A Novena to the Holy Spirit for Married Couples


Day 1 Holy Spirit, married life is a means of cooperating with the love of the creator and savior [GS 49], and is a reflection of the Trinity in the world today.	The love in which we participate is described as “an eternal exchange of love [between] Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” [CCC 221]. It is an eternal giving and receiving of love. We come before you today aware of our shortcomings; our inability to live this love perfectly. May this novena improve our understanding of this eternal exchange of love, help us to progress on the path of perfection, and strengthen our reliance on you as a source of grace so that we might live married life more perfectly. Heal any wounds we have inflicted on each other. Refresh our bond of love. Lead us on the path of perfection through marriage, and help us to be a more perfect reflection of the Trinity in the world today. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, does instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord, Amen. Mary and Joseph, pray for us. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Day 2 Holy Spirit, married life is a means of manifesting Christ’s living presence in the world by our mutual love, our generous fruitfulness, solidarity, and faithfulness, and by the loving way in which we assist each other. [GS 48].	Perfect our understanding of Christ, and our connection to him in baptism and in marriage. Infuse us with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding as we meditate on the life of Christ. Graft us as branches into Christ the vine, and by the Truth you teach us, prune what needs to be pruned so that we may more faithfully remain with him. [John 15:1-5]. As you transform us and make us one with each other and with Christ, may others experience Christ in all that we do and say. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, does instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord, Amen. Mary and Joseph, pray for us. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Day 3 Holy Spirit, married life is an intimate partnership of love established by the creator [GS 48].	However, married life is “often profaned by excessive self-love, the worship of pleasure” and other disfigurements [GS 47]. We pray that you deliver us from any external influences that keep us from living out this partnership of love. In particular, we pray in the name of Jesus for deliverance from [insert specific vices of one or both couples (e.g., pornography, gluttony, sloth, excessive self-love, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, gambling, and the like)]. You, who are tasked with convicting us of sin [Jn 16:8], open our eyes to where we are falling short. Show us how to rely on grace to help us avoid occasions of sin. Heal the emotional and mental wounds that cause us to hurt each other [CCC 1695], and as we await the fullness of our perfection in Christ, help us to forgive each other for our failings as the Father forgives us. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, does instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord, Amen. Mary and Joseph, pray for us. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Day 4 Holy Spirit, married life is a covenant of irrevocable personal consent. [GS 48]	As people living in a broken world and personally impacted by such brokenness, it is impossible for us to live out this covenant without help. We are weak. Be our strength in weakness. [2 Cor 12:9-10]. Help us to understand how “to live and act under [your] promptings” [CCC 1266] so as to grow in fidelity to God and to each other. Help us to be zealous in our love for each other [If applicable: and in fulfilling our role as parents by helping our children to know and to love you through our lived example and teaching.] GS__ Let your grace be enough for us [2 Thess 12:9-10] for it is only with your help that we can live perpetually faithful to each other. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, does instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord, Amen. Mary and Joseph, pray for us. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Day 5 Holy Spirit, married life is the union of two people. [GS 48].	As such, we live no longer as individuals, but as a part of something greater. This form of living involves a great deal of self-giving, which Jesus modeled by emptying himself and humbly entering into his creation [Php 2:7–8]. In imitation of Him, and for the purification of our individual personhood and our marital union, help us to empty ourselves through, among other things, mutual help and service to the other. [48]. Help us to grow in selflessness, to learn to give to each other as you give to us, and in the process increase our capacity to love. Bless our marriage, and help us to live the fullness of life Jesus came to give us. [Jn 10:10]. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, does instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord, Amen. Mary and Joseph, pray for us. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Day 6 Holy Spirit, married life is a bestowal, a giving of self and acceptance of the gift of self from the other. [GS 48]	Sometimes, we struggle to see the gift of the other, especially when their personalities or habits frustrate us. We know that you can use even the smallest of these frustrations as a means of dying to self; a means of purification. Use our day-to-day married life to prune all that keeps us from living this life of divine love. Help us advance in our individual spiritual perfection, as well as our joint sanctification, and “hence contribute jointly to the glory of God.” [GS 48]. In this light, help us to receive any action of the other that upsets us or causes us pain as a means of dying to self. Help us not to grumble as we surrender these things to you. Jam 5:9. Unless there is some valid reason to do otherwise [e.g., legal requirements, consenting to abuse], help us not to push our personal agendas and desires. At the same time, help us to avoid unhealthy co-dependencies or occasions of emotional abuse. In confronting these situations with grace and dignity may we be conformed to Christ who died for our sake, and in so becoming, be better able to accept the mutual gift of each other. Bless our vocation of marriage, and help us to live in mutual respect, and as an extension of the other. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, does instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord, Amen. Mary and Joseph, pray for us. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Day 7 Holy Spirit, married life is a model of Jesus’ union with the church, which was made visible when He made himself present through the covenant of love and fidelity, and handed himself over to death. [GS 48].	In so doing, he taught us that union, especially in marriage, is sacrificial. May we offer up all hardship with patience, and accomplish all that we do in you so that our lives might “become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” [CCC 901]. Build us up through these sacrifices in imitation of Christ in his love of the church. May our on-going participation in the liturgical and sacramental life of the church bolster our fidelity to each other, to the rest of our family, and to our covenant with you. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, does instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord, Amen. Mary and Joseph, pray for us. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Day 8 Holy Spirit, married life is being “caught up into divine love and is governed and enriched by Christ’s redeeming power and the saving activity of the Church. [GS 48]	May this love “lead [us] to God and aid and strengthen [us] in living out our responsibilities to each other” [for parents: and in our sublime responsibilities to our children.] Help us avoid the extremes of giving or receiving love. Triune love is both. Come into our married life, bless us and “impel us towards true human fulfillment.” [GS 50]. May our marriage be a great witness to the divine mystery of love revealed by Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. [GS 52]. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, does instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord, Amen. Mary and Joseph, pray for us. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Day 9 Holy Spirit, married life is a means by which you, the Spirit of Christ, might penetrate our lives so that we might be infused with faith, hope, and love. [48].	Help us to grow in goodness through these virtues. Infuse even our natural practices of virtue with your grace so that we might achieve more with our efforts than we could on our own. When we feel off balance by concerns of the world, return us to these gifts of faith, hope, and charity. Perfect these virtues through our marriage. In this way, promote our individual perfection and help us contribute to each other’s sanctification for the greater glory of God. [GS 48]. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, does instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord, Amen. Mary and Joseph, pray for us. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Final Prayer

Father, the Church teaches us that the well-being of society is linked to healthy families; however, our culture obscures the beauty and importance of such contributions to the good of society. [47]. Help us to not only hold on to the Church’s teaching on marriage and other matters of faith, but to also be living witnesses to the church’s position on marriage, and may the world come to see through strong Catholic family witnesses that, despite difficulties, the institution of marriage continually provides profound change within our communities.” [47] As we conclude this novena, may we see the fruit of this truth in the world around us, and if that be not your will at this time, help us to remain faithful. If we fall into doubt, we ask that you, Spirit of Truth, confirm for us 1) that that the world’s ways are wrong and, if taken, would prevent us from living the fullness of life Christ purchased for us by his life, death and resurrection, and 2) that the way of the cross, while counter intuitive, is the way to fullness of life, peace, joy, and eternal union with the triune God, who is love. Amen.

Abbreviations:

CCC Catechism of the Catholic Church

GS Gaudium et Spes

Novena for Married Couples 24-0503 Download

Share this: