The prayer of the spouses is a prayer recited by the bride and groom during the wedding celebration in the church. If the prayer of the spouses is not obligatory, it is a strong and moving moment of the religious ceremony; the newlyweds enter into the truth of their heart and deposit with confidence and hope the requests for their couple at the feet of the Lord.
To prepare their wedding mass, the future bride and groom are invited to choose a prayer ( discover here different prayers of the spouses ) or to write their prayer, as they will do for the universal prayer. Here are some tips and examples to write your prayer for the spouses to start this life together under the blessing of God!
How to write the spouses’ prayer?
The prayer of spouses, like the prayer of parents, is traditionally built around two axes: an act of thanksgiving and a prayer of request.
Thanksgiving in the prayer of spouses
This prayer allows us to thank God for having put our loved one on our path, and for having allowed this love to be born and grow.
- for example
Today, we are here to unite our lives before you and through you. We thank you for this immense grace that is given to us to live this love fully and to know the joy of giving ourselves to each other.”
This can also be an opportunity for the newlyweds to thank God for their family, their parents, and their friends. To give thanks that these people have allowed – through their tenderness, their example, and their support – their couple to exist today.
- for example
“Lord, we thank you for all the love we have received from our parents, and from our friends who have allowed our hearts to open to others. Today, thanks to them, we are ready to make this commitment of marriage with confidence.”
The request in the prayer of the spouses
The prayer of the spouses allows above all to entrust to the Lord the requests of the couple. It is not a question of expressing wishes that engage the will of the married couple but of asking God to guide them, to accompany them, and to act on their hearts. We can formulate requests for the couple, and the home that we wish to build.
- for example :
“Lord, help us to always remain attentive to the other, to always see him with your eyes: as the wonderful being that you wanted him to be. Teach us to love each other with the true Love that Christ taught us: infinitely, unconditionally, respecting his freedom and with tenderness and mercy.”
May we know how to share our joys in moments of happiness and comfort in moments of sorrow, for each other but also for all those who need it? Allow, we pray, that our couple bears fruit, whether through children, our professional activities, or our commitments.”
Tips for an original and personalized prayer for spouses
To write a beautiful prayer, the most important thing is to take your time. It will be the fruit of this entire period of preparation for marriage during which the engaged couple probe the truth of their hearts to identify who they are and what kind of couple they can form.
- Take time with yourself to trace the history of your love and understand what you have to offer the other and what the other brings to you. What makes me where I am today, ready to marry N…?
- Take time with your spouse to question together the projects and the future that you want for your couple. Where do we want to go? The prayer of the engaged can be a step to help you.
- Taking time with the Lord by praying alone, as a couple, by talking with a priest… What place do we want to give to God in our home? What do we want to entrust to Him? In what do we want Him to help us more specifically?
Reminder: It is possible to experience doubts and fears before committing, when preparing for our marriage, we can then entrust them to God and if necessary, ask him to help us discern the path that is ours.
Sometimes there are also more difficult moments in the life of marriage. We can then take a moment to entrust to the Lord the difficulties that our couple is going through, to find peace.
Examples of prayers of spouses from the rituals of the Catholic Church
Here are two examples proposed for wedding celebrations. They can be taken up or used as inspiration to write your prayer. Other beautiful prayers exist and can be read as a prayer for the spouses, such as Sister Emmanuelle’s prayer for the spouses.
Proposal of the Roman Ritual (No. 181)
You have entrusted us to one another: now, together, we entrust our love to you.
We ask you, Lord, to keep us united, to guard us in your peace.
Protect our marriage.
[Give us the joy of welcoming children.]
Open our hearts to others.
Welcome us one day into the Kingdom of your love, where we will be able to praise you in happiness and peace.
R/. Amen.”
Proposal of the ritual of the Church of France
“Lord, you have called us to found this home together; give us the grace to animate it with your love. May it be comforting for all those who will live there; may our home be welcoming to those who want to warm themselves there.
Teach us to progress through each other under your gaze, to do your will every day of our lives, to submit our projects to you, and to ask for your help.
Lord, you who are Love, we thank you for our love. Amen.”
Prepare your heart for marriage with Hozana!
Marriage is a wonderful commitment for the couple. Join one of these prayer communities on Hozana to prepare your heart to live this beautiful adventure under the gaze of God :
- Take part in this novena which gives you – in nine days – the keys to a happy marriage!
- With this online retreat, experience 5 days of sharing and prayer to deepen your relationship as a couple.
- Place your couple under the patronage of Saints Louis and Zélie Martin with this novena, who with their 160 years of marriage, can be precious guides.
