More on Prayer of
the Faithful: Introductions & Conclusions
The Leader says the Introduction and the Conclusion of this part of the Liturgy.
The Introduction is an invitation to prayer
and is addressed to the congregation.
The Conclusion is a final prayer and is addressed to God in the hearing of the people.
It’s best if the introduction is quite brief: it is simply alerting the people that we are now going to engage in a time of Intercessory Prayer. So an introduction could be something like these examples:
Leader: Having
reflected on the proclaimed Word of God, in the name of Jesus we
confidently pray.
Leader: Gathered as a community of the
followers of Jesus Christ we pray with his Spirit.
Leader: We now remember in prayer our
own concerns and the needs of our community, of the
Church and of the world.
The concluding summary prayer does not repeat the themes of the prayer intentions but voices our confidence in praying to God because of the gift of the Holy Spirit we have received through our association with Jesus, or rather because of his association with us.
This prayer can well pick up or allude to themes in the scripture reading of the day’s Liturgy, particularly in the gospel. Some examples:
Leader: God ever merciful and faithful,
You are always kindly disposed towards us.
May our prayers open our minds and hearts
to act according to your Will
We make our prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord.
All: Amen
Leader: God of all creation,
All things and all people are in your care.
May your vision for the world be effective in our lives,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
With their Amen at the end of the prayer the people present affirm what the leader has said.
If for a particular Sunday you have not been able to prepare and write an introduction and conclusion for that day, it is reasonable enough to use an introduction and conclusion that has been used on a prior occasion, though it is best for the intentions always to have some freshness about them if at all possible.
Another pattern for easy-to-write Prayer of the Faithful intercessions:
An example:
We remember before the Lord all those who
are suffering from depression. (brief pause)
We pray. (longer pause) Lord, hear us.
All: Lord, hear us prayer.