On September 14, the Holy See released prayers for the opening of the synod.
In a letter addressed to bishops and eparchs from all over the world, Cardinal Mario Grech, General Secretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod, invites the faithful from around the world to prayerfully participate in the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that will open in the Vatican on October 4, 2023.
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.
SOLEMN BLESSING AT END OF SUNDAY MASS
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 prepared a “Solemn Blessing” to be recited, in particular, at the end of Sunday Masses together with intercessory prayers. Fr. Dustin Dought (USCCB Secretariat for Divine Worship) has provided the English and Spanish translation of this blessing:
Respecting the richness of the liturgical tradition of the Oriental Catholic Churches sui iuris, the letter was also sent to the leaders of those Churches with a request to implement a similar blessing and intercessions in their Divine Liturgies.
UNIVERSAL PRAYER/ GENERAL INTERCESSIONS – SUNDAYS AND WEEKDAYS
Sample petitions are available from the same Vatican link in various languages. They are also provided in the attached documents from the USCCB Secretariat. Please note that while these intercessions may be adapted, the Blessing (see above) and its translations may not.
OTHER PRAYERS
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, including:
- the creation, already in 2021, in collaboration with the World Pope’s Prayer Network and the UISG (International Union of Superiors General), of a site that proposes a specific prayer time for the Synod every first Monday of the month;
- the Ecumenical Prayer Vigil on 30 September on the eve of the Synod broadcast in live-streaming from 4.30 p.m. on Vatican News channels;
- a spiritual retreat for assembly members prior to the opening of the assembly (1-3 October 2023).