Marriage Prayer of the Spouses
Lord, Holy Father, Almighty and eternal God, we thank you and bless your holy Name: you created man and woman so that they may be help and support for each other. Remember us today. Protect us and grant that our love may be a gift and a surrender, in the image of Christ and the Church. Enlighten us and strengthen us in the task of raising our children, so that they may be authentic Christians and diligent builders of the earthly city. Make us live together for a long time, in joy and peace, so that our hearts may always lift up to you, through your Son in the Holy Spirit, praise and thanksgiving. Amen.
Prayer on Wedding Anniversary
O God, Lord of the universe, who at the beginning created man and woman and established the marital bond; bless and confirm our love, so that we may always express in our lives the sacrament we celebrate in faith. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for Children
Lord, illuminate the minds of our children so that they may know the path you have chosen for them, so that they may give you glory and attain salvation. Support them with your strength, so that they may encourage in their lives the ideals of your Kingdom. Also enlighten us, their parents, so that we may help them recognize their Christian vocation and carry it out generously, collaborating with your inner inspirations. Amen.
Prayer of Children for Their Parents
O God, who has commanded us to honor father and mother, listen benevolently to the prayer we direct to you for them. Grant them long days of life on earth, and preserve their health of body and spirit. Bless their efforts and initiatives. Reward them for all they have done for me. Inspire them with love and the practice of your holy law. Help me to do all I can for them. And make it so that after enjoying their affection on earth, I may have the joy of living eternally with them in heaven. Amen.
Prayer in Expectation of a Child
O Lord, our Father, we thank you for the wonderful gift with which you make us partakers of your divine paternity. In this time of waiting, we ask: protect this our child, still full of mystery, so that he may be born healthy into the light of the world and to the new birth of baptism. Mother of God, to your maternal heart we entrust our child. Amen.
Prayer for the Vocations of Children
Lord, I pray for the vocations of my children, that whatever vocation you have determined for each of them, they may receive the grace to discover and accept it according to your will, and they may surrender themselves, obediently and generously, to it, faithfully fulfilling the duties it imposes on them. And if in your infinite goodness you wish to call them to your service, shape, Lord, a generous and willing heart that appreciates the inestimable gift of the priestly vocation and the consecrated life. Give me, Lord, the joy and humility to recognize and thank for such a fruitful blessing. Amen.
Prayer of the Fiancés
In my heart, Lord, love has ignited for a creature whom you know and love. You yourself have made me find her and presented her to me. I thank you for this gift that fills me with deep joy, makes me similar to you, who are love, and helps me understand the value of the life you have given me. Make sure I do not waste this wealth that you have placed in my heart: teach me that love is a gift and cannot be mixed with any selfishness; that love is pure and cannot remain in any baseness; that love is fruitful and from today must produce a new way of living for both of us. I pray, Lord, for the one who awaits me and thinks of me; for the one who has placed all her trust in me for her future; for the one who walks by my side; make us worthy of each other; that we may be help and model. Help us in our preparation for marriage, for its greatness, its responsibility, so that from now on our souls may dominate our bodies and lead them in love. Amen.
Prayer for the Sick
You willed, Lord, that your only begotten Son endure our weaknesses, to demonstrate the value of illness and patience; listen now to the prayers we address to you for our sick brothers and sisters, and grant those who are subjected to pain, affliction, or illness, the grace to feel chosen among those whom your Son has called blessed, and to be united to the Passion of Christ for the redemption of the world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for Those Who Suffer
O God, provident refuge of those who suffer; listen to the prayer we address to you for them. Calm and comfort the sick, the elderly, and the dying. Give those who care for them wisdom and patience, tact and compassion. Inspire them with gestures that bring relief, words that illuminate, and love that comforts. We entrust to you the discouraged hearts, rebellious, torn by temptation, tormented by passion, wounded or profaned by human wickedness. Place within us, Lord, your Spirit of love, compassion, and sacrifice, so that we may bring effective help to all those we meet suffering on our way. Help us respond to their call: it is yours. Amen.
Prayer in Life’s Difficulties
Lord, make us face difficulties, obligations, and responsibilities with strong and serene spirits, and, consoled by you, know how to comfort our brothers. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer to Ask for the Grace of a Good Death
O God, who created us in your image and delivered your Son to death for us, grant us the grace to live vigilantly in prayer, so that we may leave this world without sin and rest joyfully in the embrace of your mercy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for a Deceased
Lord, remember your son (daughter) N, whom you called from this world into your presence; grant that, just as he/she has already shared in the death of Jesus Christ, he/she may also share with Him the glory of the resurrection, when Christ will raise the dead from the earth and transform our fragile body into a glorious body like yours. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
