The family continues to remain the most important unit of the Church, and it needs all the prayers of the world to sustain it. Here are some powerful prayers for the family.
FAMILY PRAYER 1 by Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Heavenly Father,
You have given us the model of life
In the Holy Family of Nazareth.
Help, O loving Father,
To make our family another Nazareth
Where love, peace and Joy reign.
May it be deeply contemplative,
Intensely eucharistic,
Revived with Joy.
Help us to stay together in joy
And sorrow in family prayer.
Teach us to see Jesus in the members of our families,
Especially in their distressing disguise.
May the eucharistic hearth of Jesus
Make our hearth humble like his
And help us to carry out our family duties
In a holy way.
May we love one another
As God loves each one of us,
More and more each day,
And forgive each other’s faults
As you forgive our sins.
Help us, O loving father
To take whatever you give
And give whatever you take with a big smile.
Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Cause of our Joy, Pray for us.
St. Joseph, Pray for us.
Holy Guardian Angels,
Be always with us,
Guide and protect us.
Amen.
FAMILY PRAYER 2
O dear Jesus,
I humbly implore you to grant your
Special graces to our family.
May our home be the shrine of peace,
Purity, love, labor and faith.
I beg you dear Jesus,
To protect and bless all of us,
Absent and present, living and dead.
O Mary,
Loving mother of Jesus,
And our Mother,
Pray to Jesus for our Family,
For all the families of the world,
To guard the cradle of the newborn,
The school of the young and their vocations.
Blessed Saint Joseph,
Holy guardian of Jesus and Mary,
Assist us by your prayers, in all the necessities of life.
Ask of Jesus that special grace which he granted to you,
To watch our homes at the pillow of the sick and the dying,
So that with Mary and with you,
Heaven may find our family unbroken in the Sacred hearth of Jesus.
Amen.
FAMILY PRAYER 3
Blessed are you loving Father,
Ruler of the universe.
You have given us your son as your leader,
And have made us temples of your Holy Spirit.
Fill our family with your light and peace.
Have mercy on all who suffer,
And bring us to everlasting joy with you.
Father,
We bless your name for ever and ever.
Amen.
FAMILY PRAYER 4 by Archbishop William E. Lori
Heavenly father,
Thank you for the gift of our family.
Enlighten our hearths and minds
That we may live more fully this vocation of Love.
In our daily life and work,
May we reflect the self-giving love which you, O Father,
Eternally show with your son and the Holy Spirit.
Let your love be evident
In the peace that reigns in our home
And in the faith, we profess and live.
May our family always be a place of generosity
For the family;
And grant the Holy Family of Nazareth
May always guide our path to holiness as a family.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son,
Who lives and reign with you,
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God forever and ever.
Amen.
FAMILY PRAYER 5
Heavenly Father,
We are reminded by the Second Vatican council
That our family is a domestic church
Where family prayer and natural affection
Pay you special affection.
Help us to be a family of Love,
Support, forgiveness and courage.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.