We don’t have to go through the litany of the attacks on marriage these days. We’re fairly familiar with them by now.

And we’re familiar with the big-buck pleas from advertisers to make sure that Valentine’s Day will be celebrated in the best of secular ways.

So why not do something positive for marriage, like taking advantage of prayer and Mass to protect the sanctity of marriage and to strengthen marriage and all its joys for yourself and those you know?

One handy way comes from Johnette Benkovic’s Women of Grace, which starts a St. Valentine novena of Masses today. It will be in honor of the sacrament of matrimony to coincide with World Marriage Day and the celebration of St. Valentine's Day.

On the site, for the novena, you can add your names and the names of other married couples you know, as well as those engaged and those having trouble with their marriages.

Heaven knows the abundance of graces that will occur during this novena.

Women of Grace says Msgr. Matthew Odong, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Gulu and rector of Sacred Heart Seminary in Uganda, will celebrate the Masses beginning Feb. 6 and ending on the feast of St. Valentine, Feb. 14.

Add your own prayers, and don’t forgot to say a Rosary for the same intentions.

And while you’re at it, sometime during the novena, check out the website of Jennifer Roback Morse’s Ruth Institute, where you will find some good tips on Catholic marriage.