Your gift counts double until 5/31: $24,072 to go in our Easter Campaign. Please help now!

Dictionary

A modern dictionary of Catholic terms, both common and obscure. Find accurate definitions of words and phrases.

Search:

Or browse the dictionary by selecting a letter!
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

The General Intercession or Bidding prayer. In this the people exercise their priestly function by praying for all mankind. The prayer is normally to be included whenever there are people attending the Mass. The normal sequence of the intentions recommended is for: the needs of the Church, civil authorities, and the salvation of the whole world, those oppressed by any kind of need, and the local community. On special occasions the intentions may be adjusted accordingly. It is the function of the priest to preside over this part of the liturgy by opening and concluding the Prayer of the Faithful, with an assistant reading the intentions and the congregation responding with an appropriate invocation.

All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Think with the Catholic Leaders: Subscribe to Catholic Culture Insights Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

The Ideal of Pope Francis: the Servant Church 9 hours ago
The sad decline of self-government May 22
That impromptu exorcism again May 22
The Mystery of the Spirit May 21
Against a Facile Assurance of Salvation, the Need for Mystery May 21

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8