7 Days of Prayer for Healing from Abuse

About the 7 Day Prayer for Healing from Abuse

This prayer model is generously and respectfully submitted by Fr. Matt Rehrauer, a priest of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau.

General Disclaimer: The “7 Days of Prayer for Healing from Abuse,” was created as a guide with the hope and intention of bringing healing and peace. There is an understanding that this will not work for everyone, as each of us has our own path toward healing and peace. If additional guidance and help is needed, please seek the expertise of a professional mental health provider, spiritual advisor, and/or the Victim/Survivor Assistance Coordinator in the local diocese. Please report any known or suspected abuse to the appropriate civil authorities. 

Every form of Abuse is a violation of the innocence of another. Above all, it is a violation of the Soul of the one harmed. Human hands and human skills can do some things to bring about healing of those wounds, but it is Christ alone who is Healer of Souls. 

This prayer form is given as a way for those who have been abused, sexually, physically, emotionally, or psychologically, to receive the healing that comes from Christ through his gift of his death and Resurrection that he has shared with us through Baptism. 

The basic form of this prayer is repetition of the petitions listed below, one for each day of the week. This takes time. Be willing to stay with this for at least a year. Different aspects of what comes from this will appear over the period of time this is used. It happens that, as one aspect is being healed, another arises. 

Please be prepared. 

How to Get Started

Find a comfortable place where you will not be disturbed. Set aside 20 minutes per day for this prayer. You may wish to set an alarm or use a timer to help keep track of the time spent. Start with the Sign of the Cross. Follow with one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Gloria Patri. Repeat the petition assigned to the day of the week, either mentally or quietly aloud. 

Should a thought or insight come to you during this time, dismiss it with repetition of the petition. Those insights and thoughts will make themselves present at the right moments later. 

You may wish to write them down when they come to you outside of the prayer time. Although it may be seen as counter intuitive, especially if you were abused by a Priest, Sister, Brother, or Bishop, it may be very helpful to find a Priest, Religious Brother or Sister that you trust, with whom you can pray and talk through your thoughts. 

Very powerful and important insights will arise from this form of prayer. Someone with experience in the Spiritual Life can be of great help. 

When you come to the end of the time that you have set aside for this prayer each day, end it with one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Gloria Patri.

As was mentioned above, this is not meant to be seen as a one and done: It is ongoing. The process is not simply about forgetting the past, it is about healing the past and experiencing the Resurrection of Christ in the here and now. 

These petitions are not only given to be used in a quiet prayer setting, but may become an aid in facing the things in daily life that can remind us of the abuse that has torn us. 

(Being re-traumatized). When a situation arises that looks very familiar, pausing a moment, calling to mind the petition that corresponds to the situation, even repeating it a few times, will bring the Peace of Christ and will cast out fear. 

The other benefit, it will be an aid in recognizing those who are abusive and help us to deal with them without fear or weakness. 

The reflections given below each petition are not necessarily meant to be seen as a direction of the prayer, but personal. Somewhere in the process of using the prayer, the individual will actually be inspired to bring their own reflections into the prayers.

7 Days of Prayer & Reflection

Monday

LORD JESUS CHRIST, SAVE ME & SET ME FREE

Reflection: I am in a prison because of an abuser. He/she should be there, not me. I did not bring this on myself, no matter what the abuser and his/her supporters say to shift the blame to me. There are times when it all comes back. I am haunted. There are places I will not go, things that I want to do that I can’t do. Only through the saving power of Christ can I be set free from the evil that has been done to me.

Tuesday

LORD JESUS CHRIST, HEAL ME

Reflection: There are those who help me in dealing with the pain and suffering of what I have been through and go through because of the abuse. The help they give is comforting, yet there are open wounds that no one sees, understands, or knows about. I am not even aware of all of them. Worst of all is when there are those who pretend to care. It is their feigned concern that makes the wounds bleed more profusely. 

Lord, I need you, the one who healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, called Lazarus from the tomb to bring me the deepest healing.

Wednesday

LORD JESUS CHRIST, SHOW ME YOUR JUSTICE

Reflection: I am fully aware that, in this lifetime, there is little likelihood that the one, or those involved in the attack on me will be held accountable. There is an ongoing pain, made worse when I see the ones who did this rewarded and honored by those who knew it was happening, perhaps allowed the evil, and now say they want to stop it. It brings it all back and sometimes makes it worse. I do not want to fall into the trap of wanting revenge, but I do need to see that you, Lord, are bringing an end to the evil done by those who harm the innocent.

Thursday

 LORD JESUS CHRIST, TEACH ME TO FORGIVE

Reflection: I know that forgiveness is a process. It takes time. It takes your grace and a willingness to pray for those who have hurt me. It is very hard to do. I also know that, even as I forgive, I will not ever forget. I do not want to be bitter because of the memories. I do not want anyone to think that forgiving means that what was done was okay.

Friday

 LORD JESUS CHRIST, HELP ME TO DIE WITH YOU

Reflection: By the abuse that was done to me, I have gone through death. But that death was one that I have seen as being alone and without hope. I want to see how you are with me and I am with you in that death. I know that you call me to pray for those who did me harm. My first thought is that I don’t want to do that. That is a very heavy cross to bear. Lord, you are calling me to die with you through that prayer for them. You will raise me from the death of what I have gone through. Give me the grace to answer your call.

Saturday

 LORD JESUS CHRIST, GIVE ME REST & PEACE

Reflection: Lord, you said, “Come to me all you who labor and are heavily burdened and I will give you rest.” The abuse, the pain, the whole process of healing leaves us weary and longing for rest and peace. As you spent three days in the tomb, through prayer and an opening to your healing power, refresh me and draw me closer to you. 

Sunday

LORD JESUS CHRIST, LET ME RISE WITH YOU

Reflection: I long to rise from the death of all that has come to me through the abuse done to me. Lord, you rose from the dead on the third day. Raise me with you from this and help me to be a means of bringing healing into the lives of others. 

Prayers

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven, 

Hallowed be Thy Name. 

Thy Kingdom come. 

Thy Will be done, 

on earth as it is in Heaven. 

Give us this day our daily bread. 

And forgive us our trespasses, 

as we forgive those who trespass against us. 

And lead us not into temptation, 

but deliver us from evil. Amen.

The Hail Mary

Hail Mary, 

Full of Grace, 

The Lord is with thee. 

Blessed art thou among women, 

and blessed is the fruit 

of thy womb, Jesus. 

Holy Mary, 

Mother of God, 

pray for us sinners now, 

and at the hour of our death. Amen.

The Glory Be

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Fr. Rehrauer expresses his gratitude and appreciation for the support of the Diocese of Springfield- Cape Girardeau Office of Child and Youth Protection, the Office of Communications, and to the Bishop. Modifications, changes, or edits to this prayer may only be made with the express written consent of Fr. Matthew Rehrauer or diocesan representative. 

All rights reserved — Copyright @ The Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau.

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