In-Home Religious Education DECEMBER 2024

2024 December In Home

Theme: Intercessory Prayer: Asking God to Help Others

Opening Prayer:

Choose a person to read the following Scripture passage.
Begin with the Sign of the Cross.

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

Catechesis:

As we know, prayer is having a conversation with Jesus. Through prayer we make our needs and desires known to Jesus and then we sit in silence and wait for an answer from him. Jesus does hear our prayers. He may not answer them the way WE think he should, but he does answer prayer. There are many, many forms of prayer. This month we are going to focus on Intercessory Prayers. In intercessory prayers, we ask Jesus to pray for others.

Basically speaking, intercessory prayers are prayers that we pray when someone needs help. As Catholics, we are called to pray for ourselves, but also to pray for others. Just like we call on the Saints to intercede for us, we are also intercessors as well. How often have you heard someone say, “pray for me” or “Please pray for so-and-so”? When someone asks us to pray for them, they depend on us to actually do just that. . .pray for them. That is what prayers of petition are all about: praying for our needs and the needs of others.

We all know someone that we can pray for each day. The difficult part is the follow through and actually praying for someone. When we pray for someone, we are asking Jesus to help someone in one way or another. Maybe someone needs prayers of healing; maybe another person needs prayers to be strong in certain situations; maybe another needs prayers for peace within their family. Prayers of petition are a way of asking Jesus to help others.

Intercessory prayers are so important that they are found in our Catholic Mass. Just after we profess our Creed (I believe in God, the Father Almighty . . .) we listen to the Intercessions or intercessory prayers. Intercessions are prayers of petition in which Christians intercede for the needs of others (e.g. the community, the church, the world, leaders) as well as for ourselves.

- Reader: That church leaders will grow ever closer to Our Lord so that their lives will reflect his teaching, we pray.
  - All: Lord, hear our prayer.
- Reader: That those who have wealth and power will place themselves at the service of those in need, we pray.
  - All: Lord, hear our prayer.
- Reader: That Christians everywhere will respond to God’s call to discipleship and mission, we pray.
  - All: Lord, hear our prayer.
- Reader: That we who are gathered around this table will desire Christ more than wealth or possessions, we pray.
  - All: Lord, hear our prayer.
- Reader: That those who are suffering in mind or body will find healing and consolation through our care and support, we pray.
  - All: Lord, hear our prayer.

The intercessory prayers follow a specific formula. They usually proceed from the general to the specific.
Thus, the series of intentions is always:

1. for the needs of the universal church---The Pope, bishops, priests, etc.
2. for the public authorities and the salvation of the world---government leaders,
3. for those burdened by any kind of difficulty---those who suffer from natural disasters, wars, those who are sick, etc.
4. for the local community---our parishioners, those who have died, etc.

Intercessory prayers are super important in the life of the Church. It is important to pray for others. Our Church even uses candles to help us remember to pray for others. We can light a candle and say a prayer for a loved one who needs prayers and then when we come to church we can see the lit candle and pray for that person.

Video:

Choose one or both videos to watch on Intercessory Prayer.

Option 1

Option 2

Activity:

As a family, form a circle. If you have a cross or a candle that can be passed to each person that will be awesome. If not, that is okay, then join hands together as a family.

Each person in the family will have an opportunity to hold the cross/candle in his or her hands and share someone or something for which they want to pray (“For Grandma and Grandpa, we pray to the Lord.”).

After each person says his or her prayer, say: “We pray to the Lord” and the rest of the family responds, “Lord, hear our prayer.” The person holding the cross/candle then passes it to the family member on the right.

Then that person prays for someone or something ending with “We pray to the Lord” and everyone responds, “Lord, hear our prayer.” Continue in this manner until each family member as prayed an intercession. If a family member has more than one, let him/her share as many as he/she wants. Remember that we can pray for pets too!

QUESTIONNAIRE: