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Family Prayers
Consecration of Families to the Sacred Heart
O most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thou didst reveal to the blessed Margaret Mary Thy
desire to rule over Christian families; behold, in order to please Thee, we
stand before Thee this day, to proclaim Thy full sovereignty over our family. We
desire henceforth to live Thy life, we desire that the virtues, to which Thou
hast promised peace on earth, may flower in the bosom of our family; we desire
to keep far from us the spirit of the world, which Thou hast condemned. Thou art
King of our hearts by our love of Thee alone, with which our hearts are on fire
and whose flame we shall nourish by frequent reception of the Holy Eucharist. Be
pleased, O Sacred Heart, to preside over our gathering together, to bless our
spiritual and temporal affairs, to ward off all annoyance from us, to bless our
joys and comfort our sorrows. If any of us has ever been so unhappy as to fall
into the misery of displeasing Thee, grant that he may remember, O Heart of
Jesus, that Thou art full of goodness and mercy toward the repentant sinner. And
when the hour of separation strikes and death enters our family circle, whether
we go or whether we stay, we shall all bow meekly before Thine eternal decrees.
This shall be our consolation, to remember that the day will come, when our
entire family, once more united in heaven, shall be able to sing of Thy glory
and Thy goodness forever. May the immaculate Heart of Mary and the glorious
Patriarch Saint Joseph vouchsafe to offer Thee this our act of consecration, and
to keep the memory thereof alive in us all the days of our lives.
Glory to the Heart of Jesus, our King and our Father! Amen.
Consecration to the Holy Family
O Jesus, our most loving Redeemer, who having come to enlighten the world with
Thy teaching and example, didst will to pass the greater part of Thy life in
humility and subjection to Mary and Joseph in the poor home of Nazareth, thus
sanctifying the Family that was to be an example for all Christian families,
graciously receive our family as it dedicates and consecrates itself to Thee
this day. Do Thou protect us, guard us and establish amongst us Thy holy fear,
true peace and concord in Christian love: in order that by living according to
the divine pattern of Thy family we may be able, all of us without exception, to
attain to eternal happiness.
Mary, dear Mother of Jesus and Mother of us, by the kindly intercession make
this our humble offering acceptable in the sight of Jesus, and obtain for us His
graces and blessings.
O Saint Joseph, most holy Guardian of Jesus and Mary, help us by thy prayers in
all our spiritual and temporal needs; that so we may be enabled to praise our
divine Savior Jesus, together with Mary and thee, for all eternity.
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be three times. Amen.
Husband's Prayer
O gracious Father, Maker and Preserver of heaven and earth, who in the beginning
didst institute matrimony, thereby foreshadowing the mystical union of the
Church with our Savior Christ, who, during His ministry upon earth, did honor
marriage with His first miracle: help me, I pray Thee, by Thy grace to live in
holiness and purity with the wife whom Thou hast given me. Mortify in me all
violence of earthly passion, all selfishness and inconsiderateness (here name
any besetting sin which may be a hindrance to you), that I may love her as
Christ loved His Church, cherish and comfort her as my own body, and have as
great care for her happiness as for my own. Grant that we may live in peace,
without contention; in unity, without discord. [Give us, O Lord, discreet heart
and understanding minds, to bring up our children in Thy faith and fear, that
they may be obedient to Thee and to Thy commandments, and to all that Thou
requirest of them in their duties towards their parents.] And give us, O Lord, a
sufficiency of those things necessary to maintain ourselves and our family
according to that rank and calling wherein Thou hast placed us, without excess
or vainglory, in singleness and pureness of heart. Grant this for Jesus Christ's
sake, to Whom, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, now and for
ever. Amen.
Parents' Prayer for Their Children
O God the Father of mankind, who hast given unto me these my children, and
committed them to my charge to bring them up for Thee, and to prepare them for
eternal life: help me with Thy heavenly grace, that I may be able to fulfill
this most sacred duty and stewardship. Teach me both what to give and what to
withhold; when to reprove and when to forbear; make me to be gentle, yet firm;
considerate and watchful; and deliver me equally from the weakness of
indulgence, and the excess of severity; and grant that, both by word and
example, I may be careful to lead them in the ways of wisdom and true piety, so
that at last I may, with them, be admitted to the unspeakable joys of our true
home in heaven, in the company of the blessed Angels and Saints. Amen.
O Heavenly Father, I commend my children to Thy care. Be Thou their God and
Father; and mercifully supply whatever is lacking in me through frailty or
negligence. Strengthen them to overcome the corruptions of the world, whether
from within or without; and deliver them from the secret snares of the enemy.
Pour Thy grace into their hearts, and strengthen and multiply in them the gifts
of Thy Holy Spirit, that they may daily grow in grace and in knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ; and so, faithfully serving Thee here, may come to rejoice in
Thy presence hereafter. Amen.
Prayer for Fathers
St. Joseph, guardian of Jesus and chaste husband of Mary, you passed your life
in loving fulfillment of duty. You supported the holy family of Nazareth with
the work of your hands. Kindly protect those who trustingly come to you. You
know their aspirations, their hardships, their hopes. They look to you because
they know you will understand and protect them. You too knew trial, labor and
weariness. But amid the worries of material life your soul was full of deep
peace and sang out in true joy through intimacy with God's Son entrusted to you
and with Mary, his tender Mother. Assure those you protect that they do not
labor alone. Teach them to find Jesus near them and to watch over him faithfully
as you have done. Pope John XXIII
Prayer for Motherhood
Good St. Gerard, powerful intercessor before the throne of God, wonder-worker of
our day, I call upon you and seek your aid. You know that our marriage has not
as yet been blessed with a child and how much my husband and I desire this gift.
Please present our fervent pleas to the Creator of life from whom all parenthood
proceeds and beseech Him to bless us with a child whom we may raise as His child
and heir of heaven. Amen.
Prayer for the Family
O God of goodness and mercy, to Thy fatherly guidance we commend our family, our
household and all our belongings. We commit all to Thy love and keeping; do Thou
fill this house with Thy blessings even as Thou didst fill the holy House of
Nazareth with Thy presence.
Keep far from us, above all else, the blemish of sin, and do Thou alone reign in
our midst by Thy law, by Thy most holy love and by the exercise of every
Christian virtue. Let each one of us obey Thee, love Thee and set himself to
follow in his own life Thine example, that of Mary, Thy Mother and our Mother
most loving, and that of Thy blameless guardian, Saint Joseph.
Protect us and our house from all evils and misfortunes, but grant that we may
be ever resigned to Thy divine will even in the sorrows which it shall please
Thee to send us. Finally give unto all of us the grace to live in perfect
harmony and in the fullness of love toward our neighbor. Grant that every one of
us may deserve by a holy life the comfort of Thy holy Sacraments at the hour of
death. O Jesus, bless us and protect us.
O Mary, Mother of grace and of mercy, defend us against the wicked spirit,
reconcile us with Thy Son, commit us to His keeping, that so we may be made
worthy of His promises.
Saint Joseph, foster-father of our Savior, guardian of His holy Mother, head of
the Holy Family, intercede for us, bless us and defend our home at all times.
Saint Michael, defend us against all the evil cunning of hell.
Saint Gabriel, make us to understand the holy will of God.
Saint Raphael, preserve us from all sickness and from every danger to our lives.
Our holy Guardian Angels, keep our feet safely on the path of salvation both day
and night.
Our holy Patrons, pray for us before the throne of God.
Yea, bless this house, O God the Father, who hast created us; O God the Son, who
hast suffered for us upon the holy Cross, and Thou, O Holy Spirit, who hast
sanctified us in holy Baptism. May the one God in three divine Persons preserve
our bodies, purify our minds, direct our hearts and bring us all to everlasting
life.
Glory be to the Father, glory be to the Son, glory be to the Holy Ghost! Amen.
Prayer of Spouses for Each Other
Lord Jesus, grant that I and my spouse may have a true and understanding love
for each other. Grant that we may both be filled with faith and trust. Give us
the grace to live with each other in peace and harmony. May we always bear with
one another's weaknesses and grow from each other's strengths. Help us to
forgive one another's failings and grant us patience, kindness, cheerfulness and
the spirit of placing the well-being of one another ahead of self.
May the love that brought us together grow and mature with each passing year.
Bring us both ever closer to You through our love for each other. Let our love
grow to perfection. Amen.
When Nursing or Feeding
God, you are like a mother to us all, nourishing all creatures with food and
with blessing.
Strengthen my child with (my milk, this food) and with the warmth of our
nearness.
Wife's Prayer
O merciful Lord God, who in the beginning didst take Eve out of the side of Adam
and didst give her to him as a helpmate: grant me grace to live worthy of the
honorable estate of matrimony to which Thou hast called me, that I may love my
husband with a pure and chaste love, acknowledging him as my head, and truly
reverencing and obeying him in all good things; that thereby I may please him,
and live with him in all Christian serenity. Keep me from all worldliness and
vanity. Help me, O Lord, that I may, under him, prudently and discreetly guide
and govern his household. Let no fault of mine aggravate any sins by which he
may be especially tempted; enable me to soothe him in perplexity, to cheer him
in difficulty, to refresh him in weariness, and, as far as may be, to advise him
in doubt. [Give me understanding so to fulfill my part in the education of our
children, that they may be our joy in this world and our glory in the next.]
Grant that our perfect union here may be the beginning of the still more perfect
and blissful union hereafter in Thy kingdom; and this I pray through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
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