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Summary
- Short prayers cover a marriage near divorce, a spouse who wants to leave, unfaithfulness, a fair settlement, court or mediation, the children, grief, a former spouse, loneliness and loving again.
- The 1888 Catholic Manual of Prayers gives “A Prayer to be said by Husband or Wife” asking that a couple be “inwardly of one heart and of one mind.”
- Jesus names adultery as the exception in his teaching on divorce (Matthew 19:9), and Psalm 55:12–13 gives words for betrayal by someone close.
- The Catholic Catechism holds a valid marriage indissoluble but tolerates civil divorce in some cases (2382–2386); the Russian Orthodox Church allows church divorce on set grounds; the Westminster Confession allows it for adultery or wilful desertion.
- Scripture forbids charms and enchantment (Deuteronomy 18:10–11), so a spell (zagovor) against divorce is no Christian prayer.
- Anyone in danger at home can call the US National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233, or a UK domestic abuse helpline.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (Deuteronomy 18:10–11; Psalm 34:18; 55:12–13; 68:6; 147:3; Proverbs 15:1; Matthew 19:6, 9; Romans 12:18; 1 Corinthians 7:15). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
- A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity, prepared and published by order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. New York: Catholic Publication Society, 1888. “A Prayer to be said by Husband or Wife,” p. 452. https://archive.org/details/AManualOfPrayers1888/page/452/mode/1up
- Hapgood, Isabel Florence, trans. Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic (Greco-Russian) Church. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1906. The Order of Second Marriage, pp. 303–306; Appendix B, note 9, p. 605. https://archive.org/details/cu31924029363128
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997. Paragraphs 2382–2386. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P87.HTM
- Russian Orthodox Church. The Basis of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church (Bishops’ Council, 2000), sections X.3 and XI.1. English text as reproduced at https://orthodoxkansas.org/Bases_of_Social_Concept.html
- The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), chapter 24, sections 5–6. https://thewestminsterstandard.org/the-westminster-confession/
- National Domestic Violence Hotline. https://www.thehotline.org/
- GOV.UK. “Domestic abuse: how to get help.” https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help
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