General Intercessions

[cothrige]

The other day at Mass I was listening to the numerous General Intercessions and it struck me I have never really thought about them. In our parish they go on and on, generally being about as long as the Eucharistic Prayer. They also often ask for rather odd things, such as for people to shout out their prayer intentions, as well as political things I may find troubling. It occurred to me that I have always been uncomfortable with them because I have no idea where they come from, and unlike the rest of the Mass which seems to be a part of the universal Church’s treasury, these prayers seem made up and inserted and so rather tacked on to me. Are they supposed to come from somewhere trustworthy? Otherwise, who is supposed to come up with this sometimes creative prayers?

 

[MarkThompson]

Although there are published resources for sample Prayers of the Faithful, they are “composed freely.” The GIRM and the General Introduction to the Lectionary give the following information relevant to your query:

GIRM:
69. In the Prayer of the Faithful, the people respond in a certain way to the word of God which they have welcomed in faith and, exercising the office of their baptismal priesthood, offer prayers to God for the salvation of all. It is fitting that such a prayer be included, as a rule, in Masses celebrated with a congregation, so that petitions will be offered for the holy Church, for civil authorities, for those weighed down by various needs, for all men and women, and for the salvation of the whole world.

1. As a rule, the series of intentions is to be

For the needs of the Church;
For public authorities and the salvation of the whole world;
For those burdened by any kind of difficulty;
For the local community.

Nevertheless, in a particular celebration, such as Confirmation, Marriage, or a Funeral, the series of intentions may reflect more closely the particular occasion.

1. It is for the priest celebrant to direct this prayer from the chair. He himself begins it with a brief introduction, by which he invites the faithful to pray, and likewise he concludes it with a prayer. The intentions announced should be sober, be composed freely but prudently, and be succinct, and they should express the prayer of the entire community.

1. 
   GIL:
2. In the light of God’s word and in a sense in response to it, the congregation of the faithful prays in the universal prayer as a rule for the needs of the universal Church and the local community, for the salvation of the world and those oppressed by any burden, and for special categories of people.

The celebrant introduces the prayer; a deacon, another minister, or some of the faithful may propose intentions that are short and phrased with a measure of freedom. In these petitions “the people, exercising its priestly function, makes intercession for all men and women,” with the result that, as the liturgy of the word has its full effects in the faithful, they are better prepared to proceed to the liturgy of the Eucharist.

 

[laszlo]

In the TLM before the Offertory verse the prists says: Oremus, let us pray.

This was the remnant from of the intercessions which was part of the Mass of All Ages for centuries before the reformation.

Yes, teh idea is, that we the people bring not only out offerings but also our prayers, and with that ourselves to the Mass. Naturaly this can be abused like everything else, and can be made more important that the Eucharistic prayer, as if we would be the center.

 

[GloriousOrder]

I’ve found that the general intercessions tend to be oriented toward social-justice “initiatives” and ideals in this parish. Perhaps that’s because I live in Canada, a bastion of perverted socialism and Marxism (not that the rest of the West is much better today ). Whatever the circumstances are, I feel very uncomfortable saying “Lord, hear our prayer” for maybe 20-30% of the general intercessions. This small number of weird prayers just doesn’t elicit any holy reaction on my part, so I try to keep silent. The notion itself is very good… but it seems awkward and robotic, given that we could at least have some real, individual prayer intentions rather than generic ones.

 

[cothrige]

The intentions announced should be sober, be composed freely but prudently, and be succinct, and they should express the prayer of the entire community.

One out of five is good, right? Ours are “composed freely” I suppose, though I have to admit that I have no clue what that actually means. But, they don’t seem sober or prudent, and they are certainly not succinct, and I doubt they express the prayer of the entire community since they so often ask for dubious things.

Perhaps my problem is that our parish seems to turn this, like so much, into a bit of a circus. I really don’t like the shouting out of personal intentions, as if that somehow made the prayer corporate. Why would somebody think that hearing a bunch of people yell names suddenly means that the rest of us now have that personal intention? The inclusion of a prayer for those things we hold in our hearts or whatever would seem as good, and would certainly more fully reflect the above mentioned sobriety. In any case I have to say I cringe at this part of the Mass and always sort of dread its approach.