St. Rita of Cascia is the patron saint of Impossible Causes: she is a very popular saint, prayed by many Catholics around the world. We often tend to pray to the saints and the Lord, and forget to thank them for their assistance… By thanking the saints with prayers of thanksgiving, you are expressing your gratitude to God for His blessings: remember, when you pray to a saint, you are actually praying to the Lord Himself, through the intercession of that saint.
“I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9: 2)
Gratitude and love are the cornerstones of Christianity, therefore these two virtues should not be omitted when addressing the Holy Trinity and the saints. St. Rita is particularly known for obtaining numerous graces from God: healing, assistance in a difficult marriage… But how to thank her for her intercession? Here are a few prayers of thanks to St. Rita.
“Father in Heaven, I praise and thank You.
My heart rejoices, my soul lives in Your peace.
I praise and thank You for giving me a sign of Your love.
I believe that St. Rita interceded on my behalf, and brought my prayers to You: I thank her, for she is one with You;
By loving her, I love You, by singing her praises, I sing Yours.
Today I rejoice, and I know that there will be many more challenges to face in the future. But I also know that one day I will be with You, where ‘there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain’.
Father, keep me in Your Light, that I may remain faithful to the Gospel, engaged in my Christian life, hoping in Your Kingdom.
Amen.”
“O glorious and powerful St. Rita, today I come to You with a moved heart.
In times of danger, when my happiness and the joy of my loved ones were threatened, I implored you for help, filled with sorrow and worry.
How I prayed to you, St. Rita, who they call the saint of the Impossible, the Advocate of Desperate Cases, the Last Refuge.
I trusted in your intercession, and was not disappointed.
I come to you again now to express my eternal gratitude, and there are no more tears or suffering in my eyes, but joy and serenity in my heart.
This joy and serenity, I owe it to you, O dearest saint, because you intervened in my favor and brought my prayers to the Lord; in spite of my indignities, you obtained for me the grace I requested.
O great wonder-worker, Consoler of the Afflicted, I would like to express this profound feeling of gratitude which fills my heart, and yet I am so overwhelmed by my emotions that I can only murmur:
Thank you, thank you, thank you, St. Rita!
I will prove to you my gratitude, and share your name with the world, grow the love of others for your virtuous graces, so they may know the joy of experiencing your infinite kindness.
I will help, as much as I can, to grow the devotion to your powerful intercession, and I will celebrate the offices in your honor.
Day after day, I will make myself more worthy of your help and protection: from now on, I will accomplish my Christian duty with the highest assiduity.
O St. Rita, to you I entrust these precious resolutions: I pray that you will bring them to God, and thank Him for His generous graces on my behalf.
Please, never abandon me, keep me under your holy protection, so I may one day join you in heaven, and tell you my sincere thanks.
Amen.”
This prayer might seem a bit long, but it is only one of the many ways to say your thanks to God and St. Rita of Cascia for their benevolent intervention in your life!
If you prefer a more direct formulation, you can simply (but fervently) say: “thank you, St. Rita”, a short sentence that efficiently summarizes all the prayers of thanksgiving in the world!
Hozana helps you grow your life of prayer by offering you to join numerous spiritual programs: discover the prayer communities to the saints on Hozana!
Say a novena to St. Rita, the patron saint of Impossible Causes, or a novena to St. Jude, another great saint of the Impossible!
Finally, you can entrust your prayer petitions and prayers of thanksgiving to the Hozana community by posting your intentions.