Month: June 2011

Second Day of Novena to Holy Ghost

by , posted in Inspiration, Prayers

When Christ ascended into Heaven, He told the apostles He would send His Holy Spirit, and so they prayed for the coming of the Spirit. For centuries, Catholics have been praying the Novena to the Holy Spirit between Ascension and Pentecost. In it, we ask for the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and, on the final day, for the twelve fruits of the Spirit.

Verse for the Second Day:

Come. Father of the poor.
Come treasures which endure
Come, Light of all that live!

Meditation for the Second Day—The Gift of Fear

The gift of Fear fills us with a sovereign respect for God, and makes us dread nothing so much as to offend Him by sin. It is a fear that arises, not from the thought of hell, but from sentiments of reverence and filial submission to our heavenly Father. It is the fear that is the beginning of wisdom, detaching us from worldly pleasures that could in any way separate us from God. “They that fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and in His sight will sanctify their souls.”

Prayers for the Second Day:

Come, O blessed Spirit of Holy Fear, penetrate my inmost heart, that I may set you, my Lord and God, before my face forever; help me to shun all things that can offend You; and make me worthy to appear before the pure eyes of Your Divine Majesty in heaven, where You live and reign in the unity of the ever Blessed Trinity, God, world without end. Amen.

First Day of the Novena to the Holy Ghost

by , posted in Inspiration, Prayers

Pentecost Sunday, which marks the end of the Easter season in the Christian calendar, celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. Pentecost 2011 falls 50 days after Easter 2011. This year, Pentecost falls on Sunday, June 12, 2011. When Christ ascended into Heaven, He told the apostles He would send His Holy Spirit, and so they prayed for the coming of the Spirit. The Novena to the Holy Ghost, a nine-day prayer recalls the time the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles spent in prayer between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday and is an expression of the desire of the faithful to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

First Day of the Novena to the Holy Ghost:
The prayer, verse, and meditation for the first day of the Novena to the Holy Ghost remind us that we need the grace of the Holy Spirit in our souls to live our lives as Christians. Today, we prepare ourselves to ask for each of the gifts of the Holy Spirit over the next seven days.

Verse for the First Day:
Holy Spirit! Lord of Light!
From Your clear celestial height,
Your pure beaming radiance give!

Prayers for the First Day:
Almighty and eternal God, Who hast vouchsafed to regenerate us by water and the Holy Ghost, and hast given us forgiveness of all sins, vouchsafe 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 Piety, and fill us with the Spirit of Holy Fear. Amen.