On the fourth day, our prayers are directed to an irreplaceable treasure: the family. The family is a gift from God and, at the same time, a place of many struggles and challenges. It is within the family that we find love and support, but we also face worries—be they illnesses of loved ones, financial difficulties, disagreements, or negative external influences.
As Christians, we believe that the family is sacred, instituted by the Lord from the beginning and elevated by Jesus in the Holy Family of Nazareth (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph) as a model for us. Therefore, praying for the protection and unity of our family is essential.
Padre Pio understood well the value of the spiritual family—he called all those he mentored “spiritual children” and cared for them with prayers and advice. Today, let us place each family member under the protective mantle of the Blessed Virgin Mary and ask Saint Joseph to protect ours as well.
“Heavenly Father, Source of every family, I thank you for the family you have given me. Each member of it is a precious gift and a mission to me. Today I come to beg you to guard and protect my family from all evil. Please, Lord, be the watchman of our home, removing all division, illness, evil influence or danger that could threaten us. Send your holy angels to camp around us, blocking the enemy’s attacks against us. May our home be strengthened in faith, united in love and preserved in health and peace.
Bless my home, Lord. Remove from our conversations all offensive words, all resentment and lack of understanding. May respect, forgiveness and mutual affection reign between parents and children, between spouses and between siblings. Do not allow resentment to linger between us: give us the grace to always forgive, to always start over, just as you forgive our faults every day. I pray especially for the members of my family who need it most at this time: (say the names and needs of each one). Help them, Lord, in their tribulations. Grant healing to the sick family member, give comfort to the depressed or anxious, bring back those who are distant or in danger, and convert the hearts of those who have turned away from You.
I entrust each one of them to your Sacred Heart, Jesus, because I know that you love them infinitely more than I love them. I consecrate my family to the protection of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, come and dwell spiritually in our home and be our light. Most Holy Mother Mary, I place my home under your maternal mantle. You who are the mother of us all, go ahead and resolve that which I, humanly speaking, cannot resolve in my family. Intercede with your Son so that we may have the wine of joy, as at the wedding feast of Cana, and so that every necessary miracle may happen in our home.
Saint Joseph, chaste husband of Mary and guardian of the Child Jesus, be also the guardian of my family: give us honest work, sustenance, security and guide us in raising our children on the path of God. I also invoke, Lord, the Holy Guardian Angels of each of my family members: may they always be vigilant, illuminating, guarding, governing and protecting us all.
May our home truly be a domestic sanctuary, where Your Name is honored, Your word is respected, and where those who enter feel Your loving presence. Dear Father, I give my family to You. They belong to You. May no evil force be able to separate us from You. Be our shield and refuge at all times. And may one day, when it is Your will, we may all be reunited in the great family of Heaven, without any of us missing. Amen.”