Prayers for a Wife and Mother
A Wife's Prayer
O merciful Lord God, who in the beginning did take Eve out of the
side of Adam and did give her to him as a helpmate: grant me grace to
live worthy of the honorable estate of matrimony to which Thou has
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.
Prayer for Motherhood (To St. Gerard Majella)
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.
Parents' Prayers for Their Children
O God the Father of mankind, who has 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 corruption 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 of Spouses for Each Other
Lord Jesus, grant that my spouse and I 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.
Consecration to the Holy Family
O Jesus, our most loving Redeemer, who having come to enlighten the
world with Thy teaching and example, did 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.
O 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.
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.
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. (Prayers from Catholic World Mission)
