Q: Thank you for all your wisdom and for the help and nurture you give to us all
In our parish we encourage the prayer of the faithful (or the ‘bidding prayers’ as we love to call them) to be prepared by members of the parish. I tell them to use the Good Friday intercessions as the model. The prayer of the faithful is the prayer of the community, prayers are not addressed to God directly.
At the offices of morning & evening prayer this does not seem to be the case. There appears to be a variety of models and styles of intercessory prayer.
Is this something that might change? Is it an historical anachronism? Or simply a different way of praying?
Your thoughts?
==
A: A model for the bidding prayers is best taken from GIRM 70. The intercessions in the Liturgy of the Hours have a different structure. The intentions listed at Mass are usually addressed to the people, who then pray to the Lord. The ones in the Hours are usually addressed to God. They’re just different ways of praying.