God heals

For healing, safe journeys, and finding the right spouse.

Raphael is one of three archangels named in Scripture. In the Book of Tobit he travels the road with young Tobias disguised as a companion, drives away a demon, arranges a marriage and heals an old man’s blindness — which is why he is invoked for travel, for healing, and by the unmarried.

The Prayer

Glorious Archangel St. Raphael,
great prince of the heavenly court,
you are illustrious for your gifts of wisdom and grace.

You are a guide of those who journey by land or sea or air,
consoler of the afflicted, and refuge of sinners.

I beg you, assist me in all my needs
and in all the sufferings of this life,
as once you helped the young Tobias on his travels.

Because you are the medicine of God,
I humbly pray you to heal the many infirmities of my soul
and the ills that afflict my body.

I especially ask of you this favour [name it],
and the great grace of purity
to prepare me to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

For Those Seeking a Spouse

St. Raphael, who led Tobias to Sarah
and blessed their marriage with joy:
lead me to the person God intends for me,
or to the vocation He intends instead.
Keep me from settling out of loneliness,
and from waiting out of fear. Amen.

About This Devotion

His feast is 29 September, shared with Michael and Gabriel. The Book of Tobit is worth reading in one sitting — it is short, funny in places, and the only book of Scripture in which an archangel spends most of the story pretending to be someone’s travelling companion.