Prayer for Parents

The Fourth Commandment calls us to honor our father and mother, and St. Paul notes that it is "the first commandment with a promise" (Ephesians 6:2). This traditional prayer asks for the grace to love our parents sincerely, to obey them, and to help them in their needs. It also asks God to bless them with health of soul and body and to reunite us with them one day in His kingdom.

Pray it daily as part of morning or night prayer, on your parents' birthdays and anniversaries, when they are sick or aging, and whenever family relationships are strained. Adult children caring for elderly parents may find it especially consoling. If your parents have died, you can pray instead the traditional prayer for a departed soul.

The Prayer

O Almighty God, Who hast given unto us our parents, and commanded us to honor them, grant that we may love them sincerely, obey them faithfully, and assist them in their needs. Bless them, O Lord, with Thy heavenly gifts, preserve them in health of soul and body, and grant that we may one day be reunited with them in the joy of Thy eternal kingdom. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Traditional prayer for parents; classic manuals, public domain.

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