PROVIDING HOMES THAT ARE "INNS" OF FAITH, HOPE & PRAYER
A Franciscan Ministry
Prayers for
Domestic Abuse Victims
Prayer for Wisdom
Almighty God,
We pray for wisdom for the victims of domestic abuse. Fill them, Lord with your Holy Spirit and grant them the gifts of wisdom and discernment so that they will live each day for your glory by doing whatever is right. We call upon you and ask you for your guidance and assistance in the important task of making tough decisions.
Lord, most of the victims eventually become doubtful about their relationships. They start to feel like leaving everything behind and start afresh far from their abusive partners. Help them to learn how to mind and care for themselves as well. Give them peace of mind so that they can be able to make good decisions guided by your Holy Spirit. Obtain for them through your intercession the light of God’s grace, so that they may decide wisely concerning the person who is abusing them.
We also pray for the abusers, fill them with your Holy Spirit and grant them the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, understanding and discernment to acknowledge that they are hurting the other person. Help them to learn to love because a person that loves would not wish harm on their loved ones. May all their actions and movements be guided by your Holy Spirit and the love that you show us. Help them to have a clear mind to be caring and loving individuals so that they can transfer this love and care to other people.
Amen.
Prayer for Healing
My Lord and My God,
Comfort of the afflicted, we come to you and pray for healing of the affected. They have been hurt not only physically but also emotionally and verbally. Heal their minds and bodies for you are the physician and doctor of our hearts. We surrender to you all the hurtful events that have occurred in their lives, where anger and bitterness have been allowed to fester in their hearts.
Lord heal all the circumstances where they were denied love, affection, care, happiness, joy, peace, support and respect that they were in dire need of. Put all the shattered pieces of their lives back together in one piece. Heal their hearts so that they can receive the divine power of forgiveness that comes only from you.
Almighty God heal the abusers from their anger and resentment. Free them from their past experiences that led them to become so cold and distant. Help them to realize that you love us all and that we are a treasure to you. Heal them so that they can have a forgiving heart and be able to handle issues in a Godly manner. Help them to learn to forgive and not to always solve issues violently. Heal them from the anger and resentment that they have towards the people that they claim to love.
Matthew 6:14-15. Help them to know that you are a forgiving God and can lead them to making their hearts loving and free from anger.
Amen.
Prayer for Safety and Protection
Heavenly Father,
I come before You today with a heart heavy with the fear and pain of my current situation. I pray for Your divine protection over me and over my loved ones. Surround us with Your impenetrable shield, guarding us from all harm, both seen and unseen. Please intervene in this situation and create a path to safety and freedom. Grant me the wisdom to make the right decisions and the courage to act on them. I place my trust in You, my ultimate protector and refuge.
“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” – Psalm 18:2
Prayer for Strength
to Leave
Lord God,
I feel so weak and trapped. The thought of leaving fills me with dread, but staying is slowly destroying me. I ask You to infuse me with Your divine strength. Give me the courage to break free from this abusive situation, to take the steps necessary for my liberation. Please guide my path and provide the resources I need to start anew. Help me to believe in my own resilience and Your unwavering support.
Amen!
Litany of Saints for Abuse Survivors
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven Who created all people in His image, have mercy on us.
God the Son, redeemer of the world, who descended to earth to suffer with us, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, who carried the Son of God as an exile and a refugee, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of Virgins who was suspected of adultery and nearly divorced by Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Saint Michael, defender of the children of God, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel, consoling angel of Gethsemane, pray for us.
Saint Raphael the healer, pray for us.
All you holy angels and archangels, pray for us.
Saint John the Baptist who was imprisoned and murdered, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, protector of the Holy Family, pray for us.
Holy Abel who was murdered by his brother, pray for us.
Holy Patriarch Noah who was sexually humiliated by his son, pray for us.
Holy Patriarch Isaac who was bound and nearly killed by Abraham, pray for us.
Holy Matriarch Hagar who was abused by Sarah and Abraham but the Lord heard her cry, pray for us.
Holy Patriarch Jacob who fled from being killed by his brother, pray for us.
Holy Matriarchs Rachel and Leah who were forced into conflict and suffering by their father and husband, pray for us.
Holy Dinah who was raped and then sold by her father, pray for us.
Holy Patriarch Joseph who was sold into slavery and imprisoned on false charges, pray for us.
Holy Jochebed, the mother of Moses who saved him from genocide, pray for us.
Holy Prophet Moses who was separated from his mother and left in the Nile to save him from a genocide, pray for us.
Holy Hannah who was mocked for being childless, pray for us.
Holy Prophet Elijah who fled to the wilderness, pray for us.
Holy Prophet Jeremiah who was thrown into the cistern, pray for us.
Holy Queen Esther, victim of a forced marriage to a violent man, pray for us.
All you holy matriarchs, patriarchs and prophets, pray for us.
Saints Peter, crucified upside down by Rome, pray for us.
Saint Paul, beheaded by Rome, pray for us.
Saint Andrew, crucified by Rome, pray for us.
Saint James the Greater, put to the sword by Rome, pray for us.
Saint John the Beloved, exiled by Rome, pray for us.
Saint Thomas, murdered in India, pray for us.
Saint James the Less, crucified in Egypt, pray for us.
Saint Philip, crucified by Rome, pray for us.
Saint Bartholomew, skinned alive, pray for us.
Saint Matthew, murdered at the altar, pray for us.
Saint Simon, sawn in half, pray for us.
Saint Thaddeus, murdered with an ax, pray for us.
Saint Barnabas, murdered by Rome, pray for us.
Saint Luke, dragged to death by horses, pray for us.
Saint Mark, strangled to death, pray for us.
Saint Mary Magdalene, equal to apostles, who was disbelieved and ridiculed when she preached the Resurrection, pray for us.
All you holy apostles and evangelists, pray for us.
All you holy innocents, murdered by genocide, pray for us.
Saint Agnes, dragged naked through the street, pray for us.
Saint Agatha, mutilated to satisfy Quintianus’s lust, pray for us.
Saints Felicity and Perpetua, separated from their children, humiliated and murdered for Roman entertainment, pray for us.
Saint Lucy, tortured and blinded, pray for us.
All Holy Early Martyrs who were raped and sexually tortured in their martyrdom, pray for us.
Saint Grace of Lerida, betrayed by her brother and murdered, pray for us.
Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions, murdered for resisting molestation, pray for us.
Saint Dymphna, murdered for fleeing molestation by her father, pray for us.
Saint Gerebran, murdered for protecting Saint Dymphna, pray for us.
Saint Maria Goretti, murdered by a rapist, whose story was exploited to shame rape victims, pray for us.
All you holy martyrs, pray for us.
Saint Monica, victim of domestic violence who could not escape and thought it was virtue to submit to abuse, pray for us.
Saint Patrick who was kidnapped and enslaved, pray for us.
Saint Francis who was abused by his father, pray for us.
Saint Clare who escaped a forced marriage, pray for us.
Saint Rose of Viturbo who was thrown out by the Poor Clares, pray for us.
Saint Catherine of Sienna who was abused by her mother, pray for us.
Saint Joseph of Cupertino, rejected by his mother and humiliated by his brother Franciscans, pray for us.
Blessed Margaret of Castello who was neglected and abandoned by her parents, pray for us.
Blessed Laura Vicuña, beaten by her stepfather, pray for us.
Saint Joan of Arc who was burned to death as a witch, pray for us.
Saint Rita of Casica, victim of domestic violence, pray for us.
Saint John of the Cross, imprisoned and tortured by his brother Carmelites, pray for us.
Saint Germaine of Pibrac, abused by her mother and shunned by her community, pray for us.
Saint Marguerite Mary Alacoque, mocked by her fellow sisters, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, mocked and gaslit by her fellow Catholics, pray for us.
Blessed Lucia of Fatima, beaten by her mother, pray for us.
Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto, psychologically tortured by the police, pray for us.
Saint Mary MacKillop, slandered and excommunicated for reporting child abuse, pray for us.
Saint Martin DePorres, mocked and humiliated by racists, pray for us.
Saint Josephine Bakhita who was enslaved, pray for us.
Saint Edith Stein, stripped naked and gassed to death in a genocide, pray for us.
All you holy men and women of God, victims of violence by those inside and outside the Church, pray for us.
From the belief that the abused are lesser Christians than we are, Lord, deliver us, we pray.
From the belief that abuse by fellow Catholics makes us lesser Catholics, Lord, deliver us, we pray.
From cycles of domestic violence and child abuse, Lord, deliver us, we pray.
From the belief that being a victim is shameful, Lord, deliver us, we pray.
From the belief that being victims of sexual violence makes us dirty and unworthy, Lord, deliver us, we pray.
From the belief that spiritual abuse inflicted on us was loving and somehow merited, Lord, deliver us, we pray.
From clerics, religious and spiritual leaders who believe their vocation gives them the right to victimize, Lord, deliver us, we pray.
From the shame of telling our stories, Lord, deliver us, we pray.
From the idolatry of clericalism and the worship of celebrity Catholics, Lord, deliver us, we pray.
From the trauma that has come down on us through others’ sin through no fault of our own, Lord, deliver us, we pray.
From the shame of believing we brought it on ourselves, Lord, deliver us, we pray.
From the belief that God despises us because the Church does, Lord, deliver us, we pray.
That all of us in the Church may protect the victims of violence and abuse,
Lord, we ask you, hear our prayer.
That all of us in the Church may have the courage to tell the truth, Lord, we ask you, hear our prayer.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, we ask you, hear our prayer!