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Novena to St Rita

Feast: 22 May

When to pray: Nine consecutive days, or nine consecutive Thursdays. Before the feast, begin on 13 May and finish on 21 May. A novena is prayed on nine consecutive days.

(The following prayers may be used as a novena in honor of Saint Rita to be said either on nine consecutive days, or on nine consecutive Thursdays. An omission of one day breaks the novena.)

Said every day

Exercises

Say the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin, the Litany of St. Rita, and the day's prayer. Then say the prayer “O holy Protectress.” Three Our Fathers, Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father.

Litany opening

O blessed St. Rita, our patroness and guide, we lay this chaplet at thy feet, a litany, as we do the thoughts, the labors, the sufferings of our lives, that holding daily before our eyes the gentle purity, patience and sanctity of thy example our lives may be lived in some poor image of thine own, even unto life everlasting.

Litany title

Litany of St. Rita of Cascia

Litany

  • 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 Almighty,
  • God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, who hast said: “Ask, and you shall receive; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you,”
  • God, the Holy Ghost, Spirit of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel and Knowledge,
  • Holy Trinity, one God, Power Infinite,
  • Holy Mary, who hast never refused those who implored thee,
  • Immaculate Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth,
  • Our Lady of the Sacred Heart,
  • Holy Angels, spirits of humility,
  • Holy Principalities, charged with the care of religious communities,
  • Holy Virtues, angels of energy,
  • Holy Cherubim, angels of light,
  • St. Rita, advocate of the impossible,
  • St. Rita, enamored of humility,
  • St. Rita, consecrated to God,
  • St. Rita, lover of Jesus crucified,
  • St. Rita, spouse of Jesus suffering,
  • St. Rita, penetrated with compassion for our Lord,
  • St. Rita, crowned by an angel with the sacred crown of thorns,
  • St. Rita, who didst bear the wound of this supernatural coronation upon thy forehead,
  • St. Rita, trusting in the tender mercy of Jesus,
  • St. Rita, importuning our dying Lord with irresistible fervor,
  • St. Rita, never doubting the answer to prayer,
  • That we may renounce all self-love,
  • That we may confide in the promises of Christ,
  • That the enemies of our salvation may be put to confusion,
  • That we may accomplish most perfectly the holy will of God,
  • That the power of evil over us may be destroyed,
  • That faith may spread in all its purity over our land,
  • That a holy zeal may take possession of our hearts,
  • That we may inspire all with whom we associate with a love for holy purity,
  • That we may cultivate a delicate charity in all our actions,
  • That we may be delivered from all avarice, vainglory, or rash judgment,
  • That great saints may arise in our nation, to edify the people and enlighten the darkness of infidelity,
  • That we may be delivered from all interior foes,
  • Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord!
  • Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord!
  • Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord!
  • V. Pray for us, St. Rita,

Litany prayer

Let us pray
O God, who in Thine infinite tenderness hast vouchsafed to regard the prayer of Thy servant, Blessed Rita, and dost grant to her supplication that which is impossible to human foresight, skill and efforts, in reward of her compassionate love and firm reliance upon Thy promises; have pity upon our adversity and succor us in our calamities, that the unbeliever may know Thou art the recompense of the humble, the defense of the helpless, and the strength of those who trust in Thee. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer to st rita

O holy protectress of those who are in utmost need, who shinest as a star of hope in the midst of darkness, glorious and blessed St. Rita, bright mirror of the Catholic Church, in patience and fortitude as the patriarch Job, scourge of devils, health of the sick, deliverer of those in extreme need, admiration of Saints, and model of all states; with my whole heart and soul prostrated before and firmly united to the adorable will of my God, through the merits of my only Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and in particular through the merits of His patient wearing of that torturing crown of thorns, which thou, with a tender devotion, didst daily contemplate; through the merits of the most sweet Virgin Mary and thine own excellent graces and virtues, I implore thee to obtain my earnest petition—provided it be for the greater glory of God and my own sanctification (here mention your request), and herein do thou guide and purify my intention, O holy protectress and most dear advocate, so that I may obtain the pardon of all my sins and grace to persevere daily, as thou didst, in walking with courage and generosity and unwavering fidelity through the heavenward path in which the love of my sweet Lord desires to lead me. Amen.

Day by day

Day 1

O blessed Rita, wonderful model of prayer for those in every state and condition of life, pray to your Divine Spouse, with whom your intercession is so powerful and your prayers so efficacious, that the spirit of prayer may descend into my heart and ever remain there. Obtain for me also, beloved patron, that like you I may find my chief delight in having recourse to my divine Master; that like you I may be worthy to be numbered amongst His chosen disciples; that He may protect me during life from the enemies of my soul’s salvation and from every danger, and at the moment of my death place me among the heavenly multitude of the blessed. Amen.

Day 2

O glorious St. Rita, perfect disciple of the meek and humble Nazarene, because of that most profound humility which thou didst exercise amidst the lowliest duties of the convent after being introduced by thy holy Protector into the sacred cloister of Cascia through closed doors, where, following the rule of St. Augustine, thou didst lead a life hidden with Christ in God, we pray thee obtain for us from that God who resisteth the proud and imparteth His gifts to the humble, the grace to conquer the passion of pride within us, that noxious root of all our woes, sO we may become worthy to be raised up to the eternal glory of heaven in imitation of our Divine Redeemer. Amen.

Day 3

O glorious St. Rita, chosen friend of Jesus Christ, help me by your intercession and obtain for me the spirit of faith as lively as that which you yourself possessed, that it may guide and direct me in all the adversities of life and teach me to adore in all things the Holy Will of God. May this holy faith lift me above the things of time and show me in accordance with the science of all the saints that I should not place my heart on objects that will so soon pass away, but rather that the only royal road to the kingdom of heaven is the patient endurance of whatever may happen here below. O good Jesus, grant me through the prayers of St. Rita, the spirit of faith, that glorious gift which the prince of the Apostles asked with such fervor: “Lord, increase our faith.’ May my life be in accordance with the teaching of your holy Gospel and may I be able to say with my dying breath, “I have kept the faith,” and now am ready for my eternal reward. Amen.

Day 4

O glorious St. Rita, bright ornament of the Augustinian Order; model of obedience during your whole life; perfect disciple of Him who came on earth to do the will of His Heavenly Father, and who was obedient in all things even unto the death of the cross; obtain for me by your powerful intercession the grace to render myself perfectly obedient and submissive to all God’s designs in my regard. May I obtain also the grace to behold God in the person of my superiors, spiritual and temporal, and thus render them that loyal and loving service which characterized your every act. Amen.

Day 5

O blessed Rita, model of patience and resignation to the will of God, in all your trials; how much I need the consolation afforded by meditating on your sufferings, and learning from you never to be downcast but always to raise my eyes to heaven, there seeking, as you did, the strength to bear patiently the various ills of life. Obtain for me from your Divine Spouse and Model those virtues of patience and resignation, the true philosophers’ stone which will change the ordinary trials of life into the precious pearls of a glorious diadem, similar to that which now adorns your brow, and which will be forever yours in reward for your patiently bearing the cross your heavenly Father sent you. Amen.

Day 6

O sweet Lord Jesus, Who became man for the salvation of the human race, and who suffered such untold pains and humiliations that guilty man might be restored again to the love and friendship of his Creator, grant that through the merits of blessed Rita, the sorrows of Your Passion may be the constant object of my thoughts and aspirations. Imprint deeply in my heart the love of Your Passion, and grant that in imitation of my glorious patron, St. Rita, I may deserve to hear an answer to my prayers and may come with her to eternal happiness. Amen.

Day 7

O dearest Lord, how many times I have offended You and how kind You have been to me in granting me the grace of repentance. I acknowledge that my life has been one of ingratitude for the numberless favors which You bestowed upon me. I thank You especially for the various lessons of virtue You have given me through the life of blessed Rita, and beg of You to impress on my heart the lesson of forgiveness of injuries. O blessed Rita, spouse of Jesus suffering, you who were so cruelly treated by others during life and yet pardoned from your inmost heart the injuries you received, obtain for me the favor to love all men, even those who may do me the greatest injuries. Amen.

Day 8

O sweet Lord Jesus, who out of love for me dost remain day and night, a Prisoner of Love in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, often lonely and neglected by those You love, but more so by me. O grant me, dear Jesus, through the intercession of Your beloved servant Rita, to find my joy and consolation in visiting You in this Sacrament, and in receiving You into my heart. I desire now to receive You but, alas, I am not prepared. Come then into my soul in spirit. Prepare it for that happy moment tomorrow when I will have the happiness of receiving You sacramentally as the crowning work of this novena, and grant me through the intercession of St. Rita the favors I am asking You during these days of prayer. Amen.

Day 9

O glorious St. Rita, filled with love for your heavenly Father, take me today, unworthy though I be, under your powerful protection, and obtain for me the favor I am seeking during this novena (name your request). I beseech you also to obtain for me the ineffable grace of loving God with my whole heart during the remainder of my life, of loving Him above all things in imitation of the bright example of your life, that thus I may merit as you did to die in the sweet embrace of Jesus and Mary. O teach me, dear Saint, to prepare myself for that moment on which so much depends, and obtain that death may be for me the entrance to eternal life. Amen.

The prayers named above, in full

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace! the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Scripture

Douay-Rheims numbering (modern in brackets): John 1:29. Scripture index

Source

Traditional text, checked word for word against the printed source: Devotions to St. Rita (Augustinian Fathers, 1914), pp. 5–10 (litany and 'O holy protectress'), pp. 20–42 (novena). Public domain. How we check sources