Prayers

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of the true God and Mother of the hidden Christ, we come beneath your mantle carrying an ache that is difficult to explain. We want a child. You appeared carrying Jesus within you. Before the world could see Him, before anyone could hold Him, before His tiny feet touched the earth, He was already there—hidden beneath your heart, completely human, completely loved, completely known by God. So today we bring to you all those who…

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Holy Family of Nazareth, come into our home. We have spent so much time praying for our family to grow that sometimes we forget something important: You are already here. Before there is a positive pregnancy test. Before there is an ultrasound. Before there is an adoption match. Before there is a baby sleeping in the crib. Before anyone calls us Mom or Dad. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, teach us the hidden way of Nazareth. Teach…

Lord Jesus, truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist, we come before You carrying the desire that has followed us into so many prayers: Please give us a child. You know how long we have waited. You know every month of hope and disappointment, every appointment, every treatment, every procedure, every prayer whispered when no one else could hear, and every time we tried to surrender this desire only to discover that we were still carrying it the next morning.…

Lord Jesus, we want a child. Sometimes we want one so desperately that the longing seems to fill every part of our lives. And when the desire becomes this strong, boundaries can begin to feel cruel. We hear about another treatment. Another procedure. Another possibility. Someone tells us, “If you really want a baby, why wouldn’t you try everything?” And part of us wonders the same thing. Lord, we live in a time when medicine can do extraordinary things. We…

Lord Jesus, I am waiting too. The infertility and adoption journey belongs most deeply to my child and their spouse, and I know their suffering is not mine to claim. But I love them. And because I love them, my heart aches beside theirs. I have watched them hope. I have watched them wait. I have watched them go to appointments, endure procedures, consider treatments, fill out paperwork, answer questions, prepare their home, and open their hearts again and again.…

Lord Jesus, there is another part of infertility that I do not always know how to explain. I do not only grieve the child I long to have. Sometimes I grieve the grandchild I cannot give my parents. I love my parents, Lord. I know how much they would love my child. I have imagined telling them that I am pregnant. I have imagined handing them an ultrasound picture and watching them realize what it means. I have pictured their…

Lord Jesus, I love my husband. And there is something I have wanted so desperately to give him that I cannot make happen. A baby. Our baby. I have imagined the moment I would tell him I was pregnant. I have pictured his face when he saw the positive test. I have imagined sitting beside him while we heard our baby’s heartbeat for the first time and placing his hand over my belly when our child began to move. I…

Lord Jesus, I love my wife. And there is something she wants with her whole heart that I cannot give her. A baby. I would give her one if I could. If love alone could create the child we have prayed for, our home would already be full of children. If I could take this burden from her body and carry it myself, I would. If I could absorb every disappointment so she never had to see another negative test,…

20. Prayer Title: A Husband’s Prayer Through Infertility and the Longing to Become a Father Lord Jesus, I want to be a father. You already know that, but sometimes I do not know how to say it. There are things my wife can put into words that I carry more quietly. I see her hurt. I see the disappointment after another month passes. I see what appointments, procedures, medications, tests, waiting, and uncertainty have done to her. And sometimes I…

Lord Jesus, You know my heart. You know how long I have wanted to become a mother. You know the hopes I have carried quietly, the prayers I have whispered, the months I have counted, and the times I have wondered whether this month might finally be different. You know what it is like to live inside a woman’s body that I once assumed would someday carry a child. Sometimes I look at my body and feel as though it…