Prayer for Marriage

Let us pray together for blessings on married couples and families and especially on the Synod on Marriage and Family and on Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia to celebrate families:

Heavenly Father, your Son, Jesus, once part of a family, is a blessing for husbands and wives, for fathers and mothers and their children. Help our moms and dads to be faithful to each other and open to new life, your gift to them. Guide them to raise their children to be good citizens of both heaven and earth. Pour your Holy Spirit upon married couples to strengthen their bond, upon all families that they may face the challenges of our times with strength that comes from the Gospel, and upon our homes that they may be places of love and joy and thus a source of blessing for our Church and our society. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

(It is recommended that this prayer be said at the conclusion of the Prayer of the Faithful or at the end of Mass.)

Parish Materials for Download

• Marriage and Family Dedicated Kiosk
• Marriage and Family Dedicated Tabletop Display
• Bulletin Brief: “God’s desire for our happiness; moral laws lead to happiness.”
• Bulletin Brief: “True freedom is love that is guided by truth.”
• Bulletin Brief: “True freedom is the freedom to do the good.”
• Bulletin Brief: “We are made for self-gift. Marriage, priesthood, and religious life are all about self-gift.”
• Catholic Update Bulletin Inserts
• Intercessory Prayers for Married Couples
• Marriage Bibliography
• Marriage Quotes
• Parish Based Out of Box Marriage Enrichment Programming
• Suggested Bulletin Announcements: Love and Life in the Divine Plan
• What’s the difference if we live together or get married?
• If I get married, will I be happy?
• How does marriage impact society?
• What effect does marriage have on personal finances?
• What does God want for married couples?

Catholic Teaching on Marriage

• The Joy of Love (Pope Francis, 2016)
• Letters to Families (Pope John Paul II, 1994)
• Familiaris Consortio (Pope John Paul II, 1981)
• Original Unity of Man and Woman (Pope John Paul II, 1979–1980)
• John Paul II on Love & Responsibility (Love & Responsibility Foundation, 2002)
• Humanae Vitae (Pope Paul IV, 1968)

Talking Points About Marriage

Honoring Sexual Differences

“Man and woman, God created them.”

The unique roles of husband and wife illuminate the beauty of sexual difference and complementarity. At every level of their identity (emotional, biological, physiological, social and spiritual), a husband and wife are called to speak the language of married love in generous self-giving. In this self-giving, each spouse discovers who they are in way they could not otherwise discover. The divine institution of marriage — a gift to man and woman — unites a couple together through life’s challenges and excitements, hopes and dreams, until death do they part. Jesus Christ, at the center of this union, makes this possible.

Beneficial for Children

“Each child has life, thanks to a mom and a dad.”

God’s awesome call to engage in the adventure of creating a new human being begins when husband and wife participate in the loving act. In the procreation and education of children marriage reflects the Father’s work of creation (CCC 2205). Throughout history, man and woman through marriage contribute to humanity’s next generation by opening their lives and committing themselves to children. Marriage as a lifelong faithful union creates the environment in which children experience the love and care of a father and a mother and become aware of their own dignity and prepare to face their unique and individual destiny.

Promoting the Common Good

“A strong society thrives on strong families.”

The divine gift of marriage is a blessing to the couple, to their children, and to everyone who knows them. The permanence and solidarity of a husband and wife “offers a sign of hope and a loving witness to human dignity, in a world where hope often seems absent and human dignity is often degraded” (Life and Love, p.56). Marriage, a dynamic communion of life and love, makes the family the first school of social life: authority, stability, and a life of relationships within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within society (CCC 2207). Marriage then is an indispensable good at the heart of every family and every society.

Videos

• Bishop Cistone Announces Year for Marriage

• Theology of the Body