September 8, 2009 | 11:45 am

Prayer before sex

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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This headline may require a double-take: “Give us this day our daily… Catholic church issues prayer for faithful to say before sex.”

It’s not really that strange. Maybe unlikely to actually be done in the heat of the moment. From the Daily Mail:

The prayer, which appears in the Prayer Book for Spouses, implores God ‘to place within us love that truly gives, tenderness that truly unites, self-offering that tells the truth and does not deceive, forgiveness that truly receives, loving physical union that welcomes’.

It adds: ‘Open our hearts to you, to each other and to the goodness of your will.

‘Cover our poverty in the richness of your mercy and forgiveness. Clothe us in true dignity and take to yourself our shared aspirations, for your glory, for ever and ever.’

The 64-page book has been published by the London-based Catholic Truth Society.

The group has close links to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

The Rt Rev Paul Hendricks, who is the Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark and sits on the charity’s board, said he thought the prayer’s inclusion was ‘brave but good’.

‘I suppose it is a bit idealistic but it is recognising that God is at the heart of the marriage relationship between husband and wife,’ he said.

‘It is important for the Church to affirm the value of marriage and family life and I suppose this is a particular way of doing that.’

Read the rest here.