The Liturgy of the Word - Part 7
Part seven of a series I'm writing for inclusion in the weekly Parish Bulletin for the Catholic Parishes of Dungog & Gresford
This eight-part series was originally published on the original The Doohan Discourse across May and June 2023.
The last element of the Liturgy of the Word is known by a number of names: the Universal Prayer, the Prayer of the Faithful, and the Bidding Prayer, to name but a few.
Notice, however, that the title implies the singular, not the plural. This is one prayer, not many prayers, even though the prayer may contain many petitions. The singular description is important to remind us that this is the prayer of the whole Assembly gathered in one place to praise the God who has drawn us together.
The GIRM has this to say about this particular element of the Liturgy of the Word:
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. It is desirable that there usually be such a form of prayer in Masses celebrated with the people, so that petitions may be offered for holy Church, for those who govern with authority over us, for those weighed down by various needs, for all humanity, and for the salvation of the whole world. (n.69)
The purpose of this Prayer, then, is not about making announcements but about petitioning for God’s assistance for those whom we pray.
The GIRM continues:
The series of intentions is usually to be:
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.
Nevertheless, in any particular celebration, such as a Confirmation, a Marriage, or at a Funeral, the series of intentions may be concerned more closely with the particular occasion. (n.70).
It’s easy to see how we can readily come up with any number of petitions on a particular Sunday, yet the Prayer is not to be exhaustive on each occasion. As we see above, the Prayer stems from our response to the Word of God we have heard proclaimed, so the number of petitions on any particular occasion is limited by that. Generally speaking, somewhere between five and seven petitions are considered sufficient, though, on some occasions, more may be needed.
Notice, too, in the list of what and who we are called to pray for, there is no mention of praying for the sick or the dead. As Paul Turner, whom I’ve mentioned before, remarks, we pray for the dead during the Eucharistic Prayer, while the sick more than likely falls into the category of “for the local community”.
The text of each petition “should be sober, be composed with a wise liberty and in few words, and they should be expressive of the prayer of the whole community” (GIRM, n.71). They are not meant to be lengthy or directive as to God’s actions; they are meant to express those things that we, the Assembly, believe are worthy of our prayer in light of what we have heard. Someone wise once said that when composing the petitions, we should have the Scriptures in one hand and the newspaper in the other.
The Universal Prayer is prayed while we stand, the petitions are proclaimed (preferably) from the Ambo, and there should be a common invocation after each petition. There is also the option for silence to replace such an invocation, although this seems to be a rarity in Australia.
The Universal Prayer is introduced by the Presider once the reader has reached the Ambo and is concluded by a prayer prayed on behalf of the Assembly by the Presider. After this is concluded, we sit and prepare ourselves to move into the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
So that concludes our journey through the Liturgy of the Word. Next week will see a short summary of some of the important aspects of what has appeared in these columns over the last couple of months before bringing our exploration to an end.
To be continued...