on the composition and use of the intentions of the universal prayer, extending their use to weekday Masses where there were sizable congregations. Today, the prayers of the faithful are strongly recommended at any Mass where any number of the faithful participate.

The priest begins by speaking directly to the faithful, asking them to pray to God for the needs that will be announced. Then the deacon, or, in his absence, a reader, offers the individual intentions. These may be spoken or sung. The liturgical books speak about four categories of need that should be represented: the welfare of the Church, the well-being of the world and its leaders, the relief of those suffering in any way, and an intention relating specifically to the local community gathered for worship. These intentions are meant to be generic, or general, in scope. The intentions of the prayers of the faithful at celebrations or sacraments or at a funeral are intended to be more specific about the persons involved, however.

The individual intentions themselves are expected to be succinct and relatively few. The examples in the Roman Missal and in the Liturgy of the Hours never offer more than four or five intentions. The deacon or the reader directly addresses the people when describing for them the specific intention, for example, “For an end to violence and war throughout the world.” The faithful then speak to Jesus, asking Him to answer that prayer, e.g. “Lord, hear our prayer,” or “Lord have mercy.” Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant and brings our prayers to God the Father. It is also possible for the faithful to pray to Christ about the stated intention in silence, without offering any spoken response. That option is rarely used in most parishes. Finally, the priest offers a concluding prayer to God the Father modelled on the structure of the opening prayer for Mass or of the prayer over the gifts or of the prayer after Communion. All respond “Amen” to this concluding prayer, indicating that they make their own everything the priest has just said to God to the Father.

The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council made it a point to restore the universal prayer to the Order of Mass because they were convinced it was an important expression of the priesthood of the baptized. The one priesthood of Christ is experienced in the Church in two complimentary ways. There is the ordained priesthood whose ministry is to represent Christ the Head to the body of the Church and to offer to God the Father prayer on behalf of the Christian faithful. But the baptized also participate in Christ’s priesthood by baptism. All the baptized have a duty to pray for others, to intercede directly before God for those in need. The prayer of the faithful in one way for all the baptized to fulfill this religious duty. The baptized also exercise their own priestly role whenever they join the priest in his prayers during Mass, for example, by answering “Amen.” But in the prayers of the faithful, they themselves directly ask Christ to come to the help of those in need. Such an important and complex moment during Mass deserves much greater attention and appreciation by all of us, ordained and lay faithful.

Msgr. Marc B. Caron is moderator of the curia and vicar general for the Diocese of Portland.