Short Prayers for Catholic Couples to Know
/DOMINIKA RAMOS
As marriage is a living sign of the love of the Trinity, it's no surprise that the devil wages war directly against it.
PHOTOGRAPHY: CORI NATIONS PHOTOGRAPHY
Of course that's evident in the culture at large, but it's true, too, that if in our Christian marriages, we aren't vigilant about our daily attitudes to one another and if we aren't making concrete resolutions to love each other better, the enemy will work insidiously against us.
In my case, the wedding day felt like a spiritual triumph of graces and a kind of crowning event at the end of our college days in a robust Catholic community. But the farther I've gotten from that day and the more careworn I've become with the duties of work and family, the easier it has been for me to become lax in my prayer life, to feel as though I'm merely being tossed about by the conditions of my life, and to let resentment creep in.
This spiritual stupor can happen almost imperceptibly, and when I realize it is taking hold, I know I need to do something immediately.
Reception of the sacraments, speaking to a good friend, and taking a step away from my husband and children for an hour or two (or even a revitalizing ten minutes in a hot shower) to get some perspective and appreciation are all incredibly helpful, but the following short prayers have been the ones I go when I need something really quick for a shift in my mind and my heart:
Visita, Quaesumus, Domine
Lord, we beg you to visit this house and banish from it all the deadly power of the enemy. May your holy angels dwell here to keep us in peace and may your blessing be upon us always.
The Memorare to St. Joseph
Remember, O most pure spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, my great protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection, or implored your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding therefore in your goodness, I come before you. Do not turn down my petitions, foster father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.
The St. Michael the Archangel Prayer
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
And lastly, when I don't have the energy to summon up the words even to say one of the above prayers, I find it grounding to simply focus on calm breathing and to repeat the name of Jesus.
These prayers, these words that are not my own, cut through my internal noise and remind me that Christ resides not in a far off place I can only reach when I'm well-put together, but that he's always abiding with me especially in my weakness and heaviness of heart, freely offering his grace, and gently inviting me to be a monstrance of his love to those in my home.
