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Novena to St. Rita of Cascia

Day 6

10 min
Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus Sancti. Amen.

Novena to St. Rita of Cascia

Opening prayer:

O glorious St. Rita, faithful spouse, devoted mother, and patient widow, you embraced every cross with love for the crucified Lord. As I begin this novena, obtain for me a heart that trusts God in the darkest hour. Amen.

Read the meditation and offer the intention of the day.

Day 6: The wound of the thorn

Praying before the crucifix one day, St. Rita longed to share in some small way the Passion of her Lord, and a thorn loosed from His crown pierced her brow with a wound that festered and remained until her death. She bore this stigma in silence for fifteen years. She invites us to love the Cross not from a safe distance but to welcome it into our very flesh.

O St. Rita, marked by the thorn of the crucified Christ, obtain for me a heart that does not flee from suffering but unites every pain to His Passion, that through my small crosses I may share in His saving love. Amen.

Today's intention:

For the grace to unite my pains to the sufferings of Christ.

Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

Pater noster, qui es in cælis,

sanctificétur nomen tuum.

Advéniat regnum tuum.

Fiat volúntas tua, sicut in cælo et in terra.

Panem nostrum quotidiánum da nobis hódie,

et dimítte nobis débita nostra,

sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris.

Et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem,

sed líbera nos a malo.

Amen.

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.

Ave María, grátia plena, Dóminus tecum.

Benedícta tu in muliéribus,

et benedíctus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.

Sancta María, Mater Dei,

ora pro nobis peccatóribus,

nunc et in hora mortis nostræ.

Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto.

Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper,

et in sǽcula sæculórum.

Amen.

Closing prayer:

O St. Rita, advocate of impossible causes, present my petitions before the throne of God. By the wound you bore from the crown of thorns, teach me to suffer with patience and to forgive without measure, until I rejoice with you in heaven. Amen.

Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus Sancti. Amen.

About this prayer

A nine-day novena to St. Rita of Cascia, advocate of desperate and impossible causes.

History

St. Rita of Cascia (1381–1457) endured a difficult marriage to a violent husband, whom she won to peace before his murder, then forgave his killers. Widowed and bereft of her sons, she entered the Augustinian convent at Cascia, where she received a wound from the crown of thorns of the crucified Christ. Honored as the saint of the impossible, she is invoked by those whose hopes seem beyond all remedy.

How to pray it

Pray once each day for nine consecutive days. Begin with the Sign of the Cross and the opening prayer, prayerfully read the meditation and offer the day's intention, then conclude with an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, and the closing prayer.

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