Catholic Prayers for Anxiety and Depression: Feeling overwhelmed by anxiety can be difficult to climb out of, especially if you are prone to panic attacks. While reading scripture is not the same as talking to a licensed professional, verses about anxiety can help give you peace of mind when your worries try to take over your day. Incorporating a few short prayers for anxiety into your daily spiritual practice may be a helpful way to reconnect with God and remember that He is always there for you, providing support and love when you are feeling alone.
Again, reading Bible verses about depression or anxiety is not a psychological treatment that will address the underlying cause of your anxiety. Speaking with your healthcare provider and insurance company to find a therapist near you can help you get a step closer to understanding your anxiety and learning coping mechanisms. Nonetheless, uplifting verses can help you continue on your path to healing. Reading one or more of these short prayers for anxiety before bedtime may help calm your racing thoughts and allow you to sleep better. Surrounding yourself with the words of the Lord’s followers can provide you with the encouragement you need to overcome your current battle.
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Catholic Prayers for Anxiety and Depression
Pray this prayer to St. Brigid of Ireland
Saint Brigid.
You were a woman of peace.
You brought harmony where there was conflict.
You brought light to the darkness.
You brought hope to the downcast.
May the mantle of your peace cover those who are troubled and anxious, and may peace be firmly rooted in our hearts and in our world.
Inspire us to act justly and to reverence all God has made.
Brigid you were a voice for the wounded and the weary.
Strengthen what is weak within us.
Calm us into a quietness that heals and listens.
May we grow each day into greater wholeness in mind, body and spirit.
St. Louis Martin Novena: For depression, anxiety and mental disorders
O Lord, through the intervention of St. Louis Martin, lift up those who are suffering from depression, anxiety, dementia, and other mental problems and lead them out of the darkness and into Your light.
This simple prayer of St. Teresa of Avila can calm your nerves
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.
Place your cares in the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Heart of Mary, Mother of God, our Mother, Heart most like the Heart of Jesus, ever compassionate towards our miseries,—thaw our icy hearts, and change them to the likeness of the Heart of Jesus. Be the road leading to Jesus; be the channel whereby we receive all graces needful for our salvation.
Be our help in need, our comfort in trouble, our strength in temptation, our refuge in persecution, our aid in dangers; but most in the last struggle of our life, at the moment of our death.
How great is the sweetness of your Mother’s Heart, and the power of your might with Jesus’ Heart, opening to us in the very fount of mercy itself a safe refuge, that so one day we too may join with you in paradise in praising Jesus’ Heart for ever and for ever. Amen.
Surrender (St. Ignatius of Loyola)
Pray this prayer when you feel overcome by stress or worry. It reminds us that God gave us everything, and it is to Him that we can return it all.
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
My memory, my understanding,
And my entire will,
All I have and call my own.
You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
That is enough for me.
Be at Peace (St. Francis de Sales)
In this prayer, St. Francis de Sales helps us remember that God is with us today, and He will be with us tomorrow, too. This is a prayer to help us grow our trust in God and give over our anxieties to Him.
Be at peace.
Do not look forward in fear to the changes in life;
Rather look to them with full hope that as they arise,
God, whose very own you are, will lead you safely through all things.
And when you cannot stand it, God will carry you in His arms.
Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;
The same everlasting Father who cares for you today
Will take care of you then and every day.
He will either shield you from suffering,
Or give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace,
And put aside all anxious thoughts and imagination.
Stay With Me, Lord (St. Padre Pio)
This prayer from Pio is our call on God to simply be present with us. As we pray, we recognize that we were never, are never, and never will be alone — God is always with us.
Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You.
Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light and without You I am in darkness.
Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.
Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You.
Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much and to be in Your company always.
Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.
Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of Love.
Holy Spirit, Come Into My Heart (St. Catherine of Siena)
When we are at a loss for words, we can always call on the Holy Spirit. This prayer for love and guidance is similar to a short prayer we say at Hallow often: “Come, Holy Spirit.”
Holy Spirit, come into my heart;
Draw it to Thee by Thy power, O my God,
And grant me charity with filial fear.
Preserve me, O beautiful love, from every evil thought;
Warm me, inflame me with Thy dear love,
And every pain will seem light to me.
My Father, my sweet Lord, help me in all my actions.
Jesus, love.
Jesus, love.
Bible verses to ease your anxiety and nervousness
We know praying with a verse might not make something you’re struggling with instantly go away. However, we hope these verses remind you that God is always with you — in good times and in bad. Consider choosing a verse each day, week, or month to memorize or reread multiple times. It might not relieve anxiety away in full, but it might help relieve it at the moment.
1 Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Romans 8:38 – 39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
Jeremiah 29:11 “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Psalm 23:1-4 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.”