The following prayer for married couples is taken from Closer: Musings on Intimacy, Marriage, & God.

Prayer Note: Although divided into parts for wife (#1) and husband (#2), any two people or groups could pray the following together, for as Jesus told us, “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Mt 18:20).

#1: Let us pray together in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit . . .
All: Amen.
#2: According to the Gospel of John, “The Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14).
#1: Christ be with us.
#2: May our first words in the morning be of love.
#1: Christ within us.
#2: May our words be the mirror of our deeds.
#1: Christ behind us.
#2: May we embrace the mysterious intimacy of the Incarnation.
#1: Christ before us.
#2: May we see the face of our God in each other’s faces.
#1: Christ beside us.
#2: May our fidelity and respect be a sign of God’s communion with us.
#1: Christ to win us.
#2: May our love for each other bear fruit in this world and the next.
ALL: Christ to comfort and restore us.
#1: “And the Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us.”
#2: Christ beneath us.
#1: May we be air, water, sun, and earth for each other and grow toward God together.
#2: Christ above us.
#1: May we find God in the deep breath that centers us in the middle of the day.
#2: Christ in quiet.
#1: May our stumbles and our detours bring us back to God’s garden path.
#2: Christ in danger.
#1: May our last words of the night be of love.
#2: Christ in the hearts of all who love us.
#1: May the living, breathing sacrament of our life bring others to the wedding feast of God.
#2: Christ in the mouth of friend and stranger.
#1: May our good and gracious God bless us always and hold us close . . .
ALL: Amen.

(With thanks to the Prayer of St. Patrick’s Breastplate)