Sample Intercessions for December 3, 2006

First Sunday of Advent, Year C
December 3, 2006

Things, events, and news items to keep in mind:

• Click here for the readings of the day.
• Over 200 civilian Iraqis were killed by car bombs and other attacks in the last week.
• The temperature in Santa Clara County has dropped below freezing during the last several nights. Naval Armories in the county have begun their winter homeless shelter, housing 250 homeless persons each night.
• The Church begins its Advent season and a new liturgical year.
• December 7 is the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
• December 8 is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation.
• On December 8, the diocese will honor Mary in the Immaculate Conception and in Our Lady of Guadalupe.
• Celebrating their patron’s feast day this week is Saint Nicholas Parish (December 6) and Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish (December 8).

The following are just samples meant to inspire your work. Use them as ideas for your own assembly's intercessions. Read 10 Principles for Writing Intercessions and How To Write Intercessions to help you write your own.

Presider:
The signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars
tell us that Christ is near.
Let us raise our heads and offer our prayers,
for our redemption is at hand.

Reader:
For the Church,
remembering God became human,
remembering Christ’s death on the cross,
remembering victorious resurrection: [pause]
May we remember that God is ever faithful.
Come, Lord Jesus…hear our prayer.

For leaders and peoples in every land,
frightened of the things to come,
perplexed by the signs of chaos,
burdened by the anxieties of daily life: [pause]
May they be vigilant and strong in Christ.
Come, Lord Jesus…hear our prayer.

For the hungry and homeless,
anxious for their daily needs,
unsheltered in the cold,
powerless against the darkness: [pause]
May they be safe and dwell secure.
Come, Lord Jesus…hear our prayer.

For our parish community,
mindful of the apostles’ instructions,
striving to please our God,
blessed with many gifts: [pause]
May we increase and abound in love for one another and for all.
Come, Lord Jesus…hear our prayer.

For the sick and the dying,
waiting for comfort
waiting for results,
waiting for a cure, including those we now name…: [pause]
May Mary strengthen their hearts with the fulfillment of God’s promise.
Come, Lord Jesus…hear our prayer.

For the dead,
loved ones whom we miss this season,
forgotten ones who died alone,
innocent ones caught in the crossfire of violence,
including those we now name…: [pause]
May they dwell securely in the house of the Lord.
Come, Lord Jesus…hear our prayer.

Presider:
God, our Justice,
you sent your Son to become one of us, one with us,
that we might be one with you.
Make us blameless in holiness and hear our prayer
that our world may be ransomed by the coming of Emmanuel,
Jesus, who lives and reigns with you for ever and ever. Amen.