Intercessory Prayer

Summary of a teaching by Donna Orsuto (1983)

In thinking of intercessory prayer we can take three models: Mary, John the Baptist and St. Catherine of Siena. There is an icon of Mary showing her with her hands outstretched before the Lord. She is the bride of Christ, figure of the Church, standing before God with open hands. She herself in a sense becomes prayer. She suffers with all humanity. She holds others before the Lord.

At times we have a mistaken notion of what intercession is. But Mary teaches us that it has more to do with being than doing. It is in a sense "becoming" prayer. We are called to an intensity in prayer. The people for whom we pray aren’t just objects; they are persons whom we love and with whom we suffer. Let us ask the Lord to help us intercede always with compassion.

St. John the Baptist is presented as the friend of the bridegroom. "He must increase and I must decrease." Intercessory prayer is always a way of bringing others to the bridegroom. The only important voice is His voice. We have to be careful not to let our own voice get in the way.

St. Catherine of Siena brings a sense of obligation to prayer. You’re obliged to love your neighbor as yourself and therefore to pray for him. She stresses urgency in prayer as well as persistence. We need more than just a passing prayer for others. What we need is a communion with God . We might even say that it’s a kind of wrestling with God, not in our own power but through the blood of Jesus Christ. Catherine’s prayer is always interspersed with a plea for her own conversion. Prayer must lead us to know ourselves better and to know the Lord more and more. It must focus us first of all on the Father and then on the others.

Conclusions: Why in the Nazareth Ministry do we stress silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament? This is to focus on the contemplative side; it is a symbol of a way of life. Mary teaches us to stand with open hands before the Lord. John the Baptist tells us that Jesus must increase and we must decrease; and St. Catherine reminds us that we must have an "intercessory" life. She says: "Be a vessel which you fill at the source … if you do not drink continually of Him your vessel will be empty." Through our silent prayer ministry we drink at the source and share the living water we receive with others.