Pray for me

We call upon the Blessed Virgin Mary, all the angels and saints in heaven, the people in our midst to pray to God for us. 

Stop and think about this for a moment. The ancient belief of the Church is that when we gather to pray as a Church, the group that gathers is more than meets the eye. Literally, heaven comes down to this spot, and we are joined by all of its inhabitants-the angels and all the saints. Most Catholic churches have art that symbolizes the presence of these others by statues and painted images. As we ask them to join our prayer, we should be mindful of the purity of their prayers-my neighbor might think for a second to pray for me, but surely if I ask the Mother of God, the saints, and the angels to pray for me, they will do so incessantly. 

In a materialistic world, we tend to forget that there is more to the world than meets the eye. We acknowledge the unseen in the signals sent to our cell phones or other wireless devices, but fail many times to call upon the much more powerful force and certainly time tested power of God’s angels and saints.

 Give thought to what you are asking the Blessed Virgin Mary, the angels and the saints to do. Also give thought to what the people gathered with you and the priest are asking you to do and do it. Ask God to hear their prayers! 

Other Options

The priest has other options in celebrating this Penitential Rite. It is perfectly legitimate to use these other, shorter options. The purpose is the same: to declare our sinfulness before God and each other and to implore the Lord for His forgiveness and mercy.

 These other options are all drawn from Scripture. The second option’s first response comes from Baruch 3:2, “Hear, O Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned before thee,” and the second response is taken from Psalm 85:7, “Show us thy steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.” The third option for the Penitential Rite is based on Isaiah 61, where the mission of the Messiah is laid out to bring good news to those in bondage. The second declaration of the priest comes from Matthew 9:13: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I, came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” The third declaration of the priest is based on Romans 8:34: “Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us?”