General Intercession Ministry

General Intercessions are also called Universal Prayers or Prayers of the Faithful. These prayers are said at the conclusion of the Liturgy of the Word. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal states:

In the General Intercessions or 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]

The General Intercession writer, based on the readings of that day, writes the Prayers of the Faithful for that weekend following the Archdiocese of Baltimore and St. Joseph Guidelines. Writing these general intercessions leads to a better understanding of scripture and the needs of the community. It deepens the writer’s devotion to the Word of the Lord and to prayerful reflection. The deeply spiritual goal of these prayers is to draw the faithful closer to God. Well-written prayers are a vessel to a deeper spiritual life
of faith and must be crafted with care.

This is a deeply prayerful ministry that you can do from the comfort of your home. We provide a yearly book that you can use and we also have resources and guidelines that assist you in this ministry. See the resources for General Intercessions listed on the Liturgical Guidelines and Checklist web page.

Requirements

    • Must have excellent writing skills
    • Must be able to understand and reflect upon the scriptural readings
    • Must be able to create intercessions based on the scriptural readings
    • Must be able to follow the Archbishop of Baltimore and St. Joseph intercession guidelines
    • Must be proficient in the use of word processing software and the Internet for researching intercessional prayer
    • Must submit all weekly intercessions in a timely manner

Enrollment

You can enroll in this ministry at the following online web page:

Liturgical Ministries Enrollment Form

For more information on this ministry, please contact our Parish Office.