From the moment as children when we first learn to pray, our prayers are for our families. These people, who sometimes share bonds of blood and other times bonds of relationship and choosing, hold a special place in our lives for reasons nearly impossible to explain. They are just there and inseparable from us, and so we seek God's protection for  them.

Families are pure gifts.  Like other blessings in our lives---friends, health and sustenance of all kinds, we can work for our families but can never earn them.  Gifts are never earned, they can only be accepted. When we ask for blessings and protection for our families, we place ourselves before the Giver of all life with gratitude, secure in knowing that only in God's hands can our loved ones ever be really safe.