Victims of sexual abuse have been through traumatic experiences. Sexual violence or any kind of sexual crime causes years of pain for the victim. Prayer is a healing tool for survivors of abuse. Pope Francis designated a worldwide day of prayer after a survivor of clerical child abuse proposed it in February 2016.
I have gathered prayers from around the internet to share with you so you can participate in the day of prayer for sexual abuse victims. Or to pray every day for healing. If you or someone you know has been a victim and is a survivor of sexual abuse, hopefully, some of the prayers will help with the healing process.
Tutelia Minorum Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Children
The Tutelia Minorum Pontifical Commission has the critical task of suggesting the best actions to protect minors and vulnerable adults. The aim is to prevent the recurrence of crimes like those that have taken place in the Church. The Commission encourages local responsibility in specific Churches and collaborates with the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith to safeguard children and vulnerable adults.
These prayers come from the website of Tutelia Minorum Pontical Commission for the Protection of Children.
Simple Prayer (I): For the Victims and Survivors of Sexual Abuse
Holy Father
Since your mercy has been revealed
In the tenderness of your Son Jesus Christ,
who said to his disciples:
“Suffer the little children to come unto me”,
we pray that your Church may be a secure home
where all children and vulnerable adults are brought closer to your Beloved Son.
May all those who have been abused
physically, emotionally and sexually by your ministers,
be respected and accompanied by
tangible gestures of justice and reparation so that
they may feel healed with the balm of your compassion.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen
Simple Prayer (II): For the Victims and Survivors of Sexual Abuse
Heavenly Father,
who loves and cares for all of your children, especially the smallest and most vulnerable, we entrust to you the lives of the many children and vulnerable adults, who have been sexually abused, and whose trust and innocence have been destroyed. Help us to hear their cries of pain and to take responsibility for so many broken lives.
We pray that within their communities and families they may find understanding and support so that with the help of your grace their wounds may be healed, and they may again know peace.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who shared our weakness in all things but sin, and lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever.
Amen.
Richmond Diocese Rosary (PDF)
Here is a prayer for healing from the Richmond Diocese. The above link will open a PDF with many prayers for healing.
We can all work together to create a world where sexual abuse is not tolerated and survivors are supported in their journey to recovery. By praying for healing and protection, you can help make a difference. This rosary will guide you in your prayers as we ask God to help those affected by sexual abuse. Mary, who offers loving protection to all her children, will also be included in our prayers.
A Prayer for Healing Victims of Abuse
God of endless love ever caring, ever strong always present, always just;
You gave your only Son to save us by his Blood on the Cross.
Gentle Jesus, shepherd of peace, join to your own suffering the pain of all who have been hurt in body, mind and spirit by those who betrayed the trust placed in them.
Hear the cries of our brothers and sisters who have been gravely harmed, and the cries of those who love them.
Soothe their restless hearts with hope, steady their shaken spirits with faith.
Grant them justice for their cause, enlightened by your truth.
Holy Spirit, comforter of hearts, heal your people’s wounds and transform brokenness into wholeness.
Grant us the courage and wisdom, humility and grace, to act with justice.
Breathe wisdom into our prayers and labors.
Grant that all harmed by abuse find peace in justice.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Religious Formation Conference
The Religious Formation Conference (RFC) is a national Roman Catholic organization serving women’s and men’s religious institutes, primarily in the United States and in other countries. RFC service is directed especially toward those:
- in the ministry of incorporation/formation in their congregations
- presently engaged in the process of incorporation/formation in congregations
- within all member congregations (ongoing formation).
The following prayer is from the RFC website.
A Prayer for Peace after Sexual Assault
Loving God, I know that you hold me in the palm of your hand.
I know it is so.
But why, O Lord, why?
I rage at this sin against me, at this defilement of my body,
this assault on my peace of mind.
I mourn my lost serenity, security, confidence;
I mourn the loss of my ease and open nature.
I hate what this assault has done to me.
I feel that my body and soul may never be the same.
What has been forced upon me may not be forgotten.
But send your healing upon me like cool rain.
Soothe my spirit with the balm of your tender love.
Help me to feel secure again, as safe as ever within the shelter
of the Lord.
Let my anger not turn inward to self-loathing,
but outward for action and purpose: to help others like me,
to bring hope to those whose faith is not so strong.
Help me, with your grace,
to move beyond victim, to call myself survivor instead.
May you forgive this man’s offence against me,
and grant me the peace and serenity
of a mind and body made whole again.
Amen.
Mary Demuth
Mary Demuth offers a prayer for those who know someone who has been a victim of sexual abuse.
A Prayer for Sexual Abuse Victims
{Please place your name in the blanks. Or ask a friend to pray this prayer over you, using your amazing name.}
Jesus,
I lift up _______________. I pray You would usher them toward healing, calming their nerves as they consider uncovering the pain from the past.
Be so near ___________________ in their storytelling process. Help ______________ to know that an untold story never heals, that stuffing the pain only hurts them and others. Please bring amazing people into _______________’s life who also long to see them set free. Please give ____________ guts and bravery to share with those safe people.
Give ______________ a holy longing to be set free from the past and courage to seek healing. While it is true that sexual violation once marked and marred _________________, it is truer still that You will take this devastation and make a resilient, beautiful life from the ashes of back then. Instead of being marked, show ______________ that they are spotless, unmarked, whole.
Do some deep heart healing in terms of worth. Show ______________ that they are not a mistake on this earth, that You have a plan for them.
Thank You that You can handle ________________’s questions, anger, and frustration. Help ___________ voice that anger, give it wind.
While Satan wanted to destroy and de-story _______________, he will not have victory any longer in ______________’s life. Silence those demeaning thoughts that tear at _______________’s value. Bring deep grace if ______________ blames themselves for the sexual abuse. Help ________________ internalize that what happened wasn’t asked for, wasn’t wanted. Set _____________ free from feeling dirty.
And would You please heal _____________’s sexual identity? Bring health to ______________’s perception of sex. If it be Your will, bring a patient spouse who will walk through _____________’s sexual abuse in a healthy manner. And if ___________ gets stuck in this area, please provide financially for a counselor who can bring ___________ farther along the journey.
Help ______________ to forgive the people who sexually abused them. Not to let them off the hook at all, but so they can be set free from being tied to them through anger and bitterness. Give ____________ the gumption needed to make a choice today that the perpetrator’s heinous act no longer needs to define them.
So much of ____________’s pain in this life can be traced back to the sexual abuse that happened. But I pray that the rest of ____________’s life is beautifully marked by a new resolve to be healthy and become an agent of empathy in this sex-sick world. May _____________ become a conduit of change for other sexual abuse victims. May ______________ boldly share their story in the light, so others can identify and find hope.
Wash away any shame that _____________ still feels. Help family members and friends embrace ______________ instead of judge. Bring _____________ into a healing community of authenticity.
Bring laughter back into _____________’s life. Bring joy. Bring hope. Bring peace. Bring life. Bless ____________’s family in abundant ways. Come near.
Amen.
Conclusion
Survivors of sexual abuse deserve safe people in a safe environment to heal. We hope the prayers provided here today will bring peace and aid healing. Please use the national sexual assault hotline if you need help or need to speak with someone.
National Sexual Assault Hotline
Hours: Available 24 hours 1-800-656-4673