General Intercessions

I am with George Weigel in his complaint here in the Boston Archdiocese newspaper, The Pilot, about canned General Intercessions, the Prayers of the Faithful, at Mass. Maybe more-so, in that when I am the reader at Mass I am the one mouthing this strange Prayers of the Faithful.

George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C, and a prolific author.  The last book of his that I read was The Cube And the Cathedral: Europe, America, And Politics Without God, about how Europe is slowing using up what existed of its cultural deposit, and is not replacing it.  Thin book; easy read.

But, back to his complaint.  To understand his reaction, recall that the Roman Catholic Church is opposed to abortion.

For those who are considering abortion: may our prayers and the intercession of the Holy Innocents whom we honor today help them choose life as the best option, let us pray to the Lord.

I am sure the person writing it was trying to be gentle and non-judgmental, but like Mr Weigel, I think it was a poorly formed prayer.  Mr Weigel:

The best option?  Oh, so the decision whether to carry a child to term is a pragmatic calculation, and we’re to pray that those concerned get the calculation, er, right?  How did this morally degrading nonsense get written?  How did it get past an editor with any theological grain of sense?

Mr Weigel makes the point that some parishes, including his own, use "canned" prayers, from a "Liturgical Service".

The real point is that all such canned inputs need to be reviewed in light of the needs and sensitivities of the individual parishes.  Such has happened in our Parish and we are better off for it.

Regards  —  Cliff