Novena to the Holy Spirit
compiled by Catherine Fournier
In honour of this year of the Holy Spirit declared by our pontiff in preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Millennium, we present this novena to the Holy Spirit.
First Day
Holy Spirit, Lord of Light
From thy clear celestial height,
Thy pure
beaming radiance give.
Meditation
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 permanent super-natural dispositions given to us with
grace, to make the soul attentive and responsive to the movements of the Third Person
of the Adorable Trinity.
Very appropriately have they been compared to the sails
of a ship which, when spread, carry the craft swiftly and smoothly over its course.
When the inspirations of the Holy Spirit find the gifts spread like sails in the soul,
they waft it safely over the sea of life to the haven of eternal happiness. Those
Christians who through indolence allow the gifts to lie dormant, are like ships
dismantled, whose sails lie in the bottom of the boat, useless.
Who has not felt
many a time, even immediately after coming from the sacred tribunal of Penance, the
necessity of some such impelling power? Therefore, let us beseech the Holy Spirit for
an increase of these necessary gifts.
Prayer
Almighty and eternal God, who hast vouchsafed to regenerate us by water and the Holy
Spirit, and hast given us forgiveness of all sins, vouchsafe to send forth from
heaven upon us thy seven fold 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.
Glory Be, seven times
Second Day
Come thou father of the poor,
Come with treasures which endure,
Come thou
light of all that live.
Meditation
The irreligious man often fears that there may possibly be a God and a time of
retribution. O what a base fear; a fear which he tries to bury in oblivion by leading
a riotous, sinful life. With such fear we are not concerned.
The gift of Holy
Fear fills us with a sovereign respect for God, and makes us dread above all things to
offend Him. It is fear like that of a dutiful son, who will shun certain company of
whom he knows no evil, but with whom his parents do not wish him to associate. He
simply respects his parents' wishes. It is a fear which arises from reverence and
submission towards those we love and esteem. It measures the malice of sin, not by the
world's standards, but by those of heaven.
If it does not suggest very noble
deeds in God's service, at least it keeps us from going over to the enemy's camp. For
this reason we, poor sinners, need the gift of Holy Fear. Let us therefore pray
fervently for it.
Prayer
Come, O blessed Spirit of Holy Fear, penetrate my inmost heart, that I may set thee,
my Lord and God, before my face forever; and shun all things that can offend thee,
so that I may be made worthy to appear before the pure eyes of thy Divine Majesty
in the heaven of heavens, where thou livest and reignest in the unity of the ever
Blessed Trinity, God, world without end. Amen.
Glory Be, seven
times.
Third Day
Thou of all consolers best,
Visiting the troubled breast,
Dost refreshing
peace bestow.
Meditation
The gift of piety is the gift through which the Holy Ghost 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 soul on earth and in purgatory. The gift of Piety which
bids us love our Father in heaven, stirs up our affections for our father and mother
in the flesh, our own dear parents, for our fathers in God, the Pope, Bishops and
Priests, for our home, our church and our country.
Pride and envy beget
chauvinism, which is false patriotism and narrow mindedness; the gift of Piety begets
real patriotism. Let us therefore, pray fervently for this beautiful gift.
Prayer
Come, O blessed Spirit of Piety, possess my heart, incline it to a true faith in
Thee, to a holy love of Thee, my God and of all my fellow creatures for Thy sake.
Amen.
Glory Be, seven times.
Fourth Day
Thou in toil art comfort sweet,
Pleasant coolness in the heat,
Solace in
the midst of woe.
Meditation
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. Even with supernatural faith in our soul to elevate our
reason, how often we detect ourselves talking of temporal gain and loss, success and
failure, suffering and pleasure, purely and simply according to the principles of the
worldly-minded!
We fail to pierce the veil of the natural and see in suffering a
blessing from God. We have come to think it folly to season our pleasures with a pinch
of the pepper and salt of mortification; for example: to determine that we will not
remain out later than a certain reasonable hour, when we go out for an evening of
innocent pleasure.
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 the earthly things, that I may realize their
vanity and use them only for thy glory and my own salvation, looking ever beyond
them to thee and thy eternal rewards. Amen.
Glory Be, seven times.
Fifth Day
Light immortal, light divine,
Visit thou these hearts of thine,
And our
inmost being fill.
Meditation
Fortitude is a 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.
The virtue of fortitude leads us
into the battle, but we need special encouragement from the Spirit of God, to enable
us to persevere in good, in spite of unforeseen difficulties, hardships, and the grind
of routine. That encouragement the Holy Ghost imparts to us through the gift of
Fortitude. Moreover, whilst we are not called upon to face the roaring lion in the
Roman arena like the first Christians, we are bound every day of our lives to fight
the roaring lion within us, to struggle against our besetting temptation. God has
armed us with the gift of Fortitude for that purpose.
Let us therefore pray for
that gift to enable us to fight perseveringly the good fight of Jesus Christ until it
please our divine Leader to call us from the battlefield of life to enjoy the eternal
reward of heaven.
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, that I may never be overcome and
separated from thee, my God and greatest Good. Amen.
Glory Be, seven
times.
Sixth Day
If Thou take Thy grace away,
Nothing pure in man will stay;
All his good is
turned to ill.
Meditation
The gift of Counsel is a disposition in the soul through which the Holy Spirit prompts
us to choose to do the better of two good actions. It is the elder sister of the
supernatural gift prudence. Prudence teaches us the A,B,C, of Christian life, the gift
of Counsel trains us in the fine arts of Christian perfection. As this gift gains
greater influence over our actions, the soul begins to realize more and more the full
meaning of the words of Saint Paul: "All things are lawful to me, but all things are
not expedient." (I Cor. VI. 12)
This gift can never be developed in the
Christian soul which stops short of only mortal sin in its use and abuse of liberty.
Such a rule of conduct will not keep us long from mortal sin, and when mortal sin
enters the soul, grace and all the supernatural gifts depart. Because my use of the
things of this world may give my neighbor a pretext for abusing them, it is often
expedient for me to hearken to the counsel of my divine Guide and refrain from licit
pleasures and actions.
Above all, as Catholics, we should be as shining lights
to our neighbors, going before them in the path of virtue. To do so, we need the gift
of Counsel, and therefore, let us pray for it.
Prayer
Come, O Spirit of Counsel, help and guide me in all my ways, that I may always do
Thy holy will. Incline my heart to that which is good; turn it away from all that
is evil, and direct me by the straight path of Thy commandments to that goal of
eternal life for which I long. Amen.
Glory Be, seven times.
Seventh Day
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour Thy dew;
Wash the
stains of guilt away.
Meditation
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. Many Catholics find the Catholic newspapers flat and unsavory. On Sundays they
would like to hear the Priest speak of the topics of the times rather than give
catechetical instructions. That is because they are imbued with the spirit of the age.
They have never become accustomed to thinking seriously of religious subjects. They
have no religious, no Catholic, no supernatural ideals. Perhaps one of the reasons why
we do not duplicate the majestic cathedrals of Europe is, because we do not live the
religious mysteries and ideals which inspired those monuments of faith.
We need
an increase of the gift of Understanding to make our religion real and living.
Therefore let us pray fervently for that intention.
Prayer
Come, O Spirit of Understanding, and enlighten our minds, that we may know and
believe all the mysteries of salvation; and may merit at last to see the eternal
light in Thy Light; and in the light of glory to have a clear vision of thee and
the Father and the Son. Amen.
Glory Be, seven times.
Eighth Day
Bend the stubborn heart and will,
Melt the frozen, warm the chill,
Guide
the steps that go astray.
Meditation
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 gives us
courage to trample under foot wealth, honor and pleasure, if these things,--I will not
say, impede our salvation,-- but even cast so much as a shadow between us and our
God.
You may be inclined to think that the gift of Wisdom is only for Saints.
You are right when you say this gift is only for the Saints, but you are wrong if you
think that you are not destined to be a Saint. We must all aspire to sanctity.
Why not aim high? God will reward the effort. Let us begin today by trying to make an
act of thanksgiving for every little cross that falls on us.
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 for ever. Amen.
Glory Be,
seven times.
Ninth Day
Thou on those who evermore,
Thee confess and Thee adore,
In Thy seven fold
gift descend.
Give them comfort when they die,
Give them life with Thee on high,
Give
them joys which never end.
Meditation
The first great novena in honor of 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 the novena, let us beg the Holy Spirit to
fill the world with zeal for the triumph of honesty and purity over deceit and
sensuality.
Let us pray that the Divine Spirit may fill many of our young men
and women with zeal for the propagation of the faith, with courage to sacrifice the
comforts of home and the company of parents, to labor in the service of Christ and the
Church.
Let us pray that he may pour out an abundance of the apostolic spirit
upon our priests, missionaries and nuns.
Let us pray that he may draw the hearts
of heretics and pagans to the one true fold of Jesus Christ, so that from every
quarter of the earth the cry will ascend heavenward: Praised be the holy and adorable
Trinity; to it be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer
Holy, Divine Spirit, by the infinite merits of the passion and death of Jesus
Christ, deign to pour abroad thy most ardent and omnipotent charity into all
hearts, so that there may be one fold and one shepherd in the whole world; and
that we may all come to sing thy divine praises in heaven forever. Amen.
Glory Be, seven times.
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