THINKING OF HEAVEN

Great protector of the family, St. Gerard, we ask your prayers for all parents, that they may receive the grace to live in the love of God and bring up their children to know and love him with all their hearts.

We ask you to pray that those who take the lives of unborn innocents and attack the dignity of motherhood may come to see the error of their ways, and that all men may value the holiness of Christian family life.

God, our loving Father, your love gives life to the world. Bless and make holy all human love, especially the life-giving love of husband and wife. May your love fill the hearts and homes of all families, so that the world may enjoy the peace and happiness promised by your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

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 fulfil 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.

O Lord, God of goodness and mercy,
Who in the midst of an evil and sinful world
hast presented to the society of the redeemed
the Holy Family of Nazareth
as a spotless mirror of piety, justice and love,
behold how the family is being undermined on all sides,
every effort being made to desecrate it
by stripping it of faith, religion and morals.

Regard the work of Thy own hands.
Safeguard in our homes the domestic virtues,
for these alone will ensure us harmony and peace.

Come and stir up the champions of the family.
Bestir the modern apostles so that in Thy Name,
bearing the message of Jesus Christ
and exhibiting holiness of life,
they may revive the doctrines of conjugal fidelity for
married couples,
the exercise of authority by parents,
obedience on the part of children
and modesty on the part of girls.
Grant also through the efforts of these apostles,
that the home favoured by Thee with many blessings
may again become an object of esteem and love
in the minds and hearts of all.

It is through the examples of the Divine model of Nazareth
that the Christian family is to be restored in Jesus
Christ
and to recover its former respect and dignity.
Then every home will again become a sanctuary
and in every household will be rekindled the flame of
faith
to teach patience in adversity
and moderation in prosperity
and to promote order, peace and harmony in all
things.

Under Thy paternal gaze, O Lord,
and with confidence in Thy Providence
and in the loving patronage of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
the family will become a sanctuary of virtue
and a school of wisdom.
It shall prove, as Christ has promised,
a haven of rest against life's burdens.
In the sight of the world it shall render glory to Thee, O
Father,
and to Thy Son, Jesus, until the day when,
through Him, we shall, together with all His members,
sing the Divine praises in the eternal ages to come.

Amen.

Any parents can bless their children
daily or on special occasions. They
may use these words or similar ones.

May God bless you + (Name),
And keep you in love.

The child answers: Amen.

Father in Heaven,
We praise You for giving us Your Son
To be our Saviour and Lord.
Bless us all as we gather here today, (tonight)
And let us live happily in Your love.

Hear our prayer, loving Father,
For we ask this in Jesus' Name.

Amen.

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.

O Heavenly Father,
I commend my children unto Thee.
Be Thou their God and Father;
and mercifully supply whatever is wanting in me
through frailty or negligence.
Strengthen them to overcome the corruptions of the world,
to resist all solicitations to evil,
whether from within or without;
and deliver them from the secret snares of the enemy.
Pour Thy grace into their hearts,
and confirm and multiply in them the gifts of Thy Holy Spirit,
that they may daily grow in grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ;
and so, faithfully serving Thee here,
may come to rejoice in Thy presence hereafter.

Amen.

Saint Anne, Bless My Family
My family is the heart of my life.
It is my little Church.
Saint Anne, guard the members of my family
against all physical and spiritual danger.

You lived in the presence of your husband Joachim
and your little daughter Mary.
Later, you welcomed your son-in-law, Saint Joseph,
and above all your beloved Grandson Jesus, our Saviour.

May your family inspire our families.
May we remain united in a deep mutual love.
If my family is broken by separation or divorce,
remain for us the Saint of tenderness and lead us to God.

Saint Anne, you were a spouse, a mother, and a grandmother;
bless all the members of my family.
Keep us faithful to the Lord.

May we remain attentive to the needs of other families.
Protect all families.

Amen.