SOCIETY OF ST RITA
A community praying the Rosary.
The Society of St Rita (SSR) exists as an ecumenical apostolate of men and women who commit to engage with the Rosary every day. We base this on an expanded set of Rosary Mysteries (the Ritarian Rosary) detailed on this website. Members commit to praying one Decade, one Rosary or the complete Ritarian Rosary every day.
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Dedicated to Blessed Virgin Mary and St Rita we contemplate, embrace and strive towards a better understanding of Christ and the communion of Faith. This, we believe, will empower us to changes our lives and the lives of others as we dare to ask for what others believe to be impossible.
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St Rita of Cascia, patron of the impossible and advocate of the helpless, is a beautiful example of prayer and courage.
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Members of the SSR are known as Ritarian's. This is a dispersed apostolate; see "Who we are" below this section.
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Information on how to pray the traditional Rosary, and the Ritarian Rosary can be found in the "Rosary" section of the menu above.
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The Rosary is an ancient and holy form of prayer that many have, do and will find helpful. All Christians' primary focus must be on finding and practising a prayer life that teaches and brings close the truth, narrative and requirements of the Gospel. For those who do not find the Rosary useful, we pray you will find other disciplines and practices. For those for whom the rosary leads to a deep, lasting and rich communion with God, we welcome you to the SSR.
WHO WE ARE
There have been many associations, groups, apostolates and communities committed to the Rosary throughout the history of the Church. Groups of men and women from many Christian traditions have better understood and been enriched by faithful recollection and mediating on the Mysteries of the Rosary. Traditionally three sets of five mysteries; the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries, have been used within the Rosary. In 2002 Pope St John Paul II added the Luminous Mysteries (or mysteries of light) to the full rosary.
In 2019 the SSR added the Hopeful Mysteries to- faithful to the charism St Rita- draw our attention to focussing more extensively on the Passion of Christ.
In 2020 the SSR completed its sets of Mysteries by adding the Evangelical Mysteries. These focus both on the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her Son, whilst again, in the spirit of St Rita, focus primarily on His Passion and Death.
The full Ritarian Rosary then becomes a summary, distilled, understanding of the Holy Gospel that changes lives.
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The SSR, unlike many rosary groups, is fully ecumenical. The Holy Gospel, the prayers of Our Lady and the example of St Rita are, we believe, for all. A charism of the SSR is the belief that, no matter how impossible it may seem or feel, God wills his Kingdom to come and be realised (a solid reality) on earth as in Heaven. This gives us the vocation to ask for Him to intervene, fix and bring about change in situations we as humans have so clearly got wrong, damaging God's will on earth. One such wrong we have committed is being part of, allowing and continuing the schisms that break the unity of one Church. We pray for unity, shared Eucharistic communion and a return (or "going home") to being one family serving God. We pray for the justice and equity that our human systems could allow, but do not, due to our selfishness or self-serving priorities.
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The SSR was set up at the University of Cambridge (England) by a group of like-minded Christians committed to prayer. Within the fellowship, support for each other and accountability to each other, the SSR is intended to offer the same opportunity to anyone who can say and believe the creeds, can commit to our discipline and finds the Rosary a Blessing. Each member will say the Rosary at different times of the week, or together if possible. The Rosary is an addition to and a complement to a wider spiritual life and rule depending on their tradition. It is not, and should never been regarded as, a "complete spiritual life" but an enhancement within our own spiritual lives and communities.
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If you feel called to explore this vocation please contact the SSR. You will be welcome, included and valued for who God has made you.
The Rosary is a prayer both so humble and simple and theologically rich in Biblical content. I beg you to pray it.