Day 338: Intercession and Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving characterizes the prayer of the Church, which, in celebrating the Eucharist, reveals and becomes more fully what she is. Indeed, in the work of salvation, Christ sets creation free from sin and death to consecrate it anew and make it return to the Father, for his glory. the thanksgiving of the members of the Body participates in that of their Head. CCC 2637

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses prayers of intercession and those of thanksgiving to God. We know, for example, that Christ Himself "the one intercessor with the Father on behalf of all men, especially sinners" (CCC 2634). He is able to intercede and save all those who draw near to God, even the worst of sinners (Heb 7:25). In the Church, intercessory prayer unites with Christ for "the interests of others" (Phil 2:4), even for the benefit of our tormentors (Ac 7:60) as He gave us the example of on the Cross (Lk 23:34). Finally, we have the intercessory prayers of the Blessed Theotokos and "so great a cloud of witnesses" (Heb 12:1), i.e. the Communion of Saints. We see in the writings of St. Paul where we also are to "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus" (1 Thess 5:18).

The Catechism Compendium summarizes what the prayer of intercession consists of and when thanksgiving is given to God:

Intercession consists of asking on behalf of another. It conforms us and unites us to the prayer of Jesus who intercedes with the Father for all, especially sinners. Intercession must extend even to one’s enemies. The Church gives thanks to God unceasingly, above all in celebrating the Eucharist in which Christ allows her to participate in his own thanksgiving to the Father. For the Christian, every event becomes a reason for giving thanks. (#554-55)

The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on this:

We imitate Jesus when we pray for others... St. Paul encourages us to pray for one another and to ask the saints to pray for us. The Church agrees with the Scriptural prohibition against communicating with the dead. Occult activities are forbidden. As Jesus said, God is the God of the living. The saints are living in Christ. Just as we might pray for someone else who asks us, the saints hear our prayers and intercede for us... The Eucharist is a prayer of thanking God. St. Paul encourages us to thank God no matter what happens. Just as we can ask God for anything, we can thank God in every moment of our lives. (p. 192)