Prayers for Marriage
St. Rita of Cascia endured a violent marriage and is the Church's patron of marriages in trouble — proof the Church prays from inside real difficulty, not around it. For marriages simply needing renewal, 1 Corinthians 13 remains the examination of conscience.
Traditional prayers
Peace Prayer of St. Francis
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
From Scripture
4Charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely, is not puffed up,
5Is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil:
6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth:
7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
— 1 Corinthians 13, vv. 4-7, Douay-Rheims · read the full chapter
12Put ye on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience:
13Bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another. Even as the Lord hath forgiven you, so do you also.
14But above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection.
— Colossians 3, vv. 12-14, Douay-Rheims · read the full chapter
Pray a novena
Patron saints for this intention
How to use these prayers
Pray for your spouse by name daily — separately, if praying together isn't possible yet. For marriages in crisis, Retrouvaille is the Church's dedicated program.