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Augustinian novena, Chicago 1914 · nine meditations

Novena to St. Rita of Cascia

Nine days of prayer to St. Rita of Cascia, printed word for word from an old Catholic book (the source is given below). Pray the daily prayer every day, then the day's own prayer.

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How to make the novena

(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.)

As the state of grace is one of the surest means of partaking of God's graces and blessings, each person making a novena ought to try as often as possible during the nine weeks to approach the sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist, and during the nine days, if the novena be made on consecutive days, these sacraments should be worthily received on or before the last day of the devotions. If it be possible the novena to St. Rita ought to be made at her shrine, though it may be made privately at home.

Faith in God's promises, hope in His goodness, and resignation to His Divine Will, joined to purity of heart and perseverance are the conditions of fruitful prayer, the prayer of which Christ spoke when he said: "Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in my name He will give it to you."

The daily prayer (every day)

The nine days

Day 1

From her childhood, St. Rita had received a wonderful gift of prayer. This gift she developed in a striking manner during the years of her early youth. Whoever wished to see her was certain of finding her either at home or in the parish church, which was her favorite place of prayer, where she spent entire hours in meditation and devotion to the great edification of all. This practice she continued during her whole life as a wife and mother, but especially after her miraculous entrance into the religious state. As a nun her prayers were offered in the darkness of the night, in the early morning and throughout the day; in one word, prayer was her life, for not even for one moment could she withdraw herself from the presence of her Uncreated Love.

Let prayer, then, be the subject of your thoughts on the first day of your novena. Frequently recite some little ejaculation during the day and ask our Divine Lord in union with the Apostles to teach you how to pray and to fill your heart with the spirit of prayer.

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

The foundation of every virtue is humility. God resists the proud and gives His grace to the humble. Where pride reigns there can be no virtue. That Rita is the great Saint she is today is due mainly to the fact of her humility. She practised this virtue as a child when she never tried or wished even to prefer herself to anyone. As the wife of a cruel husband she maintained a profound humility. Her models were Christ Himself, who told His disciples and followers to learn to be meek and humble of heart, Mary the Mother of God, who notwithstanding that she alone of all the daughters of Eve was selected to be the Mother of the God-Man, cried out: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord," and St. John the Baptist, of whom Christ gave the testimony that he was the greatest born of woman, who declared himself to be but the "voice of one crying in the wilderness." In the convent she practised this virtue to an heroic degree, always taking the lowest place, performing the most menial duties, and shunning any work that would in any way bring her into prominence.

In imitation of St. Rita, then, be humble, love to be despised, and do not repine because the world does not treat you as you think you deserve to be treated. Frequently today repeat the ejaculation, "Jesus meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine."

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

The Saints were men and women just the same as those now living. They had the same passions, the same temptations as we have. We have the same means and remedies to overcome the great enemies of our salvation, viz., the world, the flesh and the devil, as they had, and yet unfortunately it must be admitted that there is a great difference between the saints and us. The chief cause of this is that the saints guided and directed their actions by the spirit of faith. In everything that happened to them they beheld the hand of God and adored His Holy Will. St. Rita had an intense desire to consecrate her life to God in the religious state, but it was only after long years of patient waiting, years filled with suffering and sorrow, that she was to enjoy the fulfillment of her cherished wish. Yet she was ever cheerful, because she felt that these sufferings were permitted by a loving God and that she could do nothing more meritorious than to submit to His Holy Will.

Let it be our practice during this novena and the remainder of our lives to imitate God's saints and especially our dear St. Rita in bearing patiently all the adversities of life as coming from God for our own welfare and repeat frequently the ejaculation, "Blessed be the Holy Will of God."

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

If there was one virtue more than another that distinguished itself in the life of St. Rita, it was her obedience. As a child it was in the light of this virtue that she regulated all her actions. She regarded the slightest wish of her parents as a command of God which she could not violate. It was in obedience to their wish that she for the time gave up her ardent desire of becoming a nun and entered a marriage on which her heart was not set. But no sooner did she become a wife than she immediately realized that her duty was to regard her husband as a master to whom that obedience and reverential fear are due which the Church owes to her head, Christ. Though her husband was by nature brutal, and frequently ill-treated her, she obeyed his every wish. It was, however, as a nun that she practised this virtue in an heroic degree. All her actions were so many acts of obedience, or, rather her whole conventual life was an uninterrupted act of the humblest, truest and readiest obedience.

Learn from St. Rita to prize this holy virtue; be faithful in your observance of the laws of God and His holy Church. Look upon your superiors, whoever they may be, as God's representatives, and in doing their will, as long as it is not sinful, you may be sure you are pleasing God, who one day will reward you as He rewarded St. Rita.

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

In her youth, even while yet a child, Rita's only desire was to consecrate herself to God in the religious state. But alas! what trials and sufferings were to come upon her before she was to experience the joy of this religious consecration. In obedience to her parents' wish she entered the married state. Here her life was one cross after another, caused by a wayward husband, and children who followed in the footsteps of their unruly father. After the death of husband and children, when she tried to gain admittance to the convent, she again, more than once, was refused and finally, when enrolled among the virgins of Cascia, the afflictions sent her by Heaven itself were so great that she was obliged to shut herself off from the sweet companionship of her sisters. Yet in all these trials, great indeed though they were, and lasting during her whole life, she was never known to utter a word of complaint. Rather hers was ever a peaceful and joyous countenance, and on her lips was a word of comfort for every sufferer who came in contact with her. Well did she learn the patience and resignation of her beloved Master.

You too, her devoted client, be sure to imitate these special virtues and you may be certain that as God rewarded St. Rita so too will He bless you. Remember that every pain, no matter how slight, if it be borne with patience, will become a jewel of infinite price in your crown of glory.

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

When St. Rita was yet a child she obtained the consent of her parents to set aside a little room as an oratory. The walls of this room she decorated with pictures of our Lord's Passion, and therein she shut herself, as in the midst of all delights. The constant object of her thoughts during her whole life, and which caused the ecstasies of her soul as well as the most ardent love of her heart, was the Passion of her Crucified Spouse. She felt herself absorbed into the Crucified One for whom alone she lived. It was her pious custom daily to prostrate herself before the crucifix and there to pour out the loving longings of her heart, that all might do homage to the Son of God, who, out of love, suffered such torments for them. One day while thus kneeling in prayer she saw one of the thorns from the crown of the crucifix detach itself and strike her on the left side of the forehead with such force that it almost penetrated the bone, causing her exquisite pain. This wound she carried with her to death.

Dear client of St. Rita, there is no form of meditation simpler or more advantageous than meditation on the sorrowful Passion of Christ. Let it be your chief delight, with St. Rita, in whose honor you are making this Novena, to dwell with loving thoughts on this Sacred Passion, especially today. Think of it during your work, your free time, and ask St. Rita, to obtain for you the same delights from this holy exercise as inundated her pure soul.

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

Forgiveness of injuries is a duty incumbent on every Christian who claims to be a follower of Christ. The necessity of this duty is taught not only by the positive precepts of our divine Lord, but far more forcibly by the example of His life, for when hanging on the cross, His dying words were a prayer to His heavenly Father for the pardon of His murderers. "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." So thoroughly was St. Rita convinced of the necessity of pardoning her enemies, and so desirous was she of imitating the example of her beloved Spouse that she did not for a moment hesitate to pardon sincerely from her heart the cruel men who brutally murdered her unfortunate husband. She too in imitation of the example of the dying Redeemer offered fervent supplications to the divine mercy for those wicked murderers.

We, the clients of St. Rita, wishing to honor her and obtain her protection during this novena, should bear continually in mind that there is no better way to insure her help than by a fervent and loyal imitation of her virtues.

Resolve, then, today to banish from your heart all ill-will and uncharitable feelings toward those who may have done you any injury. Forgive, and as you deal with others, so will your heavenly Father deal with you, for charity covers a multitude of sins.

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

St. Rita, one of the greatest Saints whom God has been pleased to raise up in modern times, may be truly considered a model for every condition in life as well as a bright exemplar of the virtues that ought to adorn every good and fervent Christian. Holy Church has solemnly declared that she practised these virtues in an heroic degree. However, there is one practice that in her holy life stands out more prominently than all the others, and that is her love and devotion toward Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. As a child, she spent her free time in church speaking to the Prisoner of Love on the altar. As a wife and mother, her chief delight was to receive into her loving heart the divine Spouse of her soul. As a nun, she spent whole nights prostrated before the Tabernacle, and when the first rays of dawn began to break on her long vigil, she complained because other duties called her away from those sacred precincts. Yet no matter what duties she was called on to perform, her affections were ever directed to that sacred spot where her treasure was.

Oh, dear client of St. Rita, learn from her that no devotion is of any account that does not bring you into closer contact with the Most Blessed Sacrament. Receive it frequently and worthily and today prepare yourself to receive it worthily tomorrow, the closing day of your novena.

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

Coming near the end of her holy and miraculous life, St. Rita felt that she was languishing with love for her heavenly bridegroom. This love was the characteristic of her pure life, the guiding principle of her every act, and now in her last moments on earth it caused her to desire her freedom from the ties of her body so that she might take her flight to enjoy for all eternity her Uncreated Good. Our divine Lord, accompanied by His Most Holy Mother, appeared to her and announced the joyous tidings that in three days she should be taken from this world and all her pains, and be received into Paradise to receive the reward of her virtues and sufferings. With what fervor did she not immediately prepare to receive the last sacraments and fortify herself for that long journey. She received them with a fervor more easily imagined than described, and then, with her eyes turned toward the abode of the blessed, her pure soul took its flight thither where she now lives an immortal life, the reward of her heroic virtues.

Her precious death took place on the night of May 22, 1457, the last day of the week, a day specially consecrated to the honor of the Mother of God, whom, after God Himself, she loved with her whole heart. Be devoted to Mary, and ask her frequently to intercede for you at the hour of your death.

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.

Source: Augustinian Fathers (comp.), Devotions to St. Rita (Chicago: D. B. Hansen & Sons, 1914), pp. 9–10, 20–40 · view the page scan

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Frequently asked

What is a novena?

A novena is nine consecutive days of prayer for a particular intention, after the pattern of the apostles who prayed for nine days between the Ascension and Pentecost.

How do I pray the Novena to St. Rita of Cascia?

Pray the prayers given here on nine days in a row, as the source book directs; the text is printed exactly as it appears there.

Can I pray a novena for any intention?

Yes. Bring whatever intention is on your heart and entrust it to the prayers of St. Rita of Cascia.

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