Prayer of the Faithful
For 14th December 2025
Introduction

Today, as we gather for our Family Mass, we reflect on the theme, 'Family Time at Christmas Time.' On this 'Gaudete' Sunday, our Church calls us simply to rejoice with joyful hope. As Christmas draws near, we prepare our hearts and homes to welcome the Holy Family. Their example shows us that the family is where love - our greatest cause for joy - first takes root. This is our special time to nurture that love through kindness, forgiveness, and shared prayer.

Gathered now to offer the Eucharist, let us pray for all our parish families-for renewed unity, warmth, and peace. Filled with this joyful hope, may Christ be the heart of every home this Christmas.

Prayer of the faithful

Celebrant : United as God's family on this Gaudete Sunday, and rejoicing in the promise of our salvation, let us bring our needs and the needs of the world before our merciful Father.

Response : Lord hear our prayer.

  1. For the Church, the Bride of Christ: that, filled with Gaudete joy, she may faithfully prepare the way of the Lord and be a radiant sign of hope and unity for all families and peoples, we pray to the Lord.

  2. For all families, especially our own: that during this Advent season, our 'Family Time at Christmas Time' may be graced with greater love, unity, and joy, drawing us closer together and firmly placing Jesus at the centre of our homes, we pray to the Lord.

  3. For all people for whom this season is a time of burden, not joy-for the grieving, the lonely, the sick, and for all who struggle in mind, body, or spirit: that through our compassion and prayer, they may feel the comforting nearness of God, our divine Healer, we pray to the Lord.

  4. For a spirit of patient and joyful expectation in our hearts: that, like John the Baptist, we may learn to recognize Christ's presence in our daily lives and point others to Him through our words and actions, we pray to the Lord.
(Let us now pray silently for our own personal intentions and for the needs of our community…… we pray to the Lord.)

Celebrant : Eternal Father, as we joyfully await the coming of Your Son, strengthen our faith, renew our hope, and help us to live as witnesses of Your saving love. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.