General Intercession ideas

pixalicious

Does anybody have a rough draft of General Intercessions (prayers of the faithful)?  I'm trying to write them, but it's not going so well.  I've already done some research online about how to write them, but what I'm coming up with isn't very pretty and doesn't flow nicely.  Any ideas or examples will help.
Thank you

Ciardasully

I have this same problem. Thank you for asking this question.  I am curious as to what advice people offer. 

kgrawedding

Have you meet with your priest yet?  Ours gave us the Together for Life book that has 2 or 3 pages of Intercessions.  Together for Life also has a webiste with guidelines on writing your own, Click Here

bibliophile2010

Do either of you have the "Together for Life" booklet? The advice that was given to us was to take a set of intercessions we liked from that and "tweak" it. It worked out well for us. We added a couple of intercessions for things that are super important to us, and added names to generic things like "family that has gone before us," and reworded some stuff that sounded awkward. I think I may have rearranged some of them to be in a more univeral --> personal order, which they should ideally be.

jfellows82

Here's what we used:

For the Church, that she may always be a beacon of hope in the world as she seeks to spread Christ’s Gospel of love and peace.

For our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, our Bishop Cardinal Francis George, and all the clergy and religious, that they may always follow the light of Christ and guide the Church to do the same. 

For an increased respect of the dignity and worth of all human life, that each life may be cherished and protected from conception until natural death. 

For all those who suffer, that they may know the comfort and healing of Christ. 

For those who have died, especially _________, that they may enjoy perfect happiness and total fulfillment in eternal life.

For Bride and Groom, that their marriage may be blessed with joy, peace, children, and unabiding faith and love for God and one another. 

For all married couples, that they may always serve each other with love, trusting in God’s Providence.

For all those who traveled here today to celebrate with the bride and groom, in thanksgiving for them, and remembering their personal needs and prayers.

debbiem56

Ours was similar - taken from Together for Life -

The response is “Lord, hear our prayer”

 

1.  For Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Dennis Schnurr, Bishop Joseph Binzer, Father Terry Hamilton, and all clergy from all denominations, that they continue to lead believers to a deeper faith in God and a stronger love of others.  We pray to the Lord.

 

2.  For Charlie and Debbie, that whether they are experiencing times of happiness or heartache, their love, commitment and dedication towards each other remains resolute and is used as a foundation to help others.  We pray to the Lord.

 

3.  For the married couples among us who have been a source of inspiration and encouragement in Charlie and Debbie’s own journey towards marriage.  May you continue to give; be able to forgive; and find the love you hold for each other deepen with the dawn of each new day.  We pray to the Lord.

 

4.  For all those gathered here today, that you may continue to support Charlie and Debbie with your friendship and love throughout their marriage and that you will have safe journeys home this evening and always.  We pray to the Lord.

 

5.  For all those who are sick in mind, body, or spirit, that they are strengthened by God and aided by their fellow man.  We pray to the Lord.

 

6.  For the loved ones of Charlie and Debbie who have gone before them -  especially Charlie’s parents ______________; Debbie’s father _________– that they, and all the deceased find peace and the fulfillment of all their desires.  We pray to the Lord.

lalaith50

hey, Riss, if you see this, do you think you could add these examples to the CW website? This question gets asked occasionally, and it would be nice to have some pre-collected samples to direct people to.

Riss91

good point - I hjave to add the invitation wording stuff too...

bibliophile2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_general-intercession-ideas?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:615Discussion:7bde8415-f9b6-4df1-847a-c92d53926104Post:d106bb33-b643-4fc1-be40-1937e101531c">Re: General Intercession ideas</a>:
[QUOTE]good point - I hjave to add the invitation wording stuff too...
Posted by Riss91[/QUOTE]

I'd also be happy to dig out and send you a redacted copy of mine.

Tami87

We also modified one from the together for life book.

1. For our Pope Benedict XVI, all the bishops and the clergy everywhere that they may lead us to deeper faith in God and a stronger love for others, let us pray to the Lord.
2. For our nation’s leaders and leaders around the world, that they may be effective in achieving peace and eliminating poverty, let us pray to the Lord.
3. For married persons that they may continue to give, be able to forgive, and find happiness deepen with the passing of each day, let us pray to the Lord.
4. For Jonathan and Tami, now beginning their life together, that they may have divine assistance at every moment, the constant support of friends, the rich blessing of children, a warm love reaching out to others, and good health until a ripe old age, let us pray to the Lord.
5. For the safety of all those who selflessly put themselves in dangers way to protect others, let us pray to the Lord.
6. For those who are sick, lonely, discouraged, or suffer from mental illness may they be strengthened by God’s help and aided by their friends, let us pray to the Lord.
7. For those who have died, especially N, Grandmother of the Bride, N,
Grandfather of the Groom, N and N, Grandparents of the Groom and all the
dearly departed relatives and friends of all present for this wedding, that they may enjoy perfect happiness and total fulfillment in eternal life, let us pray to the Lord.
8. For all these personal needs which we mention now in silence (pause), let us pray to the Lord.

newlyseliski

The starting point that we used was the ones included in our parish's wedding planning packet.... see page 48 of the following PDF:

http://www.cathedralsaintpaul.org/userfiles/Wedding Policy.pdf

We also added some additional intercessions to pray for engaged couples in attendance, the military, etc. and asked our deacon to tweak the wording if needed.

pixalicious

This is great.  Thank you everyone!  Our priest never gave us the Together for Life book, so this has been really helpful.