Praying for Our Nation

The prayers of the Mass consist of the Ordinary prayers which are the prayers that stay the same every Mass, and the Proper prayers which are the prayers that change to fit the day of the liturgical year, to commemorate a saint, to celebrate a devotion, or to pray for a specific cause. Today on the Fourth of July, when we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, in the United States we have a special set of Mass prayers to pray for our country. The following is one of the options for the opening collect prayer which the priest says after saying “let us pray.” This prayer provides an excellent basis for reflection today. 

Father of all nations and ages, 
we recall the day when our country 
claimed its place among the family of nations; 
for what has been achieved we give you thanks, 
for the work that still remains we ask your help, 
and as you have called us from many peoples to be one nation, 
grant that, under your providence,
our country may share your blessings 
with all the peoples of the earth. 
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

Father of all nation and ages, 
The prayer begins by calling upon God the Father in a way that relates to the remainder of the prayer. It begins by acknowledging the fact that God is the Father of all nations and peoples across every age of history. While we celebrate our country today, we recognize that God is the Father of all nations. 

we recall the day when our country claimed its place among the family of nations;
The prayer continues by specifically recognizing the event that is commemorated today. This acknowledgement of this celebration helps us understand the remainder of the prayer. 

for what has been achieved we give you thanks, 
This prayer has a note of thanksgiving near the beginning as all prayer should. It is an acknowledgement that we are thankful to God for the gift of the founding of our country and all the good that has been achieved so far. All good things come from God, so even the founding of our country cannot be reduced to an armed conflict. We must thank God for his role. 

for the work that still remains we ask your help, 
After recognizing that what has been accomplished so far has been guided by the hand of God, we also acknowledge that future accomplishments will only be achieved with God’s assistance. Therefore we ask for his divine help. Success as a nation can not be achieved by political campaigns, hard work, or human effort alone. Future success can only be achieved by the gift of divine grace. 

and as you have called us from many peoples to be one nation, 
This is a recognition that God brings together that which is scattered and joins together what is divided. This is most true for Christians when we are all baptized into Christ and gathered into the body of Christ which is the Church. However, we also recognize how God brings peoples together in other ways. In the case of our country many diverse groups of people from a variety of lands have been formed into one new nation. 

grant that, under your providence,
Whenever we ask God to bestow his gifts upon us we should recognize that it is under his providence that all things can be accomplished. It is God’s divine assistance that helps guide us so that we can accomplish good deeds. 

our country may share your blessings with all the peoples of the earth. 
The Christian vocation always involves a mission to go forth. It is not enough to recognize and thank God for the good things he has done for us. It is not enough to ask him to assist us in our future. It is necessary that we also ask him to assist us in sharing these blessings with the rest of the world. 

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lastly, we end the opening prayer with a formula found at the end of most opening collect prayers at Mass. Our prayer was directed to God the Father, but we end it with a recognition that all our prayers are directed through Jesus Christ our Lord who is the mediator between God and man. It is also a recognition of the Holy Trinity because we have prayed to God the Father, through the Son, who both live in unity with the Holy Spirit. All three are one God living and reigning forever and ever.
--
Thank you for reading our Collaborative Blog. To see more articles, visit the Collaborative Blog page of our website. If you wish to receive the weekly article in your inbox, sign up for the flocknote group by clicking here. Lastly, you can share this article by using any of the social share buttons at the top of the page.