Photo: R. Massaro (c) 2017 Spirit Singing Our Lady of Lebanon Shrine North Jackson, Ohio

NOVENA TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

EWTN Novena

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

THREE WORDS OF WISDOM

VENI SANCTE SPIRITUS

Photo: R. Massaro-Immaculate Heart of Mary Church Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

For those not familiar with Latin, today's three words are translated, "Come Holy Spirit."

When I first launched Spirit Singing, I wrote a series on the gifts of the Holy Spirit in light of Carmelite spirituality.  In the next few weeks, I'll be re-posting some of those early writings. I hope you are blessed by them. You can also click on the labels at the end of this post to access to them.

I have been thinking a lot about the gifts of the Holy Spirit lately. Pope Francis has declared this year, a "Year of Mercy." In light of this, I have been thinking about the souls in purgatory and trying to find ways to be merciful and to pray for the deceased in a special way. The Spiritual Works of Mercy state that we should "pray for the living and the dead." One day, while praying, I felt inspired to begin a "Novena for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit," and I would ask God to apply it to a particular soul and to all the souls in purgatory. I felt my inspiration was confirmed,when, a few days later, I found an old prayer pamphlet entitled, "Novena to the Holy Ghost." It received an Imprimatur in 1948. Please keep in mind that this is a general Novena to the Holy Spirit that has a plenary indulgence attached to it. In this post, I am only sharing that I am praying it as a private devotion for the souls in purgatory. 

NOVENA PRAYER TO THE HOLY GHOST

Why am I focusing on the gifts of the Holy Spirit for those in purgatory?  The Church teaches that canonized saints are those who lived a virtuous life.  In fact, the requirement is that they lived a heroically virtuous life, meaning, they possessed the theological virtues (faith, hope, charity) and the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance). When the Church canonizes someone it means it recognizes the sanctity of the person. Therefore, the person must be filled with the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier. 

Years ago, I was privileged to attend a conference by the late Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. He stated, "A saint must possess ALL the gifts of the Holy Spirit. You can't just have one or two and get into heaven." He explains heroic virtue in his classic work, The Fire Within:

To appreciate more fully the next facet of the contemplative culmination, we need to reflect on the meaning of heroic virtue. This term does not refer merely to the ordinary fidelity we commend when we say that another is a good and sincere person. Rather, we envision a degree of loving uprightness and moral excellence that, left to our own native resources, we find humanly impossible. It is the living of a Gospel virtue (faith, hope, charity, temperance, fortitude, patience, humility) in a manner surpassing human strength.
The Fire Within, Thomas Dubay, S.M. Ignatius Press, 1989.

So, I am on a spiritual mission to ask the intercession of the Holy Spirit to purify the holy souls in purgatory and to fill them (and us) with his gifts. We can ask the Church to join us in our effort: the Church Triumphant, includes the saints in heaven, the Church Suffering are the holy souls in purgatory, and the Church Militant are the faithful on earth. 

I unite myself with all the faithful on earth, with all the holy souls in purgatory, and with all the saints in heaven, as I pray this Novena to the Holy Spirit.  

A NOVENA PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS 
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, before ascending into heaven promised to send the Holy Spirit to finish your work in the souls of your Apostles and Disciples, please grant the same Holy Spirit to me, that He may perfect in my soul the work of Your grace and your love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom, that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of thy divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel, that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude, that I may bear my cross with You, and that I may overcome with courage, all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge, that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God, and may dread in any way to displease Him, mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of your true disciples and animate me in all things with your Spirit. Amen.

Let us pray:

O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant us by the same Holy Spirit to be truly wise and to ever rejoice in His consolation, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Novena to the Holy Spirit

First Day
Importance of the Gifts

All notes and prayers are excerpts from Favorite Novenas to the Holy Spirit, published by Catholic Book Publishing Co.
We shall strive during this Novena to obtain an increase of the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, over and above the special favors we shall ask from the Divine Spirit. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are supernatural dispositions given to us with grace, to make the soul attentive and responsive to the movements of the Third Person of the Adorable Trinity.

Prayer:Almighty and eternal God, You have regenerated us by water and the Holy Spirit, and have given us forgiveness of all sins. Be pleased to send forth from heaven upon us Your sevenfold Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and Fortitude, the Spirit of Knowledge and of Piety, and fill us with the Spirit of Holy Fear. Amen. Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Second Day

The Gift of Holy Fear

The irreligious man often fears that there may possibly be a God and a time of retribution. O what a base fear; a fear that he tries to bury in oblivion by leading a riotous, sinful life. The Gift of Holy Fear fills us with a sovereign respect for God, and makes us above all things to offend Him.

Prayer:

Come, O blessed Spirit of Holy Fear, penetrate my inmost heart, that I may set You,my Lord and God, before my face for ever; and shun all things that can offend You, so that I may be made worthy to appear before the pure eyes of Your Divine Majesty in the heaven of heavens, where You live and reign in the unity of the ever Blessed Trinity, God forever and ever. Amen.

Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Third Day

The Gift of Piety

The Gift of Piety is the Gift through which the Holy Spirit calls to the service of God and man, the mistress of virtues, charity. It prompts us to love God not because of His majesty, but because He is our Father. It makes us love whatever is near and dear to our Divine Savior, beginning with His Immaculate Mother and going down the scale to the most abandoned on earth and in purgatory.

Prayer:

Come, O blessed Spirit of Piety, possess my heart, incline it to a true faith in You, to a holy love of You, my God, and of all my fellow creatures for Your sake. Amen.

Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Fourth Day

The Gift of Knowledge

Knowledge, as a Gift of the Holy Spirit, directs the soul to judge of things, both human and Divine, according to supernatural common sense and not according to the standards of the worldly-wise.

In this age of doubt, materialism, pleasure-seeking, what shall we say of the necessity of this Gift to enable us to distinguish good from evil, innocent pleasure from tainted joy, truth from falsehood, the real good from the apparent good among all the things around us? Let us, therefore, pray earnestly for this Gift.

Prayer:

Come, O blessed Spirit of Knowledge, and grant that I may perceive the Will of the Father. Show me the nothingness of earthly things, that I may realize their vanity and use them only for Your glory and my own salvation, looking ever beyond them to You and Your eternal rewards. Amen.

Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Fifth Day

The Gift of Fortitude

Fortitude is the Gift of the Holy Spirit strengthening the soul against all natural fear and supporting it to the end in the performance of duty. Daily the soul, in the state of grace, must go forth to fight the good fight of Christ; to do its duty, which, because it is duty, will always be difficult.

Prayer:

Come, O blessed Spirit of Fortitude, uphold my soul in time of trouble and adversity. Sustain my efforts after holiness, strengthen my weakness, give me courage against all the assaults of my enemies. May I never be overcome and separated from You, my God and greatest Good. Amen.

Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Seventh Day

The Gift of Understanding

Understanding, as a Gift of the Holy Spirit, helps the Christian, in the state of grace, to grasp according to his mental capacity, the meaning of the truths of our holy religion. Perhaps, to many of us, the articles of the Creed are but dry disconnected truths. God gives us the Gift of Understanding to enable us to penetrate the truths of our holy religion in a manner that will enable us to live them.

Prayer:

Come, O Spirit of Understanding, and enlighten my mind, that I may know and believe all the Mysteries of salvation; and may merit at last to see the eternal light in Your Light; and in the light of glory to have a clear vision of You and the Father and the Son. Amen.

Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Eighth Day

The Gift of Wisdom

Wisdom is that Gift of the Holy Spirit whereby the Divine Spirit raises up our intellect and our heart to rest in God alone. Knowledge tells us the value of earthly things, and how we can enjoy them licitly without offending God; but Wisdom mounts high above them.

Wisdom is that blossom of all the other Gifts. The latter lead us up, step by step, to the throne of God: Wisdom bids us sit down on His footstool and judge all earthly things from that sublime height.

Prayer:

Come, O Spirit of Wisdom, and reveal to my soul the Mysteries of heavenly things, their exceeding greatness, power, and beauty. Teach me to love them above and beyond all the passing joys and satisfactions of earth. Show me the way by which I may be able to attain them and possess them forever. Amen.

Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Ninth Day

Zeal for the Glory of God

and the Propagation of the Faith

The first great Novena in honor the Holy Spirit was crowned with an abundant outpouring of the Divine Spirit upon the Apostles. It enkindled within their bosom a zeal that knew not fear of starvation or death, that defied the sword and the cross, that braved storms at sea and bloody persecutions on land. for the propagation of the Faith of Jesus Christ.

Before we close this Novena, let us beg the Holy Spirit to pour out an abundance of the apostolic spirit upon our priests, missionaries, and nuns.

Prayer:

Holy, Divine Spirit, by the infinite merits of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, deign to pour abroad Your most ardent and omnipotent charity into all hearts, so that there may be on e Fold and one Shepherd in the whole world; and that we may all come to sing Your Divine praises in heaven forever. Amen.

Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS