Day 2: Novena to the Holy Spirit
This is part two of a nine-day prayer series to the Holy Spirit.
Daily Opening Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, come! And from Your celestial home shed a ray of light divine! Come, Father of the poor! Come, Source of all our store! Come, within our bosoms shine. You, of comforters the best; You, the soul’s most welcome Guest; Sweet Refreshment here below; In our labor, Rest most sweet; Grateful Coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. O most blessed Light divine, Shine within these hearts of Yours, And our inmost being fill!
Where You are not, we have naught, Nothing good in deed or thought, Nothing free from taint of ill. Heal our wounds, our strength renew; On our dryness pour Your dew; Wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. On the faithful, who adore and confess You, evermore in Your sevenfold gift descend; Give them virtue’s sure reward; Give them Your salvation, Lord; Give them joys that never end. Amen.
Day Two — Understanding
And we know that the Son 0fGod has come and has given as understanding”. —1 John 5:20
The disciples of Jesus didn’t have the foggiest idea what was going on much of the time during Jesus’ public ministry. They certainly didn’t understand when Jesus was arrested and crucified. They remained in the dark even after they encountered the risen Christ and witnessed his Ascension. Only at Pentecost, when they were “”filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4) did they understand and begin to proclaim the meaning of their faith. The Holy Spirit’s gift of Understanding enables us to grasp the meaning of faith in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. This does not mean easy answers to all ethical questions, solutions to all our crises. The gift of Understanding doesn’t eliminate mystery; if anything, it increases our respect for the mystery of life, the world and our own existence. Above all, it helps us appreciate more deeply the mystery of our faith as it unites us to God and to one another. To cultivate Understanding it is most necessary to imitate Jesus’ disciples in their dedication to prayer. The gift of Understanding helps us to see that God loves us with love that has no strings attached, no conditions and no limits.
Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, make alive in us the gift of Understanding that we may grasp how immeasurable is Your love for us. Help us to understand how we might better live our faith in our ordinary, everyday lives. Guide us as we struggle with the difficult moral and spiritual issues of our time.
Daily Concluding Prayer
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, 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 not be attached to the perishable things of this world, but aspire only after the things that are eternal; the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the Light of Your 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 land 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 of the Lord that I may be filled with loving Reverence towards God and may avoid anything that may displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples and animate me in all things with Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
An Act of Consecration to the Holy Spirit
On my knees — before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses — I offer myself, soul and body, to You, eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your justice, and the might of Your love. You are the Strength and the Light of my soul. In You I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with all my heart to avoid any sin against You.
Mercifully guard my every thought, and grant that I may always watch for Your light and listen to Your voice and follow Your gracious inspirations. I cling to You, and give myself to You, and ask You — by Your compassion — to watch over me in my weakness.
Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus — and looking at His Five Wounds — and trusting in His Precious Blood — and adoring His opened Side and stricken Heart — I implore You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace, O Holy Spirit — Spirit of the Father and the Son — to say to You always and everywhere, “Speak, Lord — for Your servant hears.” Amen.
