In Catholic tradition, St. Rita of Cascia is associated with difficult, even impossible situations. St. Rita is also the patron saint of the sick and suffering: Christians pray to her for healing and the strength to fight against a disease. You can entrust your illness, or a sick loved one to her care. When you pray to St. Rita, you are asking her to intercede on your behalf to the Lord, and to obtain relief for your pain, or the complete healing of your body and soul. Here is a beautiful prayer to St. Rita for the sick.
“Dear Rita, model Wife and Widow,
You yourself suffered in a long illness
Showing patience out of love for God.
Teach us to pray as you did.
Many invoke you for help,
Full of confidence in your intercession.
Deign to come now to our aid
For the relief of wounds and cure of:
(...name the person).
To God, all things are possible;
May this healing give glory to the Lord.
Amen.”
St. Rita of Cascia is a model of faith, kindness and patience: her many virtues helped her go through incredibly difficult times in her life, such as disease, the loss of her children… She knows about suffering of the body and mind well, and the importance of turning to Christ to face these challenges. For more than 600 years, many healing miracles have been associated with St. Rita, and Catholics pray to her for various forms of illnesses.
There are other saints to whom you can pray for healing:
St. Anthony of Padua, with a prayer to obtain a miracle, or to obtain graces;
St. Michael Archangel, with a prayer for inner healing;
St. Expedite, with a miraculous prayer;
And, of course, the “greatest of all the saints”, the Virgin Mary, notably with prayers to Our Lady of Lourdes.
… Discover many other healing prayers.
But remember, it is also very important to seek professional medical help, and to have faith!
Whether you are praying for yourself, or for a close one, prayer can be of great help to face disease and suffering: in difficult moments, we all need to feel loved and supported by the Lord.
Discover the many prayer communities to accompany you throughout your day: join a novena to pray for the sick with Josemaria Escriva, pray with Mary and 9 saints for the healing of your loved ones, or join a novena to St. Peregrine to pray for cancer patients.
Finally, don’t hesitate to post your prayer intentions, to entrust them to the care of you Christian brothers and sisters around the world.