Prayers of the Faithful: When did they begin?

[Frosty]

Does anyone on this forum know when the Prayers of the Faithful were first introduced into the Mass? A few days ago, in one of my old missals. I found a bulletin from the parish in which I grew up. It was dated March 21, 1965. The third Sunday in Lent. The people’s response was not “Lord, hear our prayer” but " “Lord, have mercy”.
These were the Prayers of the Faithful printed in that bulletin.

Celebrant: Let us join in involing God’s blessing and assistance for our Holy Church, for the civil authorities, for those oppressed by sickness and pain, toil and misunderstanding.
That all Christians may fell deeply the pain of their division and with confidence cooperate with Christ to restore unity to His Mystical Body. we pray to the Lord.

People: Lord have mercy.

Celebrant: That through the efforys of the Fathers of the Council the way will be made clear to all Christians by which they may overcome the barriers of pride and mistrust which separate them, we pray to the Lord.

People: Lord have mercy.

Celebrant: That the Spirit of God may make our minds firm in the truth and prepare our hearts and wills with obedience that we may accept with a ready will and put into practice all the Liturgical changes brought about by the Council, we pray to the Lord.

People: Lord have mercy.

Celebrant: That all members of this holy Assembly may seek the cure of the spiritual leprosy of sin through the power of Christ working in His Sacraments of Penance, Holy Eucharist and the Annointing of the Sich, we pray to the Lord.

People: Lord have mercy.

Celebrant: O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful departed give to the souls of the servants departed, the remission of all their sins: through pious supplicationsm they may obtain the pardon which they have always desired. (special intentions)

On the back of this bulletin there is a part called Church News. The first sentence is " How are you adjusting to the changes in the Liturgy"? Unfortunately after that sentence, half of the page is missing so I can’t tell exactly what changes were happening just then We already had been using the Dialogue Mass for years. Part of a paragraph talks about outward changes being different from one diocese and country to another and the next sentence says that in Canada responses will continue to be said in Latin. Perhaps the vernacular was already being used elsewhere? The final paragraph is all there and it says,
" Such variations are to be expected because the Church is a world wide family. But it is unrealistic to expect each individual member of the family to grow up in exactly the same way.
Each one must mature according to his own abitlity, guided by the Holy Spirit".

 

[japhy]

The Second Vatican Council did expressly call for their restoration:
Especially on Sundays and feasts of obligation there is to be restored, after the Gospel and the homily, “the common prayer” or “the prayer of the faithful.” By this prayer, in which the people are to take part, intercession will be made for holy Church, for the civil authorities, for those oppressed by various needs, for all mankind, and for the salvation of the entire world. (Sacrosanctum Concilium 53)
So 1964 or 1965 would be when they were re-introduced to the Mass. The traditional Roman liturgy did have a “prayer of the faithful” on Good Friday, which also happens to be the only day when the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer) was not prayed… which has led some liturgical scholars to posit that the Roman Canon was seen as including such intercessions (albeit made by the priest alone without response by the congregation) for the Church, civil authorities, the oppressed, mankind, and the whole world, thus eliminating the need for a separate liturgical act earlier in the Mass.

The response “Lord, have mercy” is a more traditional one, especially in the Eastern Rites.

 

[AJV]

1964 in Inter Oecumenici. The Consilium then prepared a booklet* with schemas for the Prayers of the Faithful and encouraged the local bishops’ conferences to do likewise. For example, one in England has petitions A, B, C, or D that the priest could select from. As mentioned in the Instruction, in places where the prone or bedes (as named is English) were present (usually Central Europe and Germany), they could be continued, but in the newer position.

• De oratione communi seu fidelium - prepared 1965, 1966 with large scale publication

 

[Frosty]

Japhy, AJV, thanks for the replies. I thought it must have been around 1964 when the Prayers of the Faithful began but couldn’t remember for sure.
What do you make of the last paragraph I mentioned from the bulletin? What other particular changes were taking place at that time?

 

[Chatter163]

The first round of changes began on Advent Sunday, 1964 and most of the changes decreed by Inter Oecumenici began on the first Sunday of Lent, 1965. There actually were eight steps in the changes between late 1964 and 1969.