Prayers of the Faithful is a call to action.

Every Mass has something in common, while the readings might be different, the homily as well, the music and musicians change, there is one common thread, the prayers of the faithful, also called Universal Prayer.

These prayers call our community to action, to remind those present of the needs of our universal church.  These prayers remind all to pray for our Holy Father, Francis, for the peoples of the world, all who are created by our loving God, for our community of faith, those who have been effected by natural disasters and conflict. those who are sick and those that have died.

Over the past several months Deacon Jay and Candy have presented these special intentions to the people of Holy Family Church.  This is part of the work that a Deacon Couple is called to do – make the community aware of the needs of our world.  As children of God and disciples of Jesus,  the community is called upon at each Mass to go forth and make our world a better place; to reach out to those on the margins- those who suffer, those who grieve, those who are home bound and sick, those who are hungry.  The Prayers of the Faithful is this calling.  After each intention, we are all called upon to ask God to Hear our Prayers, lifting our voices as one, joining together as one to make our voices heard by all present that we all are united to helps those in need and to pray for needs of our communities, our world and all of God’s creation.  Our Parish is a most generous and compassionate community, answering the pleas of all, we are called to hear God’s voice, to answer this call with compassion and grace, to truly be the hands and feet of our beloved savior Jesus.

As part of the Liturgy of the Word, the Homily is given to challenge those present, presenting insight to the word of God, as these words are freely given to us from a loving and merciful creator.  Prayers of the Faithful represent the challenges of life, a call from God that we all are required to act upon, to pray for those in need, to become the hands and feet of Jesus, to step out of our comfort zone and do the good works of Jesus, to be true disciples of Jesus.

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