As we approach Election Day and the rancor in the public square intensifies, our family prayers are needed now more than ever. Let’s pray for the protection of our country and an end to hostility, division, and violence. While we should never sacrifice the Truth in the name of consensus, Christian families can model charity and respect even when faced with viewpoints and policies we find objectionable.
Some of your kids are probably too young to pick up on what’s dividing the country, but they almost certainly sense the tension. We can guide our children in praying during times of distress or unease.
This Month of the Holy Rosary is winding down as we approach election day, so perhaps we can use our family Rosary to pray for our country. Here are a few variations on the traditional Dominican rosary that not only wage spiritual battle against darkness, but they are treasured prayers to hand on to our children.
Chaplets
Chaplets are shorter than a traditional Rosary, so they are appealing for families with littles and great for days when you find your calendar clogged.
There are many types of chaplets prayed for different purposes. Some chaplets use a particular chaplet bracelet with varying numbers of beads depending on the chaplet. Here are a few chaplets you can pray using your regular rosary beads.
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Saint Faustina received the prayers in this chaplet through her visions of and conversations with Jesus. Jesus made several promises to the faithful who pray this chaplet, including: “The prayer most pleasing to Me is prayer for the conversion for sinners. Know, my daughter, that this prayer is always heard and answered.” We can pray for our politicians that they place the good of the country ahead of their personal interests, and that our country is protected against the evils lurking behind some chirpy slogans.
You can use your regular rosary beads. The chaplet is shorter than a traditional Dominican rosary. You pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, the Apostles Creed, and then you pray a series of special prayers.
Instead of the Our Father on each of the large beads of your rosary, you pray “Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.” Instead of 10 Hail Marys on the each decade of small beads, you pray, “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” In the original chaplet, you pray this prayer 10 times in place of the 10 Hail Marys, but if you are praying with small children, you can pray it fewer times (once or three times is a common adjustment).
Here is a simple and appealing children’s video explaining the origins of the Divine Mercy Chaplet. The video leads the children through the chaplet, so this would be a great way to introduce the devotion to your kids if you aren’t familiar with it yourself.
Chaplet of St. Michael
In my home, we’re praying this chaplet every day until the election. The Chaplet of St. Michael (or Rosary of the Angels) honors St. Michael the Archangel and the nine choirs of angels. In 1851, Venerable Pope Pius IX approved the chaplet and granted indulgences for praying it.
When praying this chaplet, you pray nine sets of one Our Father, three Hail Marys, and special prayers asking for the intercession of St. Michael and the nine angelic choirs (one choir per set). It ends with a mighty invocation to St. Michael asking for his protection against evil. It’s a powerful yet relatively short chaplet.
Here are directions and prayers from EWTN. Here is a video taking you step-by-step through the chaplet.
You can buy special St. Michael chaplet beads like these. In my family, we’re using our regular rosary beads, but praying only the beads that hang below the connector medal (1 Our Father and 3 Hail Mary beads). This is the dangling part of the rosary that is attached to the cross.
Marian Election Prayer
Our country needs the protection of Mary during this time when our religious freedoms are threatened, the nature of reality is warped, and the sanctity of life is ignored or misunderstood. It may feel like we are tumbling down a steep hill toward the pit of hell, but Christ is still our Lord, and his mother is still our Protectress. Mary has come to the aid of many countries in response to the fervent prayers of the faithful.
So, pray, pray, pray!
This Marian prayer can be prayed on its own, but it also works beautifully with your regular family Rosary. You can pray the entire prayer before or after your Rosary, or you can pray one of each of the five verses after each of the five Rosary decades. I found the original on EWTN, but there are many versions of this prayer.
I’ve created a printable of the prayer for you:
An Election Prayer to Mary
O Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, at this most critical time, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care.
Most Holy Mother, we beg you to reclaim this land for the glory of your Son. Overwhelmed with the burden of the sins of our nation, we cry to you from the depths of our hearts and seek refuge in your motherly protection.
Look down with mercy upon us and touch the hearts of our people. Open our minds to the great worth of human life and to the responsibilities that accompany human freedom.
Free us from the falsehoods that threaten the sanctity of family life. Grant our country the wisdom to proclaim that God’ s law is the foundation on which this nation was founded, and that He alone is the True Source of our cherished rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
O Merciful Mother, give us the courage to reject the culture of death and the strength to build a new Culture of Life.