ARMOR: Resources

Lord’s Prayer

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.

Hail Mary Prayer

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.

Glory Be (Doxology)

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.

Catholics have been praying the Angelus for many centuries as a way to reflect on the Incarnation of Christ at the Annunciation, which is that profoundly holy moment in which the Angel Gabriel announced God’s invitation for Mary to be the mother of the Messiah. The prayer is a set of three antiphons — each followed by the Hail Mary prayer — that recall distinct moments in the Incarnation of Jesus, and it can be prayed alone or with others at 6am, 12pm, and 6pm every day. However, during the Easter season (including Pentecost), the Angelus is replaced by the Regina Coeli prayer, which invites us to rejoice together with Mary for the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus.

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary. . .

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done to me according to thy word. Hail Mary. . .

V. And the Word was made flesh.
R. And dwelt among us. Hail Mary. . .

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

V. Let us pray.
R. Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Fr. Gabriele Amorth (1925-2016), the former chief exorcist of the Diocese of Rome who claims to have performed over 70,000 exorcisms from 1986 to 2010, lists this prayer in his book, An Exorcist Tells His Story, as one of the prayers to help combat evil. However, Fr. Amorth and many other priests have stressed that the number one protection from evil are the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Eucharist.

Soul of Christ, sanctify me; Body of Christ, save me; Blood of Christ, inebriate me; Water from the side of Christ, wash me; Passion of Christ, strengthen me; O good Jesus, hear me; within Thy wounds, hide me; let me never be separated from Thee; from the evil one, deliver me; at the hour of my death, call me and bid me come to Thee, that with Thy saints, I may praise Thee forever and ever. Amen.

O God, my Creator and Father of all creation, I pray for your protection and deliverance from all evil that I may encounter today. 

O Jesus, my Redeemer King and Savior, I pray for your guidance along the path of virtue and righteousness that leads to your Heavenly Kingdom.

O Holy Spirit, my Comforter and Sanctifier, I pray for your gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of God that I may live virtuously today according to God’s will. 

O Holy Mother of God, my Blessed Mother and Queen of my heart, help me to do whatever Jesus tells me to do, and present me to Him more purely than I can present myself. 

O St. Joseph, model of chastity and terror of demons, teach me to live in humble obedience to God and to carry out His Divine Plan today. 

St. Michael the Archangel, defender of all that is holy, show me how to put on the armor of God so that I may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil, and teach me when to fight the good fight and when to keep still knowing that God will fight for me. 

St. Benedict, champion of spiritual warfare, embolden and encourage me to be faithful, hopeful, and charitable in the face of all adversity and to be humble and obedient in prosperity. 

St. Patrick, survivor of human trafficking and missionary of Ireland, inspire me to rise above the evil perpetrated to me and to preach the Gospel to my perpetrators so as to forgive them from my cross like Jesus. 

All Holy Angels, Saints, and Men & Women of God, pray for us!

Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit: Fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray: O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit instructs the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be always truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

This outline of the examen was excerpted from The Examen Prayer and is based on St. Ignatius of Loyola’s presentation of it in his Spiritual Exercises. It is intended to be used as a practical tool in praying the examen on a nightly basis.

Transition: I become aware of the love with which God looks upon me as I begin this examen. 

1. Gratitude. I note the gifts that God‘s love has given me this day, and I give thanks to God for them.

2. Petition. God, I ask you for insight and strength to make this examen a work of grace, fruitful beyond my human capacity alone.

3. Review. With my God, I review the day. I look for the stirrings in my heart and the thoughts that God has given me this day. I look also for those that have not been of God. I review my choices in response to both, and throughout the day in general.

4. Forgiveness. God, I ask you for healing, forgiveness, and removal of my heart’s burdens with love and respect for me.

5. Renewal. I look to the following day and, with God, plan concretely how to live it in accord with God‘s love and desire for my life.

Transition: Aware of God‘s presence with me, I prayerfully conclude the examen. 

This is an expanded version of the traditional Litany of Humility. This ARMOR version includes additional words & phrases that resound with those who struggle with addictive behavior.

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, hear me.
From the desire of being…

• esteemed, deliver me, Jesus.
• extolled, deliver me, Jesus.
• honored, deliver me, Jesus.
• praised, deliver me, Jesus.
• preferred, deliver me, Jesus.
• consulted, deliver me, Jesus.
• approved, deliver me, Jesus.
• respected, deliver me, Jesus.
• entertained, deliver me, Jesus.
• accompanied, deliver me, Jesus.
• desired, deliver me, Jesus.
• accepted, deliver me, Jesus.
• stress-free, deliver me, Jesus.
• accommodated, deliver me, Jesus.
• right, deliver me, Jesus.
• satisfied, deliver me, Jesus.
• appreciated, deliver me, Jesus.

• being humiliated, deliver me, Jesus.
• being despised, deliver me, Jesus.
• suffering rebukes, deliver me, Jesus.
• being calumniated, deliver me, Jesus.
• being forgotten, deliver me, Jesus.
• being ridiculed, deliver me, Jesus.
• being wronged, deliver me, Jesus.
• being suspected, deliver me, Jesus.
• being uninformed, deliver me, Jesus.
• missing out, deliver me, Jesus.
• suffering failure, deliver me, Jesus.
• being disrespected, deliver me, Jesus.
• being bored, deliver me, Jesus.
• being lonely, deliver me, Jesus.
• being alone, deliver me, Jesus.
• being rejected, deliver me, Jesus.
• being stressed, deliver me, Jesus.
• being inconvenienced, deliver me, Jesus.
• being judged, deliver me, Jesus.
• being wrong, deliver me, Jesus.
• being dissatisfied, deliver me, Jesus.
• being disappointed, deliver me, Jesus.
• being persecuted, deliver me, Jesus.
• being unappreciated, deliver me, Jesus.

• be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
• be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
• be gratified more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
• increase and I may decrease in the opinion of the world, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
• be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
• be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
• be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
• become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart, the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all the apostles of prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month.

Fr. Gabriele Amorth (1925-2016), the former chief exorcist of the Diocese of Rome who claims to have performed over 70,000 exorcisms from 1986 to 2010, lists this prayer in his book, An Exorcist Tells His Story, as one of the prayers to help combat evil. However, Fr. Amorth and many other priests have stressed that the number one protection from evil are the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Eucharist.

My Lord, you are all-powerful, you are God, you are Father. We beg you through the intercession and help of the archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel for the deliverance of our brothers and sisters who are enslaved by the evil one. All saints of heaven, come to our aid.
 
From anxiety, sadness and obsessions, we beg you, free us, O Lord.
From hatred, fornication, envy, we beg you, free us, O Lord.
From thoughts of jealousy, rage, and death, we beg you, free us, O Lord.
From every thought of suicide and abortion, we beg you, free us, O Lord.
From every form of sinful sexuality, we beg you, free us, O Lord.
From every division in our family and every harmful friendship, we beg you, free us, O Lord.
From every sort of spell, malefice, witchcraft, and every form of the occult, we beg you, free us, O Lord.
 
Lord, you who said, "I leave you peace, my peace I give you," grant that, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may be liberated from every evil spell and enjoy your peace always, in the name of Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.

Fr. Gabriele Amorth (1925-2016), the former chief exorcist of the Diocese of Rome who claims to have performed over 70,000 exorcisms from 1986 to 2010, lists this prayer in his book, An Exorcist Tells His Story, as one of the prayers to help combat evil. However, Fr. Amorth and many other priests have stressed that the number one protection from evil are the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Eucharist.

Spirit of our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Most Holy Trinity, Immaculate Virgin Mary, angels, archangels, and saints of heaven, descend upon me. Please purify me, Lord, mold me, fill me with yourself, use me.

Banish all the forces of evil from me, destroy them, vanish them, so that I can be healthy and do good deeds.

Banish from me all spells, witchcraft, black magic, malefice, ties, maledictions, and the evil eye; diabolic infestations, oppressions, possessions; all that is evil and sinful, jealously, perfidy, envy; physical, psychological, moral, spiritual, diabolical aliments.

Burn all these evils in hell, that they may never again touch me or any other creature in the entire world.

I command and bid all the power who molest me - by the power of God all powerful, in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, through the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary - to leave me forever, and to be consigned into the everlasting hell, where they will be bound by Saint Michael the archangel, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael, our guardian angels, and where they will be crushed under the heel of the Immaculate Virgin Mary. Amen.

Fr. Gabriele Amorth (1925-2016), the former chief exorcist of the Diocese of Rome who claims to have performed over 70,000 exorcisms from 1986 to 2010, lists this prayer in his book, An Exorcist Tells His Story, as one of the prayers to help combat evil. However, Fr. Amorth and many other priests have stressed that the number one protection from evil are the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Eucharist.

Lord Jesus, You came to heal our wounded and troubled hearts. I beg You to heal the torments that cause anxiety in my heart; I beg You, in a particular way, to heal all who are the cause of sin. I beg You to come into my life and heal me of the psychological harms that struck me in my early years and from the injuries that they caused through my life.

Lord Jesus, You know my burdens. I lay them all on Your Good Shepherd’s Heart. I beseech You – by the merits of the great, open wound in Your heart-to heal the small wounds that are in mine. Heal the pain of my memories, so that nothing that has happened to me will cause me to remain in pain and anguish, filled with anxiety.

Heal, O Lord, all those wounds that have been the cause of all the evil that is rooted in my life. I want to forgive all those who have offended me. Look to those inner sores that make me unable to forgive. You Who came to forgive the afflicted of heart, please, heal my own heart.

Heal, my Lord Jesus, those intimate wounds that cause me physical illness. I offer You my heart. Accept it, Lord, purify it and give me the sentiments of Your Divine Heart. Help me to be meek and humble.

Heal me, O Lord, from the pain caused by the death of my loved ones, which is oppressing me. Grant me to regain peace and joy in the knowledge that You are the Resurrection and the Life. Make me an authentic witness to Your Resurrection, Your victory over sin and death, Your living presence among us. Amen.

O most faithful companion, whom God has appointed to watch over me, my guide and protector, ever at my side, what thanks can I offer you for your love, your constancy, and your innumerable benefits? You watch over me in sleep, you console me in sorrow, you raise me when I fall, you ward off dangers, you prepare me for the future, you withdraw me from sin, you urge me to good, you move me to do penance, and reconcile me with my God. Already, perhaps, I should have been thrust into hell, but you by your prayers have averted from me the dreadful wrath of God. Desert me not, then, I beseech you; encourage me in adversity, restrain me in prosperity, protect me in dangers, and assist me in temptations, lest at any time I yield to them. Offer to the Divine Majesty all my prayers and sighs and works, and obtain for me the grace to die in the friendship of God, and so to enter into eternal life.
Amen.

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; To be understood, as to understand; To be loved, as to love; For it is in giving that we receive, It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.

In 1742, Pope Benedict XIV asked that the Regina Coeli be prayed in place of the Angelus prayer during the liturgical season of Easter to rejoice together with Mary for the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus. Catholics have been praying the Angelus for many centuries as a way to reflect on the Incarnation of Christ at the Annunciation, and it can be prayed alone or with others at 6am, 12pm, and 6pm every day.

Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
For he, whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.
Has risen as he said, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.

V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.
R. For the Lord is truly risen, alleluia.

V. Let us pray.
R. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, his Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
 

The Rosary is a longer prayer with its own page.

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray, and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

According to tradition, St. Patrick wrote this prayer in 433 A.D. for divine protection before successfully converting the Irish King Leoghaire and his subjects from paganism to Christianity. (The term breastplate refers to a piece of armor worn in battle.)

I arise today 
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.

I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

Note that people sometimes pray a shorter version of this prayer just with these 15 lines about Christ above. The conclusion follows below.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

Servant of God Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970) was a Franciscan priest and spiritual director to St. Pio of Pietrelcina (aka "Padre Pio"), and he authored this surrender novena based on words that Jesus gave him.  As Jesus once said to him: “Why do you confuse yourselves by worrying? Leave the care of your affairs to Me and everything will be peaceful. I say to you in truth that every act of true, blind, complete surrender to Me produces the effect that you desire and resolves all difficult situations.”

Day 1

Jesus to the soul: Why do you confuse yourselves by worrying? Leave the care of your affairs to Me and everything will be peaceful. I say to you in truth that every act of true, blind, complete surrender to Me produces the effect that you desire and resolves all difficult situations.

Say 10 times:  O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day 2

Jesus to the soul: Surrender to Me does not mean to fret, to be upset, or to lose hope, nor does it mean offering to Me a worried prayer asking Me to follow you and change your worry into prayer. It is against this surrender, deeply against it, to worry, to be nervous and to desire to think about the consequences of anything. It is like the confusion that children feel when they ask their mother to see to their needs, and then try to take care of those needs for themselves so that their childlike efforts get in their mother’s way. Surrender means to placidly close the eyes of the soul, to turn away from thoughts of tribulation and to put yourself in My care, so that only I act, saying, “You take care of it.”

Say 10 times:  O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day 3

Jesus to the soul: How many things I do when the soul, in so much spiritual and material need turns to Me, looks at Me and says to Me; “You take care of it, then close its eyes and rests.” In pain you pray for Me to act, but that I act in the way you want. You do not turn to Me; instead, you want Me to adapt to your ideas. You are not sick people who ask the doctor to cure you, but rather sick people who tell the doctor how to.

So do not act this way, but pray as I taught you in the Our Father: Hallowed be Thy Name, that is, be glorified in my need. Thy kingdom come, that is, let all that is in us and in the world be in accord with Your kingdom. Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, that is, in our need, decide as You see fit for our temporal and eternal life. If you say to Me truly: Thy will be done, which is the same as saying: You take care of it. I will intervene with all My omnipotence, and I will resolve the most difficult situations.

Say 10 times:  O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day 4

Jesus to the soul: Do you see evil growing instead of weakening? Do not worry; close your eyes and say to Me with faith: “Thy will be done, You take care of it.” I say to you that I will take care of it, and that I will intervene as does a doctor; and I will accomplish miracles when they are needed. Do you see that the sick person is getting worse? Do not be upset, but close your eyes and say, “You take care of it.” I say to you that I will take care of it, and that there is no medicine more powerful than My loving intervention. By My love, I promise this to you.

Say 10 times:  O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day 5

Jesus to the soul: And when I must lead you on a path different from the one you see, I will prepare you; I will carry you in My arms; I will let you find yourself, like children who have fallen asleep in their mothers’ arms, on the other bank of the river. What troubles you and hurts you immensely are your reason, your thoughts and worry, and your desire at all costs to deal with what afflicts you.

Say 10 times:  O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day 6

Jesus to the soul: You are sleepless; you want to judge everything, direct everything and see to everything and you surrender to human strength, or worse—to men themselves, trusting in their intervention; this is what hinders My words and My views. Oh how much I wish from you this surrender, to help you; and how I suffer when I see you so agitated! Satan tries to do exactly this: to agitate you and to remove you from My protection and to throw you into the jaws of human initiative. So, trust only in Me, rest in Me, surrender to Me in everything.

Say 10 times:  O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day 7

Jesus to the soul: I perform miracles in proportion to your full surrender to Me and to your not thinking of yourselves. I sow treasure troves of graces when you are in the deepest poverty. No person of reason, no thinker, has ever performed miracles, not even among the saints. He does divine works whosoever surrenders to God. So don’t think about it anymore, because your mind is acute and for you it is very hard to see evil and to trust in Me and to not think of yourself. Do this for all your needs; do this all of you and you will see great continual silent miracles. I will take care of things; I promise this to you.

Say 10 times:  O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day 8

Jesus to the soul: Close your eyes and let yourself be carried away on the flowing current of My grace; close your eyes and do not think of the present, turning your thoughts away from the future just as you would from temptation. Repose in Me, believing in My goodness, and I promise you by My love that if you say, “You take care of it.” I will take care of it all; I will console you, liberate you and guide you.

Say 10 times:  O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day 9

Jesus to the soul: Pray always in readiness to surrender, and you will receive from it great peace and great rewards, even when I confer on you the grace of immolation, of repentance and of love. Then what does suffering matter? It seems impossible to you?  Close your eyes and say with all your soul, “Jesus, you take care of it.”  Do not be afraid, I will take care of things and you will bless My name by humbling yourself.  A thousand prayers cannot equal one single act of surrender, remember this well. There is no novena more effective than this.

Say 10 times:  O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!