Petition Relevance

How relevant are the petitions at Mass? You know:

"We pray to the Lord."

"Lord, hear our prayer."

The thoughts presented here are still in the inchoate stage, and perhaps ought to be polished a bit or thought over more carefully before posting but, that said, here goes. Every now and then, the "petitions" raised during Mass are nothing more than thinly veiled appeals wrapped in the patois of the social justice left, as in those that lump capital punishment and war with abortion and euthanasia. These kinds of moralistic lectures, called "petitions," rich in sanctimony and invisible finger wagging, are more accurately described as mini-discourses in public policy, more suited for town halls and congress than for church. Petitions like these need to go.

Sometimes too, the petitions are relatively innocuous, even laudatory, as in those that call for a respect for life from conception to natural death (although petitions making specific reference to abortion are rare to find, as opposing war is far more hip). Clearly, in addition to the prayer aspect, petitions like these are intended to gently remind the faithful of the Church's immutable teaching on the "non-negotiables." And that's a good thing.

But all too often, the petitions are just bizarre, bordering on the risible. Now, given the eminently forgettable trait of most "petitions," my recollection is not presented verbatim, but I've heard some that go more or less like this: "May students return to school refreshed after a relaxing summer, ready to start the new academic year. We pray to the Lord." Or, before summer you might have, "May students enjoy a safe and relaxing time during summer break. We pray to the Lord." I mean, really. Or another went as follows: "May the wealthy nations of the world learn to share their resources with those that are less fortunate. We pray to the Lord." Seriously, are petitions like these necessary? For the sake of our ears, can't we retain these in the silence of our hearts? The response emanating from the faithful has become so rote and sleepy that I wonder who is really listening to the petitions anymore. Of course, people should pay heed, but with the preponderance of schmaltzy supplications, and a generous smattering of bad ones, I can't blame them for tuning out.