Prayer to St. Gabriel the Archangel

St. Gabriel the Archangel,
God sent you to Daniel to give him understanding
because he was loved by God;
He sent you to Zechariah to assure him that his prayers had been heard;
He made you the "Angel of the Incarnation"
when He specially appointed you
to announce that God the Son would become man
in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Through your intercession,
may Mary be a tender and devoted Mother to me,
as she was to Jesus.

Your name means "the strength of God,"
because God chose you to console and comfort His people in their afflictions.

I ask for the graces and virtues I need
to persevere in striving for holiness of life.

Steady my resolutions,
renew my courage,
comfort and console me
in the problems, trials, and sufferings of daily life,
as you consoled Joseph in his trials,
Mary in her sorrows,
and Jesus in His agony in the garden.

St. Gabriel, I put my confidence in you.

Great servant of God,
please pray for me
and for all of my needs and desires.

Through your earnest love for the God-made-Man and for His blessed Mother,
I beg of you intercede for me
that my requests may be granted,
if it be God's holy will.

Pray for us, St. Gabriel,
that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

Almighty and ever-living God,
since You chose the Archangel Gabriel from among all the angels
to announce the mystery of Your Son's Incarnation,
mercifully grant that we who honor him on earth
may feel the benefit of his patronage in heaven, where You live and reign for ever.

Amen.

Abridged edition

St. Gabriel the Archangel,
God made you the "Angel of the Incarnation"
when He specially appointed you
to announce that God the Son would become man
in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Through your intercession,
may Mary be a tender and devoted Mother to me,
as she was to Jesus.

Your name means "the strength of God,"
because God chose you to console and comfort His people in their afflictions.

I ask for the graces and virtues I need
to persevere in striving for holiness of life.

Steady my resolutions,
renew my courage,
comfort and console me
in the problems, trials, and sufferings of daily life,
as you consoled Joseph in his trials,
Mary in her sorrows,
and Jesus in His agony in the garden.

St. Gabriel, I put my confidence in you.

Almighty and ever-living God,
since You chose the Archangel Gabriel from among all the angels
to announce the mystery of Your Son's Incarnation,
mercifully grant that we who honor Gabriel on earth
may feel the benefit of his patronage in heaven,
where You live and reign for ever.

Amen.

From Catholic Journey to Emmaus, edited to my taste.

Angel of strength, friend of mankind!
continue thy ministry of aiding us.

We are surrounded by terrible enemies:
our weakness makes them bold;
come to our assistance, procure us courage.

Pray for us during these days of conversion and penance.

Obtain for us the knowledge of all we owe to God
in consequence of that ineffable mystery of the Incarnation,
of which thou wast the first witness.

We have offended Him: enlighten us,
that so, henceforth,
we may be faithful to His teachings and examples.

Raise up our thoughts to the happy abode where thou dwellest;
assist us to merit the places left vacant by the fallen angels,
for God has reserved them for His elect among men.

Pray, O Gabriel, for the Church militant,
and defend her against the attacks of hell.

The times are evil;
the spirits of malice are let loose,
nor can we make stand against them,
unless with God's help.

It is by His holy angels
that He gives victory to His bride.

Be thou, O strength of God! foremost in the ranks.

Drive heresy back, keep schism down,
foil the false wisdom of men,
frustrate the policy of the world,
arouse the well-minded from apathy;
that over the earth He has redeemed,
and that we may sing together with thee and the whole angelic choir:
'Glory be to God, peace to men!'

Excerpted from the 24 March entry in Volume V of the 1983 Marian House edition of the English translation of Dom Prosper Guéranger's The Liturgical Year by the Benedictines of Stanbrook. 24 March is the traditional feast day of St. Gabriel the Archangel (Dignare Me Laudere Te).