Prayers
by Jean Dimech-Juchniewicz
- The Lord's Prayer
- Hail Mary
- The Salve Regina
- The Memorare
- Momorare to St. Joesph
- Memorare to Saint Ann
- Prayer to the Holy Matriarchs of the Bible
- Prayer to Saint Gerard of Motherhood
- A Married Couple's Prayer to Saint Gerard
- Prayer of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
- Prayer at the Beginning of a New Cycle
- Prayer in a Time of Waiting
- Prayer in a time of Disappointment
- Prayer to Get through the Holidays
- Prayer to Gain Perspective
- Prayer to do God's Will
- Prayer of Parents after Miscarriage
From the book Facing Infertility
Title
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To you we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to you we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; To you I come, before you I kneel sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.
Remember, O most chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who implored your help and sought your intercession was left unassisted. Full of confidence in your powerful intercession, I fly to you, and beg your protection. Despise not, O foster father of the Redeemer, my humble supplication, but in your goodness, hear and answer me. Amen.
Remember, good Saint Anne, whose name means grace and mercy, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I come before you, sinful and sorrowful. Holy mother of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and loving grandmother of the Savior, do not reject my appeal, but hear and answer me. Amen.
Righteous Sarah, bride of Abraham,
Holy Rebekah, bride of Isaac,
Blessed Rachel, bride of Jacob,
Godly bride of Manoah,
Faithful Hannah, bride of Elkanah,
Dear Saint Anne, bride of Joachim,
Sweet Elizabeth, bride of Zechariah...
All you holy matriarchs and saintly women, God heard and answered your heartfelt prayers to deliver you from the sufferings of infertility. With humility and grief, I come before you, to beg for your holy intercession to our Lord on my behalf. Please beseech our Lord to heal my body and soul from the afflictions I bear, and to place within my womb the gift of a child, one that I may raise to know and love the Lord our God, to serve him in this life, and to be with him forever in the world to come.
I implore and entreat you to ask that this favor be granted me, so that I may enjoy the spiritual benefits of the sacred vocation of motherhood, and one day come to join your holy company in heaven. Amen.
O Good Saint Gerard, powerful intercessor before God, I come to ask your help. Beseech the Lord, the Giver of all life, to grant me the grace to conceive a child, if it be according to his plan. I hope to bear children who will be faith-filled disciples of Jesus, witnesses to his message of love, and heirs to the kingdom of heaven. Amen.
Saint Gerard, powerful intercessor before God, we come to ask your help. Beseech the Lord, the Giver of all life, to grant us the grace to bring new life into the world if it be according to his will. We desire and hope to be co-creators in God's plan of creation, to raise children who will be faith-filled disciples of Jesus, witnesses to his message of love and heirs to the kingdom of heaven. Amen.
Jesus, I promise to submit myself to all that you permit to befall me, make me only know your will. My most sweet Jesus, infinitely merciful God, most tender Father of souls, and in a particular way of the most weak, most miserable, most infirm which you carry with special tenderness in your divine arms, I come to you and ask you, through the love and merits of your Sacred Heart, the grace to understand and to always do your holy will, the grace to confide in you, the grace to rest securely through time and eternity in your loving divine arms.
Dear Lord, help us to begin again. Heal our sadness and give us hope. Awaken our faith and mend our hearts. Please God, let this be the cycle when we conceive our child. Deepen our love for each other and strengthen our marriage every time we come together as husband and wife. Let our love be fruitful and bring us the gift of a child. In our great longing, help us to remember that your will for our lives, not our will, brings us true happiness. Prepare our hearts to accept your will, whatever it may be. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Dear Jesus, you know how desperately I want to be pregnant. As I near the end of this cycle, every twinge and minor ache I feel sends my hope soaring. It is too early to know if I am pregnant, and too late to change the outcome. Either I am pregnant, or I'm not. Only you know, Lord. My thoughts and energy are consumed by my intense desire. I try to convince myself that I'm not pregnant to soften the potential disappointment, all the while desperately hoping that I am. I constantly tally the days from the beginning of this cycle, and count the months of potential pregnancy ahead. Help me, Lord, to give my heart to you. Protect me from the heartache that may await me, and carry me through these next few days sheltered in your love, until I know if I am a mother or not. Amen.
O Father, we are so sad! For days we hoped that the tests were wrong. But they weren't. I'm not pregnant. O God, please help us, for this is so hard. Wrap us in your love, heal our broken hearts, and console us with hope for the future. Amen.
Lord, everywhere I look I see people who are happy. I wish I could be happy, but I don't feel that way right now. I have no child to be thankful for. I have no child to buy Christmas presents for or bake cookies with. I do not look forward to beginning a new year or having another birthday without a child. I don't enjoy being around people who are laughing and singing when I feel like crying. I can't even turn on the television or go shopping without being reminded of what I don't have. Help me get through these next few weeks, Lord. Help me to focus on what I do have, especially for the gift of your son Jesus, our Savior. And I pray that by this time next year I may have the gift of a child. Amen.
Lord, forgive me for losing perspective. I so easily slip into the emotional routine of thinking first of my own suffering and desires. My self-consumed thoughts have blinded my eyes to the needs of others. While I desperately want to be pregnant, some women right now are desperately wishing they were not pregnant, perhaps even considering abortion. Please stir their hearts with your love for them. Give them grace to entrust their children's future to you, either by giving them the ability to parent their children, or by leading them to make an adoption plan. Even as I long for a child, so many children throughout the world have no parents to love them, but rather are abandoned or neglected. Please allow their lives to be forever touched by the love of a permanent family. Lord, please protect me from losing my sense of perspective, and continue to open my eyes every day to the needs of those around me. Amen.
O Lord, we wish we knew your will for our lives. We would love to plan for the future, but we can't. We desperately want to be parents and are not ready to accept the fact that we may never conceive. We've thought about adoption, but we aren't really sure about that either. We are terrified by the thought of never having a child (or: another child). Please let us know what you want us to do next. We are ready to follow you, Lord, but you are silent. We know that what you want for us is better than anything we could ever imagine, but we don't know what it is. Make your will known to us, Lord. Enlighten our minds with your light, and let our hearts rest in your peace. Keep us from doing anything that goes against your will for us, and bring to completion the plan you have for us. Keep us close to you, so that we can follow you into whatever future you will guide us to. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Loving God, comfort our hearts and grant that through the prayers of Mary, who grieved by the cross of her Son, you may enlighten our faith, give hope to our hearts, and peace to our lives. Receive this life you created in love and comfort us in our time of loss. Lord, grant us mercy and comfort us with the hope that one day we will all live with you, with your Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
Copyright 2012 Daughters of St. Paul
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