Keep a list of family prayer intentions

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Keep a list of your family’s ongoing prayer intentions on a piece of paper or a dedicated dry erase board. Post the list on your refrigerator, by the bathroom mirror, or in your dedicated prayer space. Invite family members to add to it as they think of prayer intentions throughout the day. Encourage people to say a prayer for an intention on the list throughout the day. Make the list of prayer intentions the focus of your family prayer time every few days by reading the list and then offering them up to God with a simple prayer, a moment of silence, or a rosary. Examples of intentions might include:

  • Sick friends or relatives.
  • Difficult situations at work or school.
  • Resolution of family problems (e.g., better relations between siblings).
  • For issues of peace and justice in the news (e.g., for the resolution of armed conflict, help for victims of natural disaster, etc.).

 

Talking points: Make a connection to the Mass

This practice echoes the practice of the Church when, during the Mass, we offer the Universal Prayer (Prayer of the Faithful). You can underline the connection by using the same format that is typically used in Mass, e.g., by having a leader say, “For (intention), let us pray,” and having the rest of the family offer a common response such as, “We pray to the Lord.”