Video Transcript

Edmund: Oh, hey. I was thinking about how rare it is that things from the ancient past actually make it all the way to the present day. That’s what makes museums so interesting, especially museums with lots of really ancient stuff in them. 

It’s also making me think about the Mass. The Mass has been preserved for 2,000 years; it’s been passed down from the ancient past to the present. And that reminded me that there’s one part of the Mass that almost didn’t make it. So today, let’s talk about that part of the Mass, and how it can help you live out the Lord’s Prayer.

Can I get a churro?

Okay, I have an outline here of the parts of the Mass. And you’re probably familiar with the general structure. More or less, there’s two big parts. There’s Liturgy of the Word; Liturgy of the Eucharist. Now the part of the Mass we’re talking about is a part where an intercession is prayed, followed by “We pray to the Lord.” And then we all say: “Lord, hear our prayer.” 

And in the earliest centuries of the Church, this was common practice for this to take place within the context of the Mass, or also other moments of communal prayer. Early writings of St. Justin Martyr from the second century—for example—mention these moments when the congregation would pray for a wide range of their present concerns. 

But here’s where this gets interesting, and where this part of the Mass almost didn’t make it to today. See, this practice of intercessory, communal prayer got shortened and shortened until it nearly disappeared in the Middle Ages. And it was during the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, that the Church called for a renewal of this practice. And this is what led to a renewed form of the General Intercessions we hear today at Mass.

So Jesus taught us to pray by teaching us the Lord’s Prayer. And He taught us to pray this one petition: “Give us this day our daily bread.” But why bread, of all the things to pray for? Well, bread is pretty universally understood as nourishing for the body across almost all cultures. 

But the theme of bread runs deep throughout Scripture. God provided manna from heaven to the Israelites; this bread from heaven. Jesus referred to Himself as the “living bread from heaven.” And at the Last Supper, Jesus transformed the bread and wine into the Eucharist – Jesus’ body, blood, soul, and divinity. 

And even the town that Jesus was born in—Bethlehem—means “house of bread”. And He was born in a manger, which is something that animals used to eat out of. Fun fact: that Hebrew word לֶחֶם is actually in the traditional Jewish prayer that we hear at Mass:

ברוך אתה, ה’ אלוהי כל הבריאה, כי בטובך יש לנו את הלחם הזה שאנו מקריבים. (“Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation, for through your goodness, we have this bread we offer”).

And the Church teaches us that we’re never really alone when we pray. Not only is God present to us, but we’re praying with the Body of Christ; the Church. We’re taught by Jesus to ask our Father for our needs to be met, but also to pray for other people’s needs.

And this is why we pray at Mass for our prayers and everyone else’s prayers during the General Intercessions. You might also recognize this as the “Prayers of the Faithful” and the “Universal Prayers.”  And the Church reminds us that these prayers are “general;” are “universal” because  they are for everyone.

And the Catechism reminds us in paragraph 2829: “‘Give us’ also expresses the covenant. We are his and he is ours, for our sake. But this ‘us’ also recognizes him as the Father of all men and we pray to him for them all, in solidarity with their needs and sufferings.”

“Give us this day our daily bread.” “Give us this day our daily bread.” By actively participating in this part of the Mass, we’re actually cultivating in ourselves Jesus’ love and concern and care for others. And this simple act can be a first step toward turning charity into a concrete action.

So besides paying more attention at Mass, how else can we practically live this out? Well, a good first step is understanding the general structure of the Prayers of the Faithful. 

And you might not have noticed this if you didn’t already know it, or you weren’t paying really close attention to figure this out. So a single intention is prayed, followed by a response. And often, these prayers are written by a parishioner or someone on parish staff. 

But there’s also a general structure for these intercessions. So first, we’re praying prayers for the Church and Her leaders; for civil authorities and peace in the world; for the needy, oppressed, and suffering; for the local community and families; and then, for more personal intentions.

Now this isn’t always the case, but more or less they often follow this progression. And often at the end, there will be this opportunity where you’ll hear something like “..And for those prayers that we pray in the silence of our heart.” 

And that’s a moment for us to bring our own unique, personal, prayer intentions to that moment, and to pray together for each other’s prayer intentions.

Now, what’s really cool—in my experience—is incorporating this general structure into—yes, your personal, private prayer, but also in your prayer with others; maybe before a special meal with family or friends. 

I’m always asking God for stuff, but times in my life where I’ve tried to do this and incorporate this structure, it reminded me of the Mass and of other people’s intentions. 

So this can be a really powerful practice to not only cultivate turning to God for our daily needs, but also to prepare our hearts for Mass. And to remind us that we always pray with the Body of Christ; the Church.

So this part of the Mass is a real treasure. And it’s something we almost lost in the Middle Ages, but it’s been preserved since the early Church and passed down to us. And it’s a real opportunity—both in the Mass, or in our private prayer, or our prayer with our family and friends—to remind us to renew our commitment to relying on the Father for our daily needs. Because we’re invited to turn to God in prayer for all our needs.