Prayer is the first action that people of faith take
in all that we do in life and in ministry.
Prayer is our intimate conversation with the Lord of all creation--God our Father, God the Son, our Savior, and God the Holy Spirit, our life and our love.
The prayers on this page are for public and personal use. They are especially helpful in NFP ministry. They can be copied, downloaded, or purchased as indicated. When copying, please use the permission text that is included with the individual prayer. All orders of hard copies are through the NFP Program's fulfillment company, IFC; @email; 1-866-582-0943.
Questions?
Contact @email.
Page Contents
Blessed Mother—Litany
Couple Preparing for Marriage (prayer card; for purchase; free download)
ForYourMarriage.org Prayer Resources (includes virtual retreat, how to prayer with your spouse, etc.)
Humanae vitae inspired prayers (arranged monthly)
Husbands and Wives to Embrace God's Plan for Married Love and the Gift of Life (bi-fold prayer card; for purchase; free download)
Infertility
Marriage and Family Prayers Formerly Published by USCCB Creative Services (includes prayers for fathers, mothers, families, etc.)
Novenas (Annunciation; Saints Anne and Joachim)
Renewal of Christian Marriage (prayer card; for purchase; and free download)
Litany to Mary Mother of Life
This litany to Our Blessed Mother can be used for intercessory prayer.
Litany to Mary Mother of Life PDF | En Español
Couple Preparing for Marriage (prayer card; for purchase; free download)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus,
look upon those preparing for marriage.
Send the Holy Spirit
to open their hearts to your love
so that, with honesty and selflessness,
they may be strengthened to
receive the Father’s sacred design.
Through their spousal love,
may they bear witness
to your abiding faithfulness.
Obtain for them the grace
to live the gift of fertility and
to reject all that contradicts it.
May they honor the Creator’s plan that
they be “one flesh” for the “whole of life,”
and become generous stewards of new life.
Make them and all married couples
beautiful witnesses of faithfulness and
harmony to renew the face of the earth.
Amen
(© 2023 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved.)
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of the above prayer.
To order hard copies, contact: IFC, 1-866-582-0943; @email. cite the prayer title and publication number #23NFP3. The printed copies are formatted as a two-page prayer card that features a printed image on the reverse side. The image is of the 2023 NFP Week poster.
When copying this prayer, include the text: © United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission."
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ForYourMarriage.org Prayer Resources
ForYourMarriage.org Prayer Resources
The ForYourMarriage.org website offers many different resources for couples and families ranging from Catholic blessings and instructions for prayer to the importance of marital spirituality. Below is a sample. Visit ForYourMarriage.org to view more resources.
7 Day Virtual Marriage Retreat
How to Pray With Your Spouse: 4 Simple Steps
Who Me, Pray?...With Her?
Faith and Spirituality: Enrichment
Faith and Spirituality: Must-Have Conversations
A Marriage Blessing
Prayers and Blessings
Marital Spirituality
Humanae vitae inspired prayers (arranged monthly)
Monthly Prayers Inspired by Humanae Vitae
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Humanae vitae in 2018, the reflections below were written for meditation on key themes within the document. These reflections are timeless and offer continual opportunities for fruitful prayer.
Please feel free to copy and use these prayers for your ministry and personal use. If you copy the prayers for your ministry, please use the following text:: © United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
- January Reflection
- February Reflection
- March Reflection
- April Reflection
- May Reflection
- June Reflection
- July Reflection
- August Reflection
- September Reflection
- October Reflection
- November Reflection
- December Reflection
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Husbands and Wives to Embrace God's Plan for Married Love and the Gift of Life (bi-fold prayer card; for purchase; free download)
Readings from the Books of Genesis and Ephesians:
God created mankind in His image;
in the image of God, He created them;
male and female He created them.
God blessed them and God said to them:
Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
(Genesis 1:27–28)
For this reason, a man shall leave
[his] father and [his] mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
This is a great mystery,
but I speak in reference to
Christ and the Church.
(Ephesians 5: 31–32)
Prayer
Let us pray,
Lord God,
Send forth your Holy Spirit to open
the minds and hearts of your children,
so that they may discover your
gifts of marriage and family.
Grant, we pray,
that they may reject
all falsehood.
Strengthen married couples so that
they may fulfill their mission to
reveal your spousal love in the world
and to steward the gift of life.
Heal any brokenness in them and
help them to reject all that harms
fidelity and fruitfulness.
Bestow your grace upon husbands and wives
that they may be open to life and be
transformed by your divine love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
(© 2023 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Prayer, Theresa Notare, based on Gaudium et spes, 49.)
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The above prayer is formatted to print as a bi-fold card.
of the above prayer.
To order hard copies, contact: IFC, 1-866-582-0943. @email, cite the prayer title and publication number #23NFP1. The printed copies are formatted as a two-page prayer card that features a printed image on the reverse side. The image is of the 2023 NFP Week poster.
When copying this prayer, include the text: © United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
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Prayers for Couples with Possible Infertility
When husbands and wives find themselves confronted with the possibility of infertility, praying with Sacred Scripture can provide a rich source of inspiration, comfort, and even direction.
Genesis 17: 16-21
God promises a son to Abraham and Sarah in order to maintain His covenant that Abraham's descendants would be as numerous as the stars.
Genesis 25: 21
Isaac prayed to God on behalf of his wife, Rebekah, who was sterile and she bore twin sons.
Judges 13: 2-8
Though Manoah's wife is barren, she bears a son who will deliver Israel from the Philistines, Samson.
1 Samuel 1: 1-28
The prayer of Hannah is answered when she conceives a son whom she dedicates to the Lord.
Luke 1: 5-17, 57-80
An angel of the Lord appears to Zechariah to tell him that his wife Elizabeth, even though barren and advanced in years, will bear a son, John the Baptist.
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Please also see the novena to Saints Anne and Joachim on the Novena page.
For further reading, see Infertility Resource Page.
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Marriage and Family Prayers
Formerly Published By USCCB Creative Services
The prayers below were formerly published by the USCCB Creative Services' department. They can be used for your pastoral activities or personal devotion. You have our permission to copy and reprint these prayers with the following text: © United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved.Used with permission.
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Prayer for Married Couples
Almighty and eternal God,
You blessed the union of married couples
so that they might reflect the union of Christ
with his Church:
look with kindness on them.
Renew their marriage covenant,
increase your love in them,
and strengthen their bond of peace
so that, with their children,
they may always rejoice in the gift of
your blessing.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Excerpts from the English translation of Book of Blessings ©1988, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Prayer for Families
We bless your name, O Lord,
for sending your own incarnate Son,
to become part of a family,
so that, as he lived its life,
he would experience its worries and its joys.
We ask you, Lord,
to protect and watch over this family,
so that in the strength of your grace
its members may enjoy prosperity,
possess the priceless gift of your peace,
and, as the Church alive in the home,
bear witness in this world to your glory.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Excerpts from the English translation of the Book of Blessings ©1988, International Commission on English in the Liturgy corporation. All rights reserved.
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Prayer for Fathers
God, you are the giver of all life,
human and divine.
Bless our father.
May he be the best of teachers for
his children,
bearing witness to the faith
by what he says and does,
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
Adapted from the English translation of the Rite of Baptism of Children, ©1969, International Commission on English in the Liturgy corporation. All rights reserved.
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Prayer for Mothers
Loving God,
as a mother gives life and nourishment
to her children, so you
watch over your Church.
Bless our mother.
Let the example of her faith
and love shine forth.
Grant that we, her family,
may honor her always
with a spirit of profound respect.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Excerpts from the English translation of Book of Blessings © 1988, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Prayer for Life
Father and maker of all,
you adorn all creation
with splendor and beauty,
and fashion human lives
in your image and likeness.
Awaken in every heart
reverence for the work of your hands,
and renew among your people
a readiness to nurture and sustain
your precious gift of life.
Grant this through our Lord
Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in
the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
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Prayer for Teachers
Lord God,
your spirit of wisdom fills the earth
and teaches us your ways.
Look upon these teachers.
Let them strive to share their knowledge
with gentle patience
and endeavor always to bring the truth to
eager minds.
Grant that they may follow Jesus Christ,
the way, the truth, and the life,
for ever and ever.
Amen.Excerpts from the English translation of Book of Blessings © 1988, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Novenas (Annunciation; Saints Anne and Joachim)
Novenas
See our Novena prayer page linked above, to download PDF files as well as order printed copies.
Renewal of Christian Marriage (prayer card; for purchase; and freed download)
Heavenly Father,
Send your Holy Spirit
to transform the hearts
and minds of all
baptized couples.
With your help,
may their union of life and love
grow ever more profound.
May they embrace God’s plan
for marriage and family.
As co-creators with God,
may they be open to children
in trust and love.
Amen
(© 2023 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Prayer, Gerard Migeon, Natural Womanhood and USCCB Divine Worship staff.)
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This is a one-page card with a printed image on the front.
of the above prayer.
To order hard copies, contact: IFC, 1-866-582-0943; @email, cite the prayer title and publication number #23NFP2. The printed copies are formatted as a two-page prayer card that features a printed image on the reverse side. The image is of the 2023 NFP Week poster.
When copying this prayer, include the text: © United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
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