After the Homily and the Creed, we have the Prayer of the Faithful which contains intercessions for the world. The Roman Missal calls these prayers, the Universal Prayer. Liturgical historians tell us that this kind of petition can be found in the earliest celebrations of the Eucharist. These prayers are “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.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 69). In other words, prayers are offered for everything needed for the Reign of God on our earth.
What is the purpose of intercessory prayer? Do we think we are trying to change God’s mind about something, cajoling God into seeing things our way? Of course not; we are realizing that our own personal needs may not be the most important issues in this world. We are trying to align our minds with the mind of God, to pray for God’s will, to deepen our understanding of God’s mercy to all and to participate in that mercy and compassion. It is a sign of our unity with others who share our planet. We share our love with them and entrust them into God’s care whether we have ever met them or not.
We also ask ourselves the questions: What can I do in my corner of the world to improve this situation, these people? How is God leading me? Are my attitudes matching Gospel teaching?
Annie Dillard, an American author who won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, writes about a church she attended in Holy the Firm:
Once, in the middle of the long pastoral prayer of intercession for the whole world – for the gift of wisdom to its leaders, for hope and mercy to the grieving and pained, succor to the oppressed, and God’s grace to all – in the middle of this he stopped, and burst out, “Lord, we bring you these same petitions every week.” After a shocked pause, he continued reading the prayer. Because of this, I like him very much.
