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Let
us remember that we are not creating anything new in our intercessory
prayers. But we are just giving away what Jesus has already created for us. Jesus could feed 5,000 people following him
with five loaves of bread and two fish. His disciples just distributed the food among the crowd. Through intercession
we are just celebrating that great victory. Holy
Cross bears witness to true intercession. His cry on cross, "It's finished", is rich with a great meaning: he
has gained total victory over the power of Satan. And thereby the whole of God's creation has been brought back to his mercy.
The victory over sin takes a re-birth in our prayers and through our intercession we are transmitting the grace of this triumph
to others. We must commit an immaculate belief in the exquisite holiness of God in our prayers to intercede for other. And
that belief - fidelity to Jesus' wish - is central to our Christian life.
Repent.
This means we must confess, we have sinned. We must admit we have no reason to make ourselves pleasing to God; but God
himself will do this for us. And Jesus reigning on his Father's right advocates for us always. Our prayers will go a long
way in strengthening Jesus' mediation. If we can receive the significance of the crucifixion of Jesus in our heart, we
will receive the fruits of our prayers. It should be noted that God just doesn't ignore all our sins. They should be
brought to God's justice and redeemed. Jesus bore the punishment for our sins on cross. He rendered himself the 'sacrificial lamb' (as we see in the Old Testament) on the
altar of God. Each of his wounds, each drop of his blood, was to punish our sins. Thus he removed the curse on
mankind and led them to the paradise of life. It
is true, we couldn't be physically present at Jesus' crucifixion. But spiritually we are all present, and it is renewed when
we take part in the Holy Mass. St. Paul, the apostle underscores a significant aspect of this renewal. When we says he would
receive Jesus crucifixion in his body, he means by intercession, we are being made part of Jesus' sacrifice on cross, and make
up for our absence. If
fact, cross is a meeting place for two opposing forces: light confronts the dark; truth confronts falsehood; justice confronts
injustice; curse confronts grace and sin confronts virtue. The cross celebrates the final victory of Christ and redemption.
Thus it occupies great significance in our prayers. Jesus is love and justice; and our vocation is to take the light
and strength of cross to others, especially those who stay away from him. Just as God loved us so much that he sent his
only son for us, so Jesus has entrusted all of us with a mission to pray for others and speak his gospel.
We go through lots of trials and tribulations in our daily lives.
Does God ignore our sufferings? We think so, may be. But these afflictions are a real test of our faith in God and the way
we suffer and stand steadfast in our faith bears the testimony our Christian belief's to others. The whole process leads
to repentance. We don't need to set out to far-off places to propagate Jesus' gospel. Bible says two thieves who were
crucified on either side of Jesus. That he gave forgiveness to the one on the right drives home a message. We have to
locate the man who is in bondage and leave ourselves to lift his burden. Remember, his redemption is ours too. Then God
will give us his Holy Spirit and anoint us with his grace. The
Book of Daniel provides us with a good example of intercession. Daniel was put to work for the King of Babylonia. Through
his ability and God's blessing he rose to the post of prime minister, second only to the King. God gave Daniel series
of visions. But he could get them only when he started praying. Likewise, only when we are ready to pray, God will shower
his blessings upon us. We can pray for anybody, anywhere in the world, through Jesus Christ. The love of God allows us
to pray for our dear departed also. There is nothing in the world that can stand in the way of God's Love. Ages cannot
wither it as Jesus Christ transcends time and space. It's time we thought about those graces of God we have lost over
times. And we should pray hard to restore them. The
Book of Ezra in the Old Testament describes several emotional moments about the burning desire of the Israelites to rebuild
the temple, God's home, in Jerusalem. It was a town pillaged by the overpowering Babylonian army. But the Israelites, under
the domination of Persians, couldn't build a new temple until they prayed and fasted for the forgiveness of their sins and
those of the past generation. Finally they could build the temple of God's worship.
The Book of Isaiah says, "But he was pierced for our transgression"
(53:5). The New Testament shows how God God let his only son be punished for our sins. Importantly, not only
does Jesus bear the burden of our sins on his shoulders, but he removed them for ever and brought us eternal salvation. The writing is clear: through intercession we can bring endless
life to others. Some
people think that while we pray for others through our mediator, Satan's evil forces will do all they can to disrupt our prayers.
This, in fact, is a misleading notion. But the unfailing love of God, his providence will always fortify us against
Satan's evil designs. True, Satan is prowling around us like roaring lion but God's mercy will always safeguard us from
his snares. This exactly is the power of our intercessory prayers. And as Christians all of us have to believe in this
providence of God. There shall be no thoughts or deeds of ours that go against the this great truth.
Let's pray to Jesus so that he may endow us with an immaculate heart;
so that he may bless us with a renewed life, the life of Jesus Christ. Our prayers will help us impart to others the boundless
love of Christ, our lord. | 
