# Prayer to St. Rita on Her Feast Day
*2017-05-22*

> Bill Young reflects on the life of St. Rita of Cascia, offers a heartfelt prayer to her intercession, and leads the daily rosary of the Joyful Mysteries for world peace.

## St. Rita – The Patron of Impossible Cases

Good morning, I’m Bill Young. Today, May 22, we celebrate the feast of St. Rita of Cascia, the patron saint of impossible and difficult cases. Rita was married for eighteen years to a violent husband who abused and cheated on her. She bore two sons, both of whom died young. After her husband’s death, she entered the convent and lived a holy life until she was eighty. Her perseverance in suffering makes her a powerful intercessor for those who feel hopeless.

## A Prayer to St. Rita

Let us pray to St. Rita, asking for her powerful intercession:

"O holy St. Rita, advocate of hopeless cases, I come before you burdened by my trials. Obtain for me the grace to love as a husband, a father, a son‑in‑law, a brother, and a friend. If my sins hinder my petitions, grant me sincere repentance and the forgiveness of confession. Deliver me from suffering and grant me peace. Through your intercession, may the Lord’s mercy flow upon us, your children. Amen."

May St. Rita’s example inspire us to trust in God’s providence even when circumstances seem impossible.

## The Daily Rosary – Joyful Mysteries

We now pray the rosary, focusing on the Joyful Mysteries, which remind us of the humility and hope that accompany the Incarnation.

1. **The Annunciation** – The Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear the Son of God.
2. **The Visitation** – Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth, and both rejoice in the coming of the Messiah.
3. **The Nativity** – Jesus is born in a humble stable, wrapped in swaddling clothes.
4. **The Presentation** – Mary and Joseph present the infant Jesus in the Temple, fulfilling the Law.
5. **Finding the Child in the Temple** – Young Jesus is found teaching the teachers, revealing his divine wisdom.

For each mystery we recited the Our Father, a Hail Mary, and a Glory Be, asking the Holy Mother to obtain peace for a world torn by war and suffering.

## Closing Prayer and Reflection

We concluded with the traditional prayers of the rosary, the Hail Holy Queen, and a final invocation for the intercession of all the saints, especially St. Rita. May we, like her, place our trust in God’s mercy, seek reconciliation, and become instruments of peace in our families and communities.

Thank you for joining me on this feast day. May St. Rita’s intercession bring hope to every impossible case.

*St. Rita teaches us that even the most hopeless situations can be transformed by prayer and trust in God’s love.*