The Liturgy Corner - The Dialogue of the Mass Part 5: The Universal Prayer and the First Part of the Offertory

Following the Creed, we have the Universal Prayer. One curious thing is that there are four (maybe more) commonly used names for this part of the liturgy: the petitions, the intentions, the universal prayer, and the prayer of the faithful. I really don’t know why we have developed so many names for it, but that is just how it is. Church documents, however, seem to refer to it most frequently as 'The Universal Prayer.'

In the Universal Prayer, we recognize in an implicit way, the power of the prayer of the Mass. If I say a “Hail Mary” at some point in the day, offering for the Church, her leaders, the nations, the poor and sick, the dead, and also certain special intentions…well, it may seem a bit much. It wouldn’t necessarily be wrong, but our intuition tells us that perhaps we should be more focussed and narrow during such a prayer. The universal prayer shows us that the Mass, the offering of Christ as a perfect Sacrifice, really is a prayer that can “hold the weight” of so many intentions. You will notice how the list goes, generally speaking, from more broad and universal to more particular and specific. We begin with the whole Church and all her leaders. Then we move to particular intentions for the needs and salvation of the world at large. We then follow with intentions concerning specific demographics such as those who are poor, suffer from abuse or depression, or do not believe in God. We usually then follow with a more local intention, such as for a need in our community or for a specific prayer for our parishioners or parish.

Second to last is the special intention of the priest and, often, a designated opportunity to spiritually offer our own intentions (the last petion is for the dead). This moment to offer specific intentions (which we should do whether it is annoucned or not) is why various Church documents talk about the congregation 'exercising their baptismal priesthood' at this moment. Hopefully this is not new for you. At our baptism, we are given the mantle of a share in Christ's mission as priest, prophet, and king. Each baptized person shares in his priestly role (which is distinct from the role that a ministerial priest like myself has but is certainly related.) If we were to step back from christian thinking and ask: hat does a 'priest' do? He/she offers sacrifice and asks God for aid on behalf of others. This is a part of each baptized person's responsibility and privilege.

I have talked many times about the importance of bringing specific intentions to offer at Mass (a deceased person, the conversion of someone, a sick or otherwise suffering person, etc).

In fact, there is no more important time to be intentional about praying for someone. We pray rosaries or maybe even just offer up an “Our Father” for someone if they ask for prayer, and all that is certainly good and worthy. And yet the prayer of the Mass is far more powerful than any other prayer. Why would we offer small prayers with such fervor for a person in need at other times but neglect to offer them at the most powerful of prayers?

Ok, enough soapboxing. It is enough to say that, while we can raise to God our intention at various times during the Mass, the Universal Prayer is a particularly fitting moment to give our intentions to God.

(Note: the name or names announced near the end of the Universal Prayer, usually a particular deceased person or another person for which there is a significant reason to pray, is meant to be the special personal intention of the priest. We all should come with some special intention to offer up at Mass.)

After everyone sits down, the offertory begins. I talked about the optional dialogue during the offertory in a past issue about the secret prayers of the priest, and so I will move along to the next dialogue: P: “Pray brothers and sisters, that my Sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the almighty Father.” R:”May the Lord accept this Sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and Glory of His name, for our good and the good of all his Holy Church.

Frankly, this small exchange has SO MUCH packed into it, and I am very excited to talk about it next week. So, tune in!