Browse:St. Rita (Volume 1, entries 3052–3062)
St. Rita
Volume 1, entries 3052–3062. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → (3) SAINTS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 3052
St. Rita is a woman, she never got a good husband. She had some of them but they were all cruel to her - they beat her and they give her black eyes and they were mean to her. She never could keep a husband. The last husband she had he beat her so bad it turned her against all men, and any woman that has got a husband, St. Rita is bad luck to them in the house. Now, if she is a single woman, St. Rita will help her. But she won't do anything for men at all because she don't like them.
Entry 3053
Yassuh, St. Rita's fo' chillren, she's not fo' men - fo' chillren an' winmins, but not fo' mens. St. Rita will drive a man out of a woman's house. She don't lak no man.
(Is there any particular reason why she doesn't like the men?)
On accounta she married - her parents made her marry a man an' she didn't want tuh marry him - she wanted tuh be a nun - an' her husband wus cruel to her. He hit her in de haid an' she had a hole in her haid. An' she had two sons, an' she said befo' she would see her sons live tuh be men - she asked God tuh take 'em out of dis world. An' when her son dies she went to a convent tuh be a nun. An' de rest of de nuns would scorn her, an' when dey'd scorn her - dey had a big feast at de church an' she wanted tuh go an' she asked God tuh heal dat [hole in her head] up so she could go tuh dis feast an' she went to dat feast. An' when she went tuh de feast de rest of de nuns didn't know her until aftah de feast wus ovah. An' when she wus comin' back, dis hole in her haid opened up. An' befo' she died she tole dem - dere wus snow on de ground - she tole 'em tuh go out an' look on de fig tree an' bring her a ripe fig an' bring her a red rose off of a bush. An' dey brought it.
(What did she want - to give them the flowers?)
Dat wus jes' whut she wanted, jes' tuh show 'em about whut she wus doin't. Dey scorned her on accounta whut she had dat hole in her haid, an' she Wanted tuh show 'em dat her religion Was pure, or whut she wus doin'.
(Well now - how do you approach St. Rita now?)
Well, yo' kin take St. Rita - yo' give her flowers, if yo' want her tuh do somepin fo' yo'. She's fo' chillren an' wimmins. Yo' makes a novena tuh her, but chew don't make no novena tuh her fo' a man if yo' got a man at chure house an' [unless] yo' wants tuh drive dat man away. If yo Wanta make a novena tuh her, she'll sho' run him away cause she don't lak men.
(Do you make that novena at any special time?)
Well, her days is Thursdays.
(You don't burn any candles to her?)
No suh yo' don't burn no candles to her, yo' gives her flowers.
Entry 3054
De saints dat de womens work with, into keepin' her man into her life - lak if a woman wanta keep a man an' she don't wanta give a man no filth tuh eat, or fix a man with no scrapin's offa his feet or his hat. Well, she keeps a light burnin' tuh St. Rita. St. Rita keeps de do's open fo' dis Woman, because her sympathy is with de woman jes' lak Noah wus fo' de world. He cried fo' de world jes' lak St. Rita is fo' de woman. She's something lak Noah. She a passionly [patiently] person an' lak tuh see de homelight burnin'. Long as yo' keep a light burnin' tuh her she'll he'p yo', an' if yo' been burnin' lights to her an' don't believe her, she'll he'p yo' right on.
Entry 3055
(St. Rita?)
Well, she don't like men. I [a woman] never have prayed to her, never have gived her a light and no kind of novenas.
(Why is that?)
Because she don't like men.
The speaker denies giving a light; the saint name appears in the interviewer question.
Entry 3056
(Well now, tell me about St. Rita.)
Well, you know, St. Rita, she don't like no man.
(Yes.)
Cause her husband was a man, you know.
(I see.)
Cause he deceived her when she had a son for him. She don't like no man. She do anything for a woman, won't do anything for a man.
(I see.)
All you have to do, get you St. Rita's pitchure in your house, and get you a white candle and put the candle there and put flowers there, and go there every morning and ask her to do it for you for nine mornings, and she'll do it. Give her money though, flowers too, and she'll do anything you ask her to do - don't care what it is.
Entry 3057
St. Rita, she don't like no man. Only one reason why she don't like a man, cause she had a man and he was very hard on her. And the man was so mean and cruel to her till he gave her a stone.
(He gave her what?)
He gave to her a stone.
(Yes.)
And he made her boil that stone until it got to be an Irish potato, and when that stone got to be an Irish potato, well then, that's where she got apart from this man, because now today she hates a man. Why does she hates a man? Cuz a man was such a cruel [person] to a woman. But she's good in a way and she ain't no good in this way - she'll take. If you make a novena to her that you don't want, that you wanta git rid of your husband, you'll git rid of the man; but there's a one in the family, such as your mother or your child or your grand- child, or someone like your father or cross-relative, she'll come in and step in and take her away from you, because you wanta git rid of him because she hates a man. And that's how she'll come in to do these things. She'll take that man away from you, but still and all she'll come right on in and take your mother or your child - the one that you love the best.
Entry 3058
There's only one saint you go to that doing bad and that's St. Rita.
(St. Rita?)
St. Rita, she's a woman. She don't like men and it wouldn't do you [the author] no good to go to her, to ask her to do you favors for you; but if you Want favors done, you go to St. Joseph, St. Peter, or Lady of Lourdes - any of those other saints. That's to do good for you for luck - you know, to be suc- cessful in whatsomever you undertake to do or something of that sort.
(Well, why doesn't St. Rita like men?)
Well, St. Rita, the reason why she don't like men is - according to Scriptures from what I'm got the understanding of - she never did like mens for one simple reason, on account of Christ, see. Christ is supposed to be her father, and he's not, see. She don't like men, she never did. When Christ was born, she looked and see that it was man. She walked away and they made her come back. But when they called him King Of Lords - that's how we have this thing [day] what we call carnival today. Well, they said, "Hail, King of the Jews, ' and all such things as that, she liked that because they Was going to kill him. She hated men. We have today what we call carnival, you know, carnival just passed. We have that on the [sakes?] of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, when he was born. He was born, so they claim, on the 25th of December. Well, I understood different. It was on a carnival that he was coming when they said, "Prepare ye for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand." That was Christ - he was coming. He was coming and he was coming on an ass colt. See. And they went around saying, 'Make way, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh," and they was talking about the Lord was coming, you see. And she seen who it was and that's what caused her to hate men today. But still and all, he came. Everybody had to - I think it was the ninth hour. I know I remember reading something about what he said at the ninth hour - about his time had not come yet, but at the ninth hour his time cometh. He hung on the cross from the sixth until the ninth hour. That's how it was. And when that ninth come - when the ninth hour was up - everybody had to pull off their masks and things. See, everybody had changed. Well, that's how we have what you call carnival today. See, after six o'clock you can't wear no more masks. See. Well that's Scriptures - that's the same thing as in the Bible. You see. Well, that is how she come to hate mens today, because he was born man and he supposed to be her father. See. But she don't like men, and that's the reason she don't like men because he supposed to be her father and he's not.
(Do the women go to St. Rita when they want a favor done?)
A woman can go there and have any kind of favor done she wants to, but a man can't.
(Well, what sort of thing would a woman have her do for her?)
Well, the saint - well, a saint could do mostly anything. St. Rita, for a woman, she'd do anything she wants. Generally, if the woman go to her and ask her to do these favors, she can have it done; but she'll have to go and go until she fulfill a promise she make to the saint. It just like you, if I tell you, "Loan me a ten-dollar bill today and I pay you back Saturday." Well, then Sat- urday come, you looking for your ten dollars, see. Well, that's how that is with this saint. You go to these saints and you ask 'em for a favor, just like, say for instance, you are out of work and you want a job, she'll open the Way for you to get the job. Well, you promise to give her flowers or promise to give her a quarter or half a dollar, maybe you promise to give her a candle. Well, she'll open the way for you to get the job, but when you get the job, it's up to you to go and give her that candle or flower or whatsomever you promised her. And if you don't give it to her, why then you going to lose that job again. Now, that's strictly facts.
Entry 3059
(What do you know about St. Rita?)
St. Rita is the best saint. I can tell you that St. Rita is one of the best saints. That I kin say that I have call on her after Jesus, after God and Jesus, the Son of God - after his heart [Sacred Heart]. She have done me some favors.
(Well, can you tell me something about her? Who is she? What does she do?)
She ain't nothing but a woman. She have been a bad woman all her days.
(Yes, what kind of a bad woman?)
She had been a sporting woman, goes with mens - you understand, different mens and that kind of thing. Every night she would lay with a man, she had a growing son. One night, here that son come just about one o'clock aknocking at the door, and at the same time she had a man - the man laying with her. And he [man with her] knew that she was doing those things - that why she so good to- day - and he didn't take no time, didn't ask who that was. They [the man and she] was more sure that was some of her mens - you know, had been knocking at the door. And it was her son. [The man] got up and he takes his gun and he shot the son - that's what the book [says] - shot the man at the door. That was her son. [He] opened the door and he who had been dropped dead by the shot, that was her son. That why she fainted.
(She fainted.)
She fainted. She say, "Now, from today on - from tonight on, I shall change my name. The only son that I had of mine - have seen the hand of [something]. But," she say, "before that I goes to that way, I was ready to send myself to that place there in hell. But he take my place. But I change my name from to- night on." She choose the very, very dirty place that you could of called to [stopped at] traveling along - what I mean in the [woods?] - everything [dirty].
(In the what?)
In the woods yes, alone. It was in January. You see in that kind of time there ain't no flowers. We don't see no flowers. We don't see such a - there's nothing blooming at that, in that month. She say, "I throw myself - I wanta be a saint or I wanta kill myself. I wanta do charity some kind of way." She con- tinue praying, praying. And she say, "From today on," she say, "my Savior, that you come to be the man, and give me the crown that I want. I be called many [something] in your heaven. I resigns everything. I throw myself in your arms. After the bad, I want the goodness as my [fort or forte] - it shall be my [fort or forte] until I die. But I'm going to change my name." That way she say, "I go especially for the poor. I have been poor. I have to throw myself in this position that I have to go make the death of my child - for my baby - and I'll do charity for the poor." And she says, "My Savior, at the end of my prayer, after you show me my way, good or bad, I want for you [to] represent it to me - just a kind of a something [sign] to let me know that you stand with me, and I'll stand with you, and I shall be saved from today on."
(What was her name before?)
Rita. Now it's Saint, you see.
(I see.)
They use Saint in it.
(Well, then she changed it to St. Rita?)
St. Rita. [At this point I stop the machine but she soon saying something about the sigr makes me restart recording.]
(All right. Did she have a sign?)
She got a sign. In February. Did you understand?
(I understand.)
Now, you know it's a month that there's nothing what blooms. One night she comes and she lays down. One morning, she get up and she say, "I'm going travel- ing along." When she come to get out from the door of that building where she Was, she had figured that she had carried - have carried it on her head like a veil and white around here. She have figured that. You understand. That was at the time of Jesus Christ, you see. She [was] walking along. Her heart have always - have a willing heart, you understand, for everything that would come along. She walked forth on that road about two or three miles before she get to a little pond that they have Water - that they used to have some flowers or something. She says, "Well, Lord, I asked my message through my prayers, to show me a sign and let me know if I was past through my bad days. Make a way which say if you was on my side." She say, "This morning, in the [picture - something about the rose]. Did you see - you done see the picture?
(No, I've never seen the picture of St. Rita.)
She have a beautiful rose on her little table - that's the first beginning of her life from - after He had changed her ways. Now, here comes - continuing - she say, "I ain't going to lose my way. I ain't going to give up." She say, "I don't want no company. The onliest company that I want with me is God. If I don't see him - just so that He lead me with prayer - that I foreseen the - and know that my redeeming lead in my heart, so that I kin say that I know it." One morning she gets up - that was the third morning.
(Are you repeating that part of the story?)
That was the third morning. I come with one morning like that - that was the third morning, again. She say, "Well, my Savior, here is a lamb." She say, "I promise Jesus I was going to be in the service of the poor people, bad people. He have heard me." She say, "Here, this is my way." She promise from that day on, "I wanta be a saint - not for the rich, not for nobody but all bad people. Whosomever know they have been dealing bad, whosomever know that they wanta be better, they goes to her and ask her if her [she will] beg Jesus for something to help them on the way. And you give her her prayers like you ought to, I'll guarantee that she'll answer you.
(You mean any person who is wicked - you go to her and she'll answer?)
I'm telling you.
(She won't do any dirty work, will she?)
Oh, not no more. Not no more. No, sir.
(Does St. Rita like men? Does she answer any man's prayer?)
Oh, yes, she like the men - she like man. She like all good dealing, but not bad dealing no more. Cause bad dealing have been the cause of - see, in one way, that her trouble have come through.
Entry 3060
(What did you do to get your husband back?)
Well, I went to her [St. Rita] again and prayed. Well, when I went to her and prayed, I burned incense in my house and scrubbed incense in my house. Well, it was a woman that took my husband clean from me. I couldn't do anything in the world with him. He wouldn't stay home. He wouldn't pay no rent at home. I is a mother with children for him and he wouldn't pay no rent, he wouldn't support me, and I didn't have no cause to go to the white folks to make him support me no nothing. But I took and went on there and prayed, and after I went there, I just took holy water and scrubbed my house out and sprinkled holy water in my house, and light that candle and got me a little altar and put her in there, got her saint and put her in there, and I had three lights. And I had his name writ nine times frontwards and nine times backwards, and I lighted her candle on him - you see, where a little base.
(Oh! What kind of a candle?)
A white candle. But I had one white candle what I had his picture and his name - you know, right on it. And I had his name nine times thisaway and nine times thataway.
(Across. In a cross?)
Yes, just like you'd make a cross. You understand?) Well, all right. I laid that down just like this [demonstrates]. See, that's his picture there. I laid his name over that and set the [white] light on top of it. (You laid the names crosswise, across the picture, and now you put the candle on top of that - this white candle.) Yes, sir.
(Was it a picture or a statue of the saint?)
No, it was a statue of my saint, but I had the picture of my husband - that was his'n.
(But the saint was a statue?)
A statue - little white statue. You can get it in any Catholic church; you can get a little white statue. They give you ary one you want - any one of them.
(I see.)
So, I had my light there, but I had her back here. You see.
(Her light.)
Her light - was supposed to put her light here.
(What color was her light?)
Her light was a blue light I give her. See, that's when you wanta get your husband back. And if you have a dark light, it's for the woman what's got your husband. That white light, that's hers [the saint's] but she's working on that for you. See, she's bringing him home. And my husband come home one night at twelve o'clock and I wouldn't get no upstirring about him - you see, one, two, three, my mind was gone off of him. He stayed away from me three weeks, and when he come back home, he come right home and went and called on the landlord and paid him hisself; asked the landlord how much I'd owed him, and the landlord told him, "Well, she owe for three week's rent." And I was paying $3 a week. And he went there and he paid him. He was working right there on the riverfront, and he really did come back home and I ain't never had no trouble wit him since. That's been three year ago and I don't never move that light - I always keep that light. I always go to church every morning at six clock. You'll find me in that church on Halsey Avenue and Cologne. I'll be to that Catholic church there on my knees.
(Do you do that every morning now?)
Every morning.
(Are you a Catholic?)
Yes, sir
(Well, were you Catholic before then?)
No sir, I was no Catholic then. I was a Methodist.
(I see, you become a Catholic.)
After. I came to be a Catholic after.
(Were you confirmed or anything in the Catholic Church or did you just go in?)
Well, I ioined the Catholic Church, you understand.
(Were you baptised in the Catholic Church?)
No, I wasn't baptised yet. I wasn't supposed to get baptised until Easter Sunday. That's when they supposed to baptize me, Easter Sunday Morning.
(You haven't been baptised yet. You are going to be though?)
Yes, sir. Easter Sunday morning.
(I see.)
Easter Sunday morning.
(And you have this altar in your house and you still burn these candles?)
Yes, sir.
(And you burn the blue and the white ones?)
Yes, sir.
(You put three candles?)
I put three candles for the man - like if you wants your husband back, like if a woman want her husband back.
(One was blue?)
One was blue and one was white and the other one was blue [black]. The blue one was for the saint, but the white one was for the husband [see later]. That dark candle - the black candle was for the woman what was, you know, have took your husband from you. That was against her. [Originally she says the white candle sat on her husband's picture and name - it being the candle for him. Later she calls the white candle the saint's, but only because the saint is working through it. The blue candle is for the saint alone.]
(How did you have this arranged on the altar?)
Well, you see, just have.
(Here's the altar.)
[To represent altar, I open my small spiral-bound Numbers Book on table.]
That's the altar. Now you see, just hold this up just like this here. That's the altar here. You understand?
(Yes.)
Well, all right. That's the Virgin Mary - the Virgin right here, see.
(That's St. Rita?) [She means St. Rita.]
Yeah, that's St. Rita, right there. All right, you takes right here, right in front of the altar, you understand, that's her in here.- in that little hole. Well, you take right in front of the altar, right here [also], that's where you put - lay your husband's picture there and the name nine times, one time cross- way like that, nine time crossway like that, and once like dis, and you lay that right up on here. And you take his picture - have his picture like that with it, but you have his picture laying crossways - see, just like his head would rise to the sun, well, you make his feet get to the sun and you put it right here. Lay that on top of that and put that white candle on top of this. Then you turn round and take that dark candle and put it right here.
(On the left hand [north] side of the altar you put the dark candle?)
Yeah, put it the side of the altar but on this side. See, [evil] all the time on the left side. On the right side put the man's candle - put it right here. That saint's candle, put it right here - that blue one, that's for her, see. (I see. The white one is in the center and the blue one is on the right side of the [statue of the] saint?) Yes, sir. Then, see when you light it, you can light.
(When you light those candles, you do what?)
When you light the candles, see, you light her candle first - that's that blue candle.
(I see.)
You see, all them candles are nickel candles apiece - cost a nickel apiece. Well, you see, you light her candle first. Well, you says your wish. You make your wish to her - just like you wish for him to come home, or you wish for him to stay away. See. Any wish that you make her, say, "Well, I wish that you would send my husband home. You understand, I am in need." And you make that wish for her and light her candle first, and you turn around and you come across there and pass him up, and light the dark candle after you light hers first.
(Then you light the black candle?)
Yes. And you come right on back [to the white candle].
(What do you say when you light that black candle?)
That black candle, "Take him away from this woman, if it's your spirit will." See, that's the way you have to have your hands - just thataway. (Up against the side of your face - folded [in prayer]. Yes, just thataway.
(After you repeat the prayer?)
And after you prays the Lord's Prayer. And after the Lord's Prayer is said, you takes and [hold a match like] that to the light. And you take another match, not the same match - take another match and light this husband's candle, the white candle. And you take and set ~ burn - take all them [matches] and burn them [matches] up. And you set right there and you make the Lord's Prayers to the saint.
(You use three different matches?)
Yes, sir.
(What do you do with those matches after you light them?)
You can't use but one on that one candle.
(No, what do you do with those matches after you use them?)
You take them and throw them in the fire and burn them up. See, you can't use the same [matches again] and drag 'em around. And you make your wishes and you prays to her. And I guarantee you in three days time your husband will be back home. [Here is the prepared or dressed altar: Parentheses in diagram = spiral binding that divides Numbers Book into halves
(p.886, line one) = little hole (line 8).]
Entry 3061
(St. Rita. What have you heard about St. Rita?)
Ah would set a pink light tuh her.
(Give me an example - a parable of how you would do that?)
Ah would send her de light - to St. Rita, an' ah would rap. Make up piece [prayer] in mah home lak, if me an' mah husban' misquarreled a lot at home. Ah would rap an' ah would call her name an' she would give me a rap, yo' see, an in three days time ah would git mah wish.
(You burn a pink candle for her. For what length of time would you burn it?)
Ah burn it fo' three days, from three tuh nine days to her.
(At any particular time during the day?)
Ah light it in de mawnin' at fo' an' ah light it agin at twelve an' ah light it agin at fo' in de evenin'. [For candle-burning time, see pp.828-831.]
(How long do you burn it each time?) [See p.829.]
Ah burn it each time about fifteen minutes.
(Who was St. Rita, anyway? Do you know anything about St. Rita?)
Ah heard dat she wus a honest woman an' her husban' didn't believe her an' she got mistreated through life. Then she run him off an' anothah man married her an' he mistreated her so she jes' went on tuh be a sister [nun].
The interviewer names a candle and the informant gives burning intervals. The practice, timing and Rita story remain attributed source accounts.
Entry 3062
St. Rita is not a woman's man - she don't want no man. She's not good fo' nobody that's got husban' an' wife. She don't improve in dat [approve of that]. Now, dat's all ah know of her.
(Why is that?)
Ah don't know. She musta been a whut chew would call dem people dat nevah had a man. See, an' she don't improve in dat.