Category: Inspiration

Sixth Day of the Novena to the Holy Ghost: Understanding

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On the sixth day of the Novena to the Holy Ghost, we pray for the gift of understanding, one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, which helps us to grasp the meaning of the revealed truths of Christianity and to live our lives in accordance with those truths.

Verse for the Sixth Day:
If Thou take Thy grace away,
nothing pure in man will stay,
All his good is turn’d to ill.

Meditation for the Sixth Day—The Gift of Understanding:
Understanding, as a gift of the Holy Ghost, helps us to grasp the meaning of the truths of our holy religion. By faith we know them, but by Understanding, we learn to appreciate and relish them. It enables us to penetrate the inner meaning of revealed truths and through them to be quickened to newness of life. Our faith ceases to be sterile and inactive, but inspires a mode of life that bears eloquent testimony to the faith that is in us; we begin to “walk worthy of God in all things pleasing, and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

Prayers for the Sixth Day:
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.

Fifth Day of the Novena to the Holy Ghost: Knowledge

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On the fifth day of the Novena to the Holy Ghost, we ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of knowledge.

Verse for the Fifth Day:

Light immortal! Light Divine!
Visit Thou these hearts of Thine,
And our inmost being fill!

Meditation for the Fifth Day—The Gift of Knowledge:

The gift of Knowledge enables the soul to evaluate created things at their true worth–in their relation to God. Knowledge unmasks the pretense of creatures, reveals their emptiness, and points out their only true purpose as instruments in the service of God. It shows us the loving care of God even in adversity, and directs us to glorify Him in every circumstance of life. Guided by its light, we put first things first, and prize the friendship of God beyond all else. “Knowledge is a fountain of life to him that possesseth it.”

Prayers for the Fifth Day:

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 Thy glory and my own salvation, looking ever beyond them to Thee, and Thy eternal rewards. Amen.

Fourth Day of the Novena to the Holy Ghost: Courage

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“Courage” is often used as another name for fortitude, but, as we can see in the verse, prayer, and meditation for the fourth day of the Novena to the Holy Ghost, fortitude is more than courage: It is also the strength to do what is necessary to live a holy life.

Verse for the Fourth Day:

Thou in toil art comfort sweet,
Pleasant coolness in the heat,
solace in the midst of woe.

Meditation for the Fourth Day—”The Gift of Fortitude”:

By the gift of Fortitude, the soul is strengthened against natural fear, and supported to the end in the performance of duty. Fortitude imparts to the will an impulse and energy which move it to undertake without hesitancy the most arduous tasks, to face dangers, to trample under foot human respect, and to endure without complaint the slow martyrdom of even lifelong tribulation. “He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved.”

Prayers for the Fourth Day:

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.

Prayer request

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For all who read this, please include a special intention prayer for someone I know battling anxiety. They are finally reaching out and will make great headway with all your prayers. Thank you!

Third Day of the Novena to the Holy Ghost: Piety

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Third Day of the Novena to the Holy Ghost:

Piety, the gift of the Holy Spirit for which we pray on this third day of the Novena to the Holy Ghost, is submission to all rightful authority (including respect for our ancestors) that flows from love of God.

Verse for the Third Day:
Thou, of all consolers best,
Visiting the troubled breast,
Dost refreshing peace bestow.

Meditation for the Third Day—The Gift of Piety
The gift of Piety begets in our hearts a filial affection for God as our most loving Father. It inspires us to love and respect, for His sake, persons and things consecrated to Him, as well as those who are vested with His authority, His Blessed Mother and the Saints, the Church and its visible Head, our parents and superiors, our country and its rulers. He who is filled with the gift of Piety finds the practice of his religion, not a burdensome duty, but a delightful service. Where there is love, there is no labor.

Prayers for the Third Day:
Come, O Blessed Spirit of Piety, possess my heart. Enkindle therein such a love for God, that I may find satisfaction only in His service, and for His sake lovingly submit to all legitimate authority. Amen.

Second Day of Novena to Holy Ghost

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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

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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.