For all families: Blessed are you, Father. You show forth your love in the love of the families. You fill us with awe in the wondrous birth and growth of children, in the patience, joy and loving concern of parents. Bless the members of our families here, and those far away, those living and deceased. On this feast of the Holy Family, open our eyes to see the family in many images. Open our mouth to profess that we are all one family in God. Open our hearts to love all persons as brother and sister, parent, child. Open our hearts to embrace. It is in embracing the family of God that we are truly embraced and blessed ourselves.
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For single parent families. Blessed are you God. Bless the moms and dads who are raising a family alone, one person doing the work of two. Wipe away the tears of frustration over too much to do & not enough time. Lighten the worries of child care, daycare and after-school care that come with living and caring for children alone. Help parent & child alike to see the gift each is for the other. Bless them with hugs & laughter today.
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For blended families. Blessed are you our Father. It is hard to share your mom & dad with other kids and to love them into one family. Look on blended families, Lord. Give them courage to build new relationships, the willingness to adjust to one another’s habits and the likes and dislikes, and an ability to laugh over the small things. Bless all the grandparents, aunts, uncles, & cousins who are coming on board as family. Bless this widening embrace of family with patience, joy & love.
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For adoptive families. Blessed are you God & Father. Bless adoptive families. Bless parents who have reached out beyond themselves to offer the gift of life. Bless the children who have been claimed by love and made new members of caring families. Increase in adoptive parents and children alike a loving honesty, a sense of safety, and a deep appreciation of the divine love that has brought them together.
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For foster families. Blessed are you, God of all people and nations. Bless with special understanding the children and adults whom you have joined as foster families. Bless their time together, however short or long, with trust, growth, loving & learning. Bless the laughter & tears. Heal the hurts. Bless the time these families spend together with joyful moments and lifelong memories.
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For extended families. Blessed are you God of all ages. Bless the grandparents and all others who are helping to raise a second generation of children. As they sail back into part- or full-time parenting, renew their energies and give them confidence in the wisdom of their years and experience. Bless the children with understanding, acceptance and joy in the presence of loving elders. Pour-out your blessing on these multigenerational families, and deepen their love.
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For those alienated from their family. Blessed are you, forgiving, reconciling God. Bless those who experience rejection or misunderstanding in their settings. Protect and guide young people who seek the love and respect of family through gang membership. Console the elderly or infirmed who are unable to make overtures towards family or community for themselves. Enlighten those who are alienated from family, those for whom the words "I'm sorry" or "I forgive you" might rebuild a bridge to relationship. Comfort the forgotten, the neglected, the abused, and those who have run away or feel they must hide from family. Embrace all persons wherever they are who yearn for the warmth of a hug, an affirming smile, a forgiving word, or simply a place to belong.
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For those who create family for others. Blessed are you, God of mercy and compassion. Bless those who reach beyond the boundaries of immediate family to nurture others in hospitals, daycare centers, hospices, and crisis nurseries. Bless those who care for people with cancer, AIDS and other life-threatening and crippling sicknesses, who care for abused children or battered women or men, who extend themselves to the unemployed and to the homeless. Bless all those who recognize brother, sister, parent or child in the faces of the lonely, the oppressed and the suffering. Bless all those who serve your human family with mercy and compassion.
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For Singles. Blessed are you Father. Some persons go through life single, by choice and in joy. Yet they too know themselves to be members of your family. Fill them with thanksgiving for the time when they share with friends and co-workers; with delight in the growing children who cross their path; with the recognition that their very singleness may open their eyes to persons in the family of God whom others cannot see. Empower single persons in new and creative ways to contribute to the human family, and to dwell in your love with rejoicing.
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