Commontide

For Guidance

O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices; that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path we may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Commontide
Thanksgiving
Prayers

The Blessing of the Marriage

Holy Matrimony

Most gracious God, we give you thanks for your tender love in sending Jesus Christ to come among us, to be born of a human mother, and to make the way of the Cross to be the way of life. We thank you, also, for consecrating the union of man and woman in his Name. By the power of your Holy Spirit, pour out the abundance of your blessing upon this man and this woman. Defend them from every enemy. Lead them into all peace. Let their love for each other be a seal upon their hearts, a mantle about their shoulders, and a crown upon their foreheads. Bless them in their work and in their companionship; in their sleeping and in their waking; in their joys and in their sorrows; in their life and in their death. In your mercy, bring them to your heavenly banquet where your saints feast for ever at the great marriage supper of the Lamb; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Found in the Prayer Book

  • Holy Matrimony

Provenance

Episcopal Church, 1979

Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.

A modern prayer composed for the 1979 Episcopal Church Book of Common Prayer, this blessing frames the couple's life together within the sweep of Christ's incarnation, cross, and resurrection. Its poetic center – "a seal upon their hearts, a mantle about their shoulders, and a crown upon their foreheads" – draws on the Song of Songs and the prophetic tradition, while the ACNA 2019 revision amplifies the ending to name the "great marriage supper of the Lamb."