Novena to Saint Rita: Day 8

Our intentions:
Troubled Marriages
Strained Marriages
Marriages of Different Faiths
Strengthening of all Marriages

Novena to St. Rita of Cascia

Day 8St. 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 healing troubled marriages, strained marriages, strength for marriages of different faiths and continued strength for all marriages. 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.

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.

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 Saint Rita, our advocate and protectress, ®
O Saint Rita, beloved of the Lord, ®
O Saint Rita, given special grace from Heaven,®
O Saint Rita, remarkable in childhood, ®
O Saint Rita,
model of obedience to God's will, ®
O Saint Rita, of untiring patience, ®

O Saint Rita, model of the Christian mothers, ®
O Saint Rita, mirror for Christian spouses, ®
O Saint Rita, heroic in sacrifice, ®
O Saint Rita, generous in forgiving, ®
O Saint Rita, martyr in penitence, ®
O Saint Rita, embracing humility and poverty, ®

O Saint Rita, exemplary as a widow, ®
O Saint Rita, prompt to answer the divine call, ®
O Saint Rita, patient in suffering, ®
O Saint Rita, mirror of religious observance, ®
O Saint Rita, mystical rose of every virtue, ®
O Saint Rita, enamored of the Passion of Christ, ®
O Saint Rita, pierced with a thorn, ®
O Saint Rita, in ecstasy before the Blessed Sacrament, ®

O Saint Rita, consumed with Divine Love, ®
O Saint Rita, received into heaven with joy, ®
O Saint Rita, incorrupt in your chaste body, ®
O Saint Rita, advocate of impossible cases, ®
O Saint Rita, persevering in prayer, ®
O Saint Rita, help of those in need, ®

Let us pray

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.