VATICAN: Ahead of the Upcoming October Synod, Vatican Calls the Faithful to Be on Their Knees and Pray
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Counting down the days to the month-long XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in the month of October, the Vatican has called on all the faithful across the globe to ask for God’s intervention stressing that “Without prayer there will be no synod.”
In a letter from the General Secretary of the Synod, Mario Cardinal Grech published Friday, September 15, the Vatican official has invited the faithful to be part of the synod and to fully accompany the entire process with prayers.
“With this letter, the General Secretary reminds everyone that the Synodal Assembly is above all a spiritual event, of prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit who is the true protagonist of the event. In order to facilitate participation and solicit the prayerful support of the members of the assembly from local communities, the General Secretariat of the Synod has prepared a “Solemn Blessing” to be recited, in particular, at the end of Sunday Masses together with intercessory prayers,” reads a section of the Cardinal’s letter addressed to bishops and eparchs from all over the world.
According to Cardinal Grech, in order to respect the richness of the liturgical tradition of the Oriental Catholic Churches sui iuris (of one’s own right), the letter requesting for prayers has also been “sent to the leaders of those Churches with a request to implement a similar blessing and intercessions in their Divine Liturgies.”
It is not the first time Vatican is appealing to the faithful to pray for the success of the synod which was officially launched on 10 October 2021, and conducted in three phases: Diocesan phase, continental phase, and the universal phase. At its creation, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network in collaboration with the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops and the International Union Superiors General (UISG), launched a website to pray for a synodal Church, where all the people of God could share their prayers for the Synod of the Church every first Monday of the month.
Consequently, on the eve of the October synod, Vatican has organized an ecumenical Prayer Vigil to be held on Sunday, September 30, and will be broadcast via live-streaming from 4.30 p.m. on Vatican News channels (vaticannews.va), and another spiritual exercise prior to the opening of the assembly from 1st-3rd, October which will be “a spiritual retreat for assembly members.”
Therefore, Cardinal Grech’s appeal is part of a series of initiatives aimed at recalling the “eminently spiritual character of the synodal assembly and promoting the participation of the entire People of God through prayer,” states the letter as the cardinal calls on all the prelates to emphasize prayer for the Synodal Assembly especially on October 1, the XXVI Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A), and remember it in the homily, the Universal Prayers, and in the final blessing of the Eucharistic celebration.
Proposed Universal Intercessory Prayers for Sunday Masses
Vatican proposes the following intercessory prayers for the XXV and XXVI Sundays of Ordinary Time (A) which precede the opening of the Synod Assembly:
For the Church, on the eve of a new phase in the synodal journey, that the presence of the Gospel, alive and at work in her, may make her like the vineyard in the parable, a vital place where all men and women who seek meaning in their life find a place, a word, and a breath of hope, we pray:
For the bishops and all the participants in the Synodal Assembly, that proposals may spring forth from their listening to the Holy Spirit, so that the entire People of God, in a dynamism of communion, may feel that they are truly participating in the life of the Church and be a living and attractive witness to the newness of the Gospel in the world, we pray:
For theologians: may the gifts of wisdom and revelation accompany their contribution to the work of the Synodal Assembly, so that the gift of faith may become life in all God’s people, we pray:
For young people, seekers of truth and authentic witness, concreteness and spirituality; that, as a result of the synodal journey, they may feel increasingly involved in the Church’s life and mission in the midst of the challenges of today’s world, giving to so many, with the enthusiasm of their age, the hope that springs from an encounter with Jesus, we pray:
For us gathered here in communion with Christian communities throughout the world: that by tasting the goodness of the Lord that comes to each one in the body and blood of Jesus, we may receive from him a fresh view of our neighbor and be made witnesses to generosity in the world in which we live, we pray:
Proposed Universal Intercessory Prayers for Weekday
Vatican proposes the following intercessory prayers to be used on a weekday either as a Universal prayer during the Eucharistic Celebration or as intercessions at Vespers.
To the Holy Spirit, Creator and Lord of the Church who guides her through time and gently urges her ever onward, we address this supplication:
- Come, you who ever makes all things new!
Come, Holy Spirit, soul of the Church: gather into unity and make fruitful the toil, the hope, and the desire of each one involved in the Synod Assembly, we invoke you:
Come, gentle Breath of God, who in Jesus revives the dwindling flame, and restore vigor to the bruised reed, we call upon you:
Come, Creator Spirit, who restores parched bones, gathers the lost, and brings into dialogue languages that do not recognize each other, we beseech you:
Come, burning fire of God, who purifies every vain thought, burning and transforming every sadness into the joy of new birth, we implore you:
Come, Beauty of the lowly and the poor, build up the beautiful bride of the Lamb through the tears of those who love peace and hunger for justice, we invoke you:
Come, God’s Forgiveness, and convert us to your breath that reconciles us for a new fellowship, we call upon you:
Come, unapproachable Wisdom, and fill us with your synodal gifts, we beseech you:
Come, unfailing Hope of the Church, and stir up dreams and desires according to the heart of God which, to the human eye, seems impossible, we implore you.
