For most of us in the world today, daily travel for work, church, school, or pleasure is a basic fact of life. And we often travel to visit family and friends or to take a long-awaited vacation.
Our dear Lord should be a part of every aspect of our lives, and that certainly includes travel. We can offer all the enjoyable and unpleasant parts of traveling to Our Lord for our good and that of others. Vacation travel can help us relax and return to the regular daily duties of our state in life with renewed vigor and energy.
When we travel, we pray for a safe trip, that we will reach our destination safely and in good health. We can pray in our own words for a safe journey, or we can use travel prayers written by someone else.
There are many Bible stories about travel:
- Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt.
- Joshua led the children of Israel into the Promised Land.
- Our Lady went from her home into the hill country to visit and help her cousin Elizabeth.
- Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem, the town where Jesus was born.
- The Holy Family fled into Egypt and later returned to their native land.
- St. Paul made many missionary trips to preach the Gospel.
An appropriate Bible passage for travel is Psalm 121. Of course, the whole psalm is wonderful to pray, but verse 8 is especially meaningful: “The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forth and for evermore.”
St. Raphael the Archangel is the patron of travelers. (Other patron saints for travel include St. Christopher and St. Anthony of Padua.) In the Book of Tobit in the Bible, we read how St. Raphael traveled with the young man Tobit on his long journey and helped him along the way.
St. Raphael is a powerful intercessor for our travel, too! (Besides being a patron of travelers, St. Raphael is also the patron of future spouses, happy meetings, and purity.)
When we travel, we can pray for the intercession of Mary, Our Lady of the Highway:
“O Lady of the Highway, be with us on our journey, for all your ways are beautiful and all your paths are peace. O God, who with unspeakable providence does rule and govern the world, grant unto us, your servants, through the intercession of our watchful mother, to be protected from all danger and brought safely to the end of our journey. Amen.”
We can also invoke Our Blessed Mother as Our Lady of the Way. St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, had a special devotion to Our Lady under this title. Mary’s intercession guides us throughout our life on our way to Heaven, and we ask Our Lady of the Way’s help on our physical journeys as well!
Here we include two wonderful Catholic prayers for travel. Ask our loving Heavenly Father for his protection and help, and ask the intercession of the great St. Raphael!
Prayer When Leaving the House
Into the way of peace and prosperity, may the almighty and merciful Lord lead us, and may the Angel Raphael be with us along the way, that we may come to our home again in peace and health and gladness.
Prayer for Travelers
O Almighty and merciful God, who hast commissioned Thy angels to guide and protect us, command them to be our assiduous companions from our setting out until our return; to clothe us with their invisible protection; to keep from us all danger of collision, of fire, of explosion, of falls and bruises; and, finally, having preserved us from all evil, and especially from sin, to guide us to our heavenly home. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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