SAINT RITA OF CASCIA
(Patroness of battered wives, widows and the hopeless..)
St. Rita of Cascia was born on 1381 in Umbria, Italy. Though she desired to become a nun. Her parents forced her to marry instead. Yet she look her duties as a wife earnestly, loving even her alcoholic husband who would beat her constantly. One day, her husband was killed in a brawl, fearing that her two sons would resort to vengeance, she prayed fervently. Her sons, plotting to murder their father’s killers, died after a year in a plague. She took this as God’s way of answering her prayers. After some time, she entered an Augustinian monastery fulfilling her dream of becoming religious. It was here that she received the gift of the stigmata (the wounds of Jesus) which confined her much to bed. She died on May 22, 1457.
NOVENA TO SAINT RITA OF CASCIA
FIRST DAY
O God, in your infinite tenderness you have been pleased to regard the prayer of your servant Rita, and to grant to her supplication that which is impossible to human foresight, skill, and effort, as rewards for her compassionate love and firm reliance on your promises, Have pity on us in times of adversities and comfort us in our calamities, that even the unbelievers may know that you are the recompense of the humble, the defense of the helpless, and the strength of those who trust in you. Grant this in the Name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.
(Say Our Father..Hail Mary..Glory be..) mention your request.
NOVENA PRAYER
St. Rita, God gave you to us as an example of charity and patience, and offered you a share in the Passion of his Son. I thank him for the many blessings he bestowed upon you during your lifetime, especially during your unhappy marriage and during the difficulty you suffered in the convent.
May your example encourage me to carry my own cross patiently and to live a life that is holier. By serving God as you did, may I please him with my faith and my actions.
May your prayers help me to live in fidelity to my calling as you did and bring me to the deeper love of God and my neighbor until I reach eternal life in heaven. Amen.
LITANY TO ST. RITA
Lord, have mercy on us
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us, Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven.
Have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world.
Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God.
Have mercy on us.
(*pray for us.)
Immaculate Mary, Mother of God *
Holy Mary, Mother of purest love, *
Holy Mary, pierced with a sword of grief,*
Holy Mary, Comforter of the sick, *
Holy Mary, Queen of all the saints,*
Holy Mary, Model of life for St. Rita,*
O St. Rita, our advocate and protectress,*
O St. Rita, beloved of the Lord,*
O St. Rita, given special grace from heaven,*
O St. Rita, remarkable in childhood,*
O St. Rita, model of obedience to God’s will, *
O St. Rita, of untiring patience, *
O St. Rita, model of the Christian mothers, *
O St. Rita mirror for Christian spouses, *
O St. Rita, heroic in sacrifice, *
O St. Rita, generous in forgiving, *
O St. Rita, martyr in penitence, *
O St. Rita, embracing humility and poverty, *
O St. Rita, exemplary as a widow, *
O St. Rita, prompt to answer the divine call, *
O St. Rita, patient in suffering, *
O St. Rita, mirror of religious observance, *
O St. Rita, mystical rose of every virtue, *
O St. Rita, enamored of the Passion of Christ, *
O St. Rita, pierced with a thorn, *
O St. Rita, in ecstasy before the Blessed Sacrament, *
O St. Rita, consumed with Divine Love, *
O St. Rita, received into heaven with joy, *
O St. Rita, incorrupt in your chaste body, *
O St. Rita, advocate of impossible cases, *
O St. Rita, persevering in prayer, *
O St. Rita, help of those in need, *
PRAYER
O God, who bestowed on St. Rita such grace that she loved her enemies, and bore in her heart and on her forehead the mark of your love and Passion, grant us, we beseech you, through her merits and intercession, a love for our enemies. Through our contemplation of your sufferings and Passion, may we merit the reward promised to the meek and suffering. You who live and reign forever. Amen.
SECOND DAY
St. Rita, full of love for God and mankind, and of compassion for sinners, I consecrate myself entirely to you. I entrust to you the salvation of my soul. May my heart be ever united with yours, so that I may hate sin, love God and my neighbor, and reach eternal life together with those whom I love.
Dearest St. Rita, If what I ask for should not be according to God’s will, pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul. May I experience the kindness of your motherly heart and the power of your intercession with Jesus during life and at the hour of my death. Amen.
(Say..Our Father..Hail Mary & Glory be..) mention your request.
Follow the Novena Prayer and Litany..
THIRD DAY
Heavenly Father, you prepared the heart of St. Rita to be a fitting dwelling place for your Holy Spirit. By her prayers for us, may our soul become a more worthy temple of your glory. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever, Amen.
(Say..Our Father..Hail Mary & Glory be..) mention your request.
Follow the Novena Prayer and Litany..
Glorious St. Rita, I desire to honor you with a special devotion. I choose you, as my spiritual mother and protectress, To you I entrust my soul and my body, all my spiritual and temporal interests, as well as those of my family. To you I consecrate my mind, that in all things it may be enlightened by faith; my heart, that you may keep it pure and fill it with love for Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and yourself; my will, that like yours, it may always be one with the will of God. Good St. Rita, filled with love for those who invoke you and with compassion for those who suffer. I confidently place before you my earnest petition/s (mention them here).
(Say..Our Father..Hail Mary & Glory be..)
Follow the Novena Prayer and Litany..
FIFTH DAY
Glorious St. Rita, I beg you to help me to master my evil inclinations and temptations, and to avoid all occasions of sin. Obtain for me the grace of never offending God, of fulfilling faithfully all the duties of my state of life, and of practicing all those virtues that are needed for my salvation. Amen.
(Say..Our Father..Hail Mary & Glory be..) mention your request.
Follow the Novena Prayer and Litany..
SIXTH DAY
Glorious St. Rita, I give myself to your protection that you may always be my mother, my protector, and my guide in the ways of holiness and salvation. Aid me in observing the duties of my state of life. Obtain for me great purity of heart and a fervent love of the interior life after your own example.
Great lover of the Blessed Sacrament and the Passion of Jesus Christ, teach me to love the Holy Mass and the Holy Communion as the source of grace and holiness. Grace me with a tender devotion to the Passion of my redeemer.
(Say..Our Father..Hail Mary & Glory be..) mention your request.
Follow the Novena Prayer and Litany..
SEVENTH DAY
Heavenly Father, you continually build up your Church by the lives of your Saints. Give us grace to follow St. Rita in her loving concern for the salvation of people and so come to share her reward in heaven. Walking in the footsteps of this devoted servant of yours, may we be consumed with zeal for souls and attain the reward she enjoys in your Kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Say..Our Father..Hail Mary & Glory be..) mention your request.
Follow the Novena Prayer and Litany..
EIGHTH DAY
St. Rita I rejoice that after years of heroic martyrdom on earth, you have at last been taken to the throne prepared for you in heaven by the Holy Trinity, teach me how small earth becomes when viewed from heaven. Make me realize that death in the triumphant gate through which I shall pass my body to Jesus. Shall rejoin my soul in the unending bliss of heaven. From this earth over which I tread as a pilgrim. I look to you for help and ask for these favors (mention them here). When my hour of death has come, lead me safely to the presence of Jesus to enjoy the vision of my God for all eternity together with you. Amen.
(Say..Our Father..Hail Mary & Glory be..)
Follow the Novena Prayer and Litany..
NINTH DAY
St. Rita, come to my aid! Faithful, loving wife and mother, humble, prayerful widow and nun, because of my need, answer my call, St. Rita, come to my aid! Beautiful rose born from the Saviour’s thorns, lead me far from anger and hate; guide my heart on peaceful paths with charity to all. St. Rita, come to my aid! Helper, healer, holy friend, hear my petition (mention them here). To Christ take this prayer, for he is my Lord, my God, my all, my hope in despair, my strength when afraid. St. Rita, come to my aid! St. Rita, answer my call. Amen.
(Say..Our Father..Hail Mary & Glory be..)
Follow the Novena Prayer and Litany..
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