# Prayer for the Family – St. John Paul II
*2016-03-03*

> Bill Young leads a prayer for families written by St. Pope John Paul II, asking God to bless marriages, generations, and the Church’s mission through the family.

## Opening

Good morning, this is Bill Young, and welcome to the Prayer at Lunch podcast. Today we’re offering a prayer for the family, composed by St. Pope John Paul II.

## The Prayer

God, source of all paternity in heaven and on earth, Father, you who are love and life, grant that every human family may become, through your Son Jesus Christ—born of a woman through the Holy Spirit, source of divinity and mercy—a true sanctuary of life and love for generations that continue to renew themselves. May your grace guide the thoughts and works of married couples toward the good of their families and of all families of the world. May the new generation find in the family a strong support for their humanity and for their growth in truth and love. May love, strengthened by the grace of the sacrament of matrimony, prove stronger than every weakness and every trial that families experience. Finally, we ask you, through the intercession of the Holy Family of Nazareth, to grant that the Church, in every nation, may fruitfully fulfill her mission in the family by means of the family. Through Christ our Lord, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, forever and ever.

## Reflection

St. John Paul II reminds us that the family is the domestic Church, the first place where we encounter God’s love. By praying for families, we pray for the very foundation of society and for the Church’s ability to bear witness to the Gospel through the lived example of love, fidelity, and sacrifice.

*May the grace of Christ strengthen every family, so they become true sanctuaries of love and hope.*