St. Rita of Cascia
Posted on May 22, 2020 by admin No comments
Born: 1386 at Roccaparena, Umbria, Italy
Died: 22 May 1457 at the Augustinian convent at Cascia, Italy of tuberculosis
Canonized: 24 May 1900 by Pope Leo XIII
Patronage: abuse victims; spouse abuse victims, against infertility or sterility; infertile people, against loneliness, against sickness or bodily ills; sick people, against wounds; wounded people, desperate, forgotten, lost or impossible causes, difficult marriages, parenthood, widows, Cascia, Italy, Dalayap, Philippines, Igbaras, Iloilo, Philippines
Feast: May 22
Daughter of Antonio and Amata Lotti, a couple known as the Peacemakers of Jesus; they had Rita late in life. From her early youth, Rita visited the Augustinian nuns at Cascia, Italy, and showed interest in a religious life. However, when she was twelve, her parents betrothed her to Paolo Mancini, an ill-tempered, abusive individual who worked as town watchman, and who was dragged into the political disputes of the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Disappointed but obedient, Rita married him when she was 18, and was the mother of twin sons. She put up with Paolo’s abuses for eighteen years before he was ambushed and stabbed to death. Her sons swore vengeance on the killers of their father, but through the prayers and interventions of Rita, they forgave the offenders.
Upon the deaths of her sons, Rita again felt the call to religious life. However, some of the sisters at the Augustinian monastery were relatives of her husband’s murderers, and she was denied entry for fear of causing dissension. Asking for the intervention of Saint John the Baptist, Saint Augustine of Hippo, and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, she managed to bring the warring factions together, not completely, but sufficiently that there was peace, and she was admitted to the monastery of Saint Mary Magdalen at age 36.
Rita lived 40 years in the convent, spending her time in prayer and charity, and working for peace in the region. She was devoted to the Passion, and in response to a prayer to suffer as Christ, she received a chronic head wound that appeared to have been caused by a crown of thorns, and which bled for 15 years. Confined to her bed the last four years of her life, eating little more than the Eucharist, teaching and directing the younger sisters. Near the end she had a visitor from her home town who asked if she’d like anything; Rita’s only request was a rose from her family’s estate. The visitor went to the home, but it being January, knew there was no hope of finding a flower; there, sprouted on an otherwise bare bush, was a single rose blossom. Among the other areas, Rita is well-known as a patron of desperate, seemingly impossible causes and situations. This is because she has been involved in so many stages of life – wife, mother, widow, and nun, she buried her family, helped bring peace to her city, saw her dreams denied and fulfilled – and never lost her faith in God, or her desire to be with Him.
Prayer to St. Rita of Cascia
Holy Patroness of those in need, Saint Rita, so humble, pure and patient, whose pleadings with thy Divine Spouse are irresistible, obtain for me from thy Crucified Christ my request (mention it here). Be kind to me, for the greater glory of God, and I promise to honor thee and to sing thy praises forever.
Oh glorious St. Rita, who didst miraculously participate in the sorrowful Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, obtain for me the grace to suffer with resignation the troubles of this life, and protect me in all my needs. Amen.
Prayer to St. Rita of Cascia (Patroness of Impossible Cases)
O glorious St. Rita, your pleadings before the divine crucifix have been known to grant favors that many would call the impossible. Lovely St. Rita, so humble, so pure, so devoted in your love for thy crucified Jesus, speak on my behalf for my petition which seems so impossible from my humbled position. (Here mention your request ). Be propitious, O glorious St. Rita, to my petition, showing thy power with God on behalf of thy supplicant. Be lavish to me, as thou has been in so many wonderful cases for the greater glory of God. I promise, dear St. Rita, if my petition is granted, to glorify thee, by making known thy favor, to bless and sing thy praises forever. Relying then upon thy merits and power before the Sacred Heart of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Prayer to St. Rita of Cascia
Glorious St. Rita, O Holy Patroness of those in need, your intercession with our Lord is most powerful. Through the favours obtained by your prayers, you have been called the Advocate of the Hopeless and even of the Impossible. St. Rita, humble and pure; patient and compassionate lover of Christ Crucified! We have confidence that everyone who has recourse to you, will find comfort and relief. Listen to our petitions and show your power with God on our behalf. Obtain our petitions for us, if they are for the greater glory of God, and for our good. We promise, if our petitions are granted, to make known your favour, and to glorify God for His gift. Relying on your merits and power before the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we ask of you: (Share your request…)
Obtain for us our request:
– by the singular merits of your childhood,
– by your perfect union with the Divine Will,
– by your heroic sufferings during your married life,
– by the consolation you experienced at the conversion of your husband,
– by the sacrifice of your children rather than see them grievously offend God,
– by your miraculous entrance into the convent,
– by your severe penances and thrice daily bloody scourging,
– by the suffering caused by the wound you received from the thorn of the Crucified Saviour,
– by the divine love which consumed your heart,
– by that remarkable devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, on which alone you existed for four years,
– by the happiness with which you parted from your trials to join your Divine Spouse,
– by the perfect example you gave to people of every state of life.
Pray for us, O Holy St. Rita, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us Pray: Heavenly Father, in Your infinite love and mercy, you heed the prayer of Your beloved servant, Saint Rita. You graciously grant favours through her intercession, which are considered impossible to human foresight, skill and efforts. Relying on her compassionate love, we ask You to assist us in our trials and difficulties. Let unbelievers know that you are the helper of the humble, the defence of the helpless, and the strength of those who trust in You. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer to St. Rita of Cascia
Dear St. Rita, messenger of peace and herald of reconciliation, despite hardship and suffering you lived the gospel message of compassion and forgiveness and showed the power of love to conquer hatred and to establish harmony. Help me to follow your example and to be an instrument of Christ’s peace. Pray that my heart by always open and my arms extended to pardon those who do wrong and even to embrace with mercy those who inflict injury. Pray that God may use my humble gestures to touch hearts and sow peace.
Prayer to St. Rita of Cascia
Dear Saint Rita, during your entire life on earth you found your happiness by following the will of our heavenly Father. Help me to be as trusting of God in all his designs for me. Help me this day to give myself to him as you did, without limit, without fear, without counting the cost. Help me to be generous in serving the needs of others, patient in all difficulties, forgiving toward all who injure me. Help me to learn more deeply the great mystery of the cross of Jesus, so that by embracing it as you did, I may come to experience its power to heal and to save. Amen.
Prayer to St. Rita of Cascia
Saint Rita, you are my advocate and my protectress. Saint Rita, you are beloved by the Lord and given special graces from heaven. Saint Rita, you help those who are in need. Hear my desire now to be healed of infertility. Intercede on my behalf to the Lord that I may be blessed with perfect and miraculous fertility. Know my deep desire to conceive and birth a healthy child who will live a long, happy, and healthy life. Advocate for me, that heaven might hear and grant my desire to lovingly welcome a miracle child into my family. As I wait for this intercession, help me to be patient in my suffering as you were. Help me to be consumed with Divine Love as you were. Help me to persevere in prayer as you did. Through your intercession, and the love of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
Novena to St. Rita of Cascia
Day 1
Reading Faith
Lord Jesus, to the man of the Gospel who asked a great favor of you, you said: “All things are possible to one who believes.” My faith is weak, Lord, and too often it falters in the course of life’s daily events. But encouraged by the example and the intercession of your servant, Saint Rita, I make the words of the Apostle Paul my own; “I know in whom I have placed my faith and I remain firm”.
You, Saint Rita, have suffered greatly, but have always believed in the Lord no matter what life brought you. I too, Lord, believe in you, Son of our all-powerful Father.
I believe firmly that you never deceive anyone who calls on you with a sincere heart, entrusting all to your wisdom and love. I believe that you order all the joy and suffering of our lives solely for our good. And so I believe that you will grant me the favor I ardently seek if it will be for my greater good. O Lord, I will strive to live a life more consistent with faith in you and inspired by the teaching of the gospel. Amen.
Now read the final prayers
Day 2
The Day of Hope
Scripture tells us: “Abraham believed hoping against all hope.” And God performed a miracle. Lord Jesus, how seldom I have practiced the virtue of hope in my life. I am so short-sighted. I place confidence in created things and in a world which will pass away and rarely hope in those greater goods which never pass away; in you, in your grace and in your promise of never-ending life.
I am so proud, Lord, that I entrust myself to your great power only when my own weak and helpless natural powers fail me. But now, Lord, the disappointing experience of misunderstanding and injustice, the impotence and the limits of our human resources have robbed me of all hope. Nonetheless, like Abraham, our father in faith, I want to hope. Since I hope in you, O Lord, you will hear me, O Lord my God.
Saint Rita, you teach me the way of hope and so I entrust on your powerful intercession the favor which is so close to my heart. You teach me by the example of your entire life to count on God alone, since he is the great hope of our people and above every other good.
Now read the final prayers
Day 3
The day of Love
God is Love. Lord Jesus, may my heart discover in these words the most valuable lesson of life, which invites us to a life of trust in you and which is expressed in gratitude: because of love, you, O God, have wished to know our sorrow. God is love. Therefore I too created in your image and likeness, ought to be a reflection of your love, your mercy and your goodness, in the world and for the world.
Saint Rita was this, Lord. She was a true Christian, self-giving, generous toward all, even her enemies, both spiritually and materially.
I have not always been this way, and yet many times I have tries to be heard by you who have told me: love one another as I have loved you.
Saint Rita, example of love and suffering, teach me to love God and my brothers and sisters with true Christian love. And since on account of my selfishness I do not deserve to be heard, join your ardent love with my desire to grow in love and offer it to the God of goodness for the favor I so greatly desire.
Now read the final prayers
Day 4
The day of Prayer
Saint James writes: “Is there someone among you who is suffering? Let us pray”.
Jesus, I do not have the courage to pray to you. How can you hear the prayers of someone who turns to you in time of need but afterwards, in the normal events of life is so often far from you?
Lord, the only prayer which can truly reach you is that of a life lived as you wish: in love, in truth, in fidelity to your law. It is impossible for you not to hear anyone who lives with you and for you and who serves you with a sincere heart.
I am not capable of offering you such a prayer. But Saint Rita is. And so I offer you her holiness, her faithfulness together with my sincere and firm will to imitate her every day. Hear me, Lord!
Saint Rita, teach me the prayer which can change my heart, the dialogue with God which opens me to accepting his will and to making myself available to my brothers and sisters. I commend to your intercession the favor which I seek with all my heart. Ask it of our good God if it be his will.
Now read the final prayers
Day 5
The day of Patience
Lord Jesus, I can sometimes hear the words of your servant Job on my own lips: “Where will I find strength to hope again, and when will the end which I have always awaited finally come to me?”
I know, Lord, that the faith of the true Christian is measured by patience but I become impatient precisely because faith is not deeply rooted in my heart. You, in your love, though have clothed our weak human nature and you know its limits. Clothe me with your mercy and grant me the gift of patience.
Saint Rita, you were spared nothing in this world: neither sorrow, nor humiliation nor deprivation; but God was your patience, God and his Word. Your whole life gives evidence of this. Today you offer me the word of Scripture to share with me the secret of your patience: “Happy the person who bears trials patiently because, once having been tried, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him”.
Thank you, Saint Rita, for having shown me the light which does not deceive and the comfort of God’s word. With greater tranquility and peace I commit myself to the intercession of your heroic patience to obtain the favor which I greatly desire and uniting to it the gift of patient waiting.
Now read the final prayers
Day 6
The day of Strength
Lord Jesus, you know how much strength I need in these days of trial. I have been frequently tempted against confidence and fearing that you would no longer hear my prayers, I have become more and more filled with anguish. The first day of this novena to Saint Rita has helped me understand, however, that faith is the secret to strength- provided it is a living faith, nourished by prayer.
I believe, Lord, that by virtue of my baptism I am a temple of God who is a tower of strength. He lives within me; therefore I live night and day within this tower. Yes, Lord, you are my rock and my strength.
Saint Rita, this truth was your strength in the trials of your life. But your strength joined with such heroism as to deserve to share, through the gift of a thorn, the redemptive suffering of our Savior. This special gift encourages me to place my trust in you.
I am certain that in my life, too, the cross must put my faith to the test; and I am happy to be able to say to the Lord that I believe in his love in these days of sorrow. If it pleases him, I pray to obtain through your intercession the favor which I earnestly seek.
Now read the final prayers
Day 7
The day of Abandonment
Lord Jesus, the thoughts and the insights of these days of prayer have led me to place my complete trust in you. The closeness of your chosen one, Saint Rita, whose heroic virtues I have considered and, though only lightly, have tried to imitate, has revealed to me the absolute surety of your paternal and divine attentiveness and your immense love for us.
Now I am certain that, if it will be for my good and for the good of all those who are dear to me, you will grant the request I make of you to obtain this favor which is so important to me. If you should answer my prayer, I, with my whole heart, will praise your greatness which is full of mercy and I will speak of you, Saint Rita, and of your sweet, protective intercession on behalf of all who like me are burdened with sorrow.
Forever, Lord, I will praise the works of your divine Wisdom. With the psalmist I will say: “Lord, though I must walk in the valley of darkness I will fear no evil because you are with me”
Now read the final prayers
Day 8
The day of Forgiveness
Lord Jesus, it is impossible to approach you and your servant Rita without learning the way of forgiveness. No Prayer would ever be acceptable to you if it did not come from a heart free of all resentment and full of love. You have said: “Whatever you seek in prayer, believe you have received it and it will be yours. And when you come to pray, forgive anyone against whom you may have something”. This is the condition you place before us.
You, Saint Rita, when your husband was murdered, quietly hid his bloodied clothing so that your sons would not be moved to seek revenge. Teach me the strength, the joy and the peace that are found in forgiving.
I want to give my brothers and sisters true Christian example, for without this my faith would be poor and pharisaical and all my offerings in vain. I do not want to be rejected by the God of mercy and love to whom I confidently offer today a willing heart and from whom, through your intercession, O great example of forgiveness, I await the favor I seek.
Now read the final prayers
Day 9
Day of Good will
Lord Jesus, I want to offer you today my good will. Praying to you throughout these days I have become aware of my spiritual poverty. I have come to understand how unworthy I am to be heard by you, for I have served you and loved you so poorly.
Saint Rita, let me share in your great love and your Christian zeal and I will offer these to our God of goodness as a precious gift to intercede on my behalf. He cannot but hear you. With my whole heart I pray you to enrich my humble prayer with your own ardent, confident and selfless prayer. Tell the Lord that from this day forward I too will render him more courageous and clearer witness. I wish to be a Christian indeed, a Christian who transmits to others the light of faith, hope and love. O Lord, hear my prayer.
Now read the final prayers
Final prayers
Reflection (A time of silent prayer)
Litany
Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
God our Father in heaven, have mercy on us
God the Son, have mercy on us
Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us
Mary, Mother of Good Counsel, pray for us
Mary, Mother of Consolation, pray for us
Mary, Mother of Grace, pray for us
Saint Joseph, pray for us
Saint Augustine, pray for us
Saint Monica, pray for us
Saint Clare of Monte Falco, pray for us
Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, pray for us
All holy men and women, pray for us
Saint Rita, our protectress, pray for us
Saint Rita, peacemaker, pray for us
Saint Rita, friend of widows, pray for us
Saint Rita, example of obedience, pray for us
Saint Rita, model of mothers, pray for us
Saint Rita, heroic in suffering, pray for us
Saint Rita, generous in forgiving, pray for us
Saint Rita, persevering in prayer, pray for us
Saint Rita, filled with compassion, pray for us
For the suffering of Christ, pray for us
Saint Rita, wounded with a thorn, pray for us
For the crown of Jesus, pray for us
In all our temptations, pray for us
In all dangers, pray for us
In all tribulations, pray for us
In all sorrows, pray for us
In the hour of death, pray for us
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
Pray for us, Saint Rita of Cascia, that we may become worthy of the promises of Christ
Father in heaven, you granted to St. Rita a share in the Passion of your Son. Give us courage and strength in time of trial, so that by our patient endurance we may enter more deeply into the paschal mystery of your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer
O powerful Saint Rita, you are called Saint of the Impossible. In this time of need, I come to you with confidence. You know my trials, for you yourself were many times burdened in this life. Come to my help, pray with me, intercede on my behalf before the Father. I know that God has a most generous heart and that he is most loving Father. Join your prayer to mine and obtain for me the grace I desire.
(Mention your request)
I promise to use this favor when granted to better my life, to proclaim God’s mercy, and to make you widely known and loved. ST. RITA, PRAY FOR US!