The suffering
The compassion of God reaches out to all but is too often blocked by human sin and indifference. Those who suffer are particularly dear to him, and we offer our own sympathy and desire to help those, known or unknown to us, who are afflicted.
The communion of saints
Prayers for the dead have been part of Christian liturgy from the earliest years. Our remembrance of them draws us into the prayers of the whole Church, seen and unseen, in heaven and on earth. We recall our own mortality and affirm our faith in the resurrection to eternal life, and in the fellowship of all Christians, living and departed.
The intercessions can be offered in these sections, within a liturgical structure which invites congregational response, or as a continuous prayer. The breaks between sentences in each section give space for particular desires and concerns to be included, but the prayers can at any point be said without a break. The intercessor will usually wish to mention some specific needs. These are suggested words to help intercession and will often benefit from paraphrase or addition. For example, the word ‘community’ is often used in the third section and it may be more appropriate to say ‘village’, ‘city’, ‘school’ and so on.
For each occasion there is a brief invitation to prayer, based on the Gospel for the day, and a sentence to conclude the intercessions, gathering the petitions together and offering them through Jesus Christ whose words and deeds have just been recalled. These introductions and conclusions may suitably be said either by the celebrant or presiding minister or by the person leading the intercessions.
If the custom of the church is to use the second person singular thou form towards God, the words can readily be amended. Some care is needed in adapting the verbal forms to correspond. This is the preference of the author of this book, and indeed of many others, but both styles are now current.
Although the collection is envisaged largely for use in an act of public worship, it is hoped that it may be helpful also for smaller and more informal prayer groups. Further, it is suggested for individual use, to help intercession in personal prayers. Careful reading of the appointed Gospel passages may be followed by meditation and then intercession, not limited by what is here written but perhaps aided by it.
Intercessory prayer
Intercession at the Eucharist is a universal Christian tradition and has been observed since the earliest liturgies. The Eucharist is principally a service of praise and thanksgiving, culminating in the reception of the sacramental elements of bread and wine. The liturgy also includes instruction, penitence and intercession. The prayers of intercession lead towards the supreme moment of Christian worship and are united with the very words of Christ at the Last Supper. They claim the mercy of his Passion and atoning death and the power of his Resurrection.
Intercession is only a part of prayer, but it is an important one. The theology of intercessory prayer may be complex, but the practice is an instinctive response of faith and should be so addressed. Wherever people are moved to pray, it is natural and right to ask for blessing and strength in areas of concern. Christians know that in such prayers we are not trying to change the will of God for our own immediate benefit, or to soften the heart of a remote and implacable tyrant.
It is enough to know that it is both our duty and our privilege to bring the needs of individuals and communities before God in prayer. We have the command and example of Christ, and the practice of the Church, to assure us that this is a proper response of faith. It is one of the many ways in which our natural desires are accepted and sanctified. To lift people up in prayer is a token both of our care for them and of our belief in the love of God for all his creatures. In so doing, we are also offering ourselves to be used in the furtherance of what we ask. This is a vital element in intercession, whether individual or on behalf of the whole congregation. As we focus our concerns and make them articulate, we come to realize how much they really mean to us. True intercession is an offering of help as well as a plea for help. It is a recognition that, although God needs nothing from us, he graciously invites and accepts our share in his loving purposes.
The author hopes and prays that this book may indeed be useful to those who are charged with leading intercessions and also to those who wish to widen the intercessory element in their own prayers.
I am grateful for many appreciative responses to the previous book and for helpful suggestions. I particularly thank Christine Smith of the Canterbury Press for her foresight, advice and practical support.
Principal Service Year A
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Matthew 24:36–44
Let us pray, as we prepare for the coming of the Lord.
May the Church be faithful and vigilant, ever on guard against evil, and as a good servant ready for the Master’s call … At this Advent time, grant to her ministers and all her people the grace to prepare in prayer and meditation for the coming Nativity.
Speak to a heedless world where many have ceased to learn from the past the signs of future danger … Be merciful to those who fail in the duty laid upon them for the guidance of others and open their eyes to follow the right path.
In all we do, in all our work, in our homes, in our times of quiet, let us so live that we are ready without fear for the call of God … Grant to those we love the grace of lives fitly offered.
Have mercy on those who have no future hope, those who value the passing moment beyond its worth, those who through pain and sorrow have ceased to care for what is to come … Give them the assurance that this present world is not the end.
We pray for those who have already been called to the future judgement and the future peace, for those who came with joyful expectation into the divine presence, and for those who came bewildered and unprepared … May the love of God enfold them all.
May our prayers be acceptable through Christ the Lord who has come, is present here and will come again.
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Matthew 3:1–12
Let us pray to God who receives all who come to him in love and humility.
Renew the life of the Church, that her people shall hear the call of the future and not rest in the comfort of the past … May those whom the Lord has called be confident in his mercy but not forgetful of his judgement.
Grant repentance to the nations of this world, for the cleansing of what is false and evil, and the building of what is true and good … Root out the complacency that will not confess error and the indifference that tolerates injustice.
Trusting in no achievements of our own, claiming no privilege in the values of this world, may we and those with whom we live and work, and all who share our community, come to walk in the path of peace … Help us to remember that we shall fulfil the will of God by waiting upon his word.
Have mercy on all who think that their position sets them above error and beyond judgement … Have mercy also on those who are afraid to turn back to the right way and are without hope.
May the departed find mercy at the heart of judgement and be cleansed from all their sins so that they may stand perfect before the eternal majesty of God … Give us grace at this time to recollect that we too must die.
May Christ who knows the secrets of all hearts mercifully hear our prayers.
THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Matthew 3:1–12
Let us pray to God to open our lips to speak as messengers of his gospel.
May we who are the Church of Christ on earth hear his call to repentance … As we see the signs of his healing power, make us ready to receive him into our hearts at this time and to look for his coming in glory.
Come in mercy to the