After the Creed, we remain standing for the Prayers of the Faithful or Universal Prayer. We pray as the Body of Christ, uniting ourselves as one as we cry out to God for our needs.
These prayers often follow a pattern. We pray for our Holy Father the Pope and for our bishop and other members of the clergy that they may lead us well and faithfully. We pray for civic leaders that they may be guided by truth and goodness. We pray for our sick that they may experience the grace and healing of God. We pray for our dead that they may see God's face. We pray for special needs, for an end to abortion perhaps or for relief from a natural disaster.
We bring all of these to God, praying the heartfelt response of “Lord, hear our prayer” or something similar after each petition. Usually, we also have a chance to silently add our own prayers, and we should offer our special intentions to God, lifting them up to Him with confidence, knowing that He hears us and loves us and will respond to us in the way that is best for us according to His perfect will.
No comments:
Post a Comment