New Springtime Community

Intercession for Evangelisers

In par. 281 of The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis says, "One form of prayer moves us particularly to take up the task of evangelisation and to seek the good of others:

it is the prayer of intercession:'

For instance, such prayer would be especially appropriate in the period before a parish mission or an evangelistic outreach such as the Alpha Course.

In 2 Cor 4:4, St. Paul said that one reason why attempts to evangelise can be ineffective, is because, "The god of this age [i.e. Satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers

so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel." However, Paul went on to say in 2 Cor 10:3-5 that, "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world:' Intercessory prayer is the number one spiritual weapon.

Those who wish to serve as partners in intercession, e.g., the housebound, the elderly, or those who are ill, could undertake to offer their sufferings for the sake of effective evangelisation and to say the following prayer every day.

Daily Prayer for Evangelisers

Father in heaven, you so loved the world that you sent your divine Son to be our redeemer. I thank you that, not only have I and countless others been baptised

and confirmed into his saving death and resurrection, we also have the inner assurance that our Sins, though many, are forgiven and forgotten,

not through any merit of our own, but by the free gift of your Spirit.

Lord Jesus, evangelisers cannot bear effective witness to you without the energising fire of your Holy Spirit, which was first cast upon the earth on Pentecost Sunday. Help all evangelisers, by means of prayer and scripture reading to fan into a mighty flame the gift they have already received, while expressing their gratitude for it by means of good works, especially that of bearing witness to the Gospel.

Enlighten the minds and hearts of all evangelisers to know how and when to proclaim the Good News in word and deed, even to the point of healings and miracles,

so that they may astonish and amaze the profane and secular world in which we live.

Preserve all evangelisers, as well as those they seek to evangelise, from the illusions and false inspirations of the evil one.

Lord, you have said in repeated messages of a prophetic kind that a great age of evangelisation is about to be inaugurated by you,

one which will usher in a new Springtime for Christianity. Help all evangelisers to become effective instruments of your saving purposes. Amen.