The Church has promoted many novenas over the years, but the first one that she ever prayed was in honour of the Holy Spirit. As stated on EWTN, the Novena to the Holy Spirit is the oldest of all novenas since it was first made at the direction of Our Lord himself when he sent the Apostles back to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost. In fact, it is still the only novena officially prescribed by the Church. Addressed to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, it is a powerful plea for the light and strength and love so sorely needed by every Christian, as well as by the Church as a whole.The Novena to the Holy Spirit is traditionally prayed on the same days that Our Lady and the Apostles joined as one in continuous prayer for the coming of the Paraclete (cf Acts 1:13-14). According to Luke, who wrote the Acts of the Apostles, the followers of Jesus returned to the Upper Room in Jerusalem on the Friday following the Ascension, in order to pray in preparation for their imminent "baptism with the Holy Spirit" (cf Acts 1:5). Just before ascending into Heaven, Our Lord promised the Apostles that they would receive the Holy Spirit "in a few days time" (cf Acts 1:5). In total, there are nine days between the Friday after the Ascension (the novena's first day) and the Eve of Pentecost (its final day) - thus making the Novena to the Holy Spirit the first such devotion in the Church's history.
Unfortunately, the Bishops of England and Wales have moved the Feast of the Ascension to the the Seventh Sunday of Easter, which messes things up for those of us who wish to pray the Novena to the Holy Spirit - although, its is widely reported that this anomaly will have been rectified by next year. Having said that, those who follow the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite will still be able to celebrate the Ascension on its proper day - which is this Thursday (2 June). This link to the Latin Mass Society for England and Wales lists all those places that will be offering Mass (on the correct day) for this important Solemnity. If, though, your parish is unable to observe the Ascension of Our Lord on Thursday, please don't be disheartened - you may still begin your Novena to the Holy Spirit on Friday.
I really must emphasise that the Novena to the Holy Spirit is one of the Church's most ancient devotions and is to be recommended to all who seek the Holy Paraclete's Seven Gifts (Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Courage, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord). By joining in these nine days of prayer and preparation, we also unite ourselves in an intimate way to Our Lady and the Apostles - who were the very first to beseech the Advocate to grant them His gifts. Praying the Novena to the Holy Spirit not only renews our own Christian lives, by ensuring an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our souls on Pentecost Sunday, but also helps the renewal of the whole Church. Why not nominate your local bishop as one to benefit from your Novena to the Holy Spirit - for, by virtue of their office, they need direction from the Advocate more than most!As space is limited on a blog such as this, I cannot publish the Novena to the Holy Spirit in full - though might add a prayer every day as the novena progresses. Here, then, is a link to the EWTN page that contains the Novena's main prayers, and from where you may find links to the prayers for each day. The two main (daily) prayers from the Novena to the Holy Spirit can be found below.
ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY SPIRITOn 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 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 be kept from the smallest 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, Iimplore 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 heareth." Amen.
For the Litany of the Holy Spirit, please visit here - which is also an EWTN page.PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRITO Lord Jesus Christ Who, before ascending into heaven did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to 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 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 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, and 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.
[Images: Top: The First Pentecost, Folio 14v the Rabula Gospels, Biblioteca Mediceo Laurenziana (Florence); this image is in the public domain; source: Wikimedia Commons. Middle: The Holy Spirit (as a Dove), fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr ( 1714 ), Karlskirche, Vienna; this photograph was taken by Wolfgang Sauber and is published under the GNU and Creative Commons licences; source and further information: Wikimedia Commons. Bottom: The Holy Spirit window in St Peter's Basilica, which forms a part of the Gloria surrounding the Chair of St Peter by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598 - 1659); this image was found on the Vultus Christi blog]
10 comments:
I have a long attachment to the Novena of the Holy Spirit and have been annoyed by the loss of the proper feastday of the Ascension.
You refer to reports about us getting the feastday back next year. I have not seen them. All I have seen are reports that the bishops are "CONSIDERING" it. An undertaking to consider something, while encouraging, is simply that. Have the bishops completed their deliberations or are some of us rushing ahead to conclusions before time?
@ Patricius
We will get our feast days back, from what I've heard - via a relatively reliable source.
It will take time, though, and will be done bit by bit - for I'm sure that some of the bishops don't wish people to think that they are backtracking so quickly from such a recent decision.
Pray to the Holy Spirit, and He will sort it all out - after all, He Governs the Church.
The Holy Spirit was surely at work in the cancellation of the Cardinal's visit however inconvenient and costly that might prove.
Intemperate language, intolerant opinions, arrogance and disloyalty are not the way forward in any form of communication. From flyers to blogs, the repercussions of a rigidity of viewpoint have been demonstrated. The Spirit blows where it will and sometimes that means altering one's diary.
Regards.
LOL
It might be best to wait and see... Many people thought that it was the Holy Spirit that led the Church into error and confusion after the Second Vatican Council. But, even as early as 29 June 1972, Pope Paul VI warned that it appeared more like "the smoke of Satan had entered the temple of God."
I do agree that there was intemperate language in the run up to the proposed talk - and some were a bit too triumphalist. I did not see arrogance or disloyalty, though - either in the blogs that I read or the flyers that were sent to me.
But, intemperate or excitable language wasn't the reason why the Cardinal cancelled - in my opinion. In fact, rather than blaming either the Holy Spirit or the spirit of the evil one for the cancellation - it might be wiser to look for a more human explanation!
PS - Having said that, I have just read one flyer which used language that would have put the Cardinal in a very awkward position. If he had come, this flyer alone might have caused him great embarrassment, and he would have handed himself over to be played as a pawn in a game not of his own making. In that sense, it is understandable why he chose not to come. Shame - someone obviously got a little bit too carried away.
An interesting addition to the discussion regarding the movement of Solemities of the Lord to the nearest Sunday. However, you go to far in implying that the Bishops of England and Wales were wrong to move them. (This is what the words "anomaly" and "correct" imply)
The Bishops were exercising an authority given to them by the Universal Church and we have to believe that the Holy Spirit inspired their deliberations. We may disagree with the decision; I am confident it is acceptable to tell our Bishops so and even to blog about it; It is surely proper to pray to the Holy Spirit to guide our pastors but all of this has to be done in humility (they may be right and we may be wrong) and with the episcopal obedience we owe to them.
@ Part-time Pilgrim
thank you for your humble words. But, seeing that Our Lord ascended into Heaven 40 days after his Resurrection, surely it would be more correct (or proper) to celebrate the Ascension on the proper day - the day upon which Christians have kept it for nearly 2000 years? If the Bishops weren't wrong, then why are they about to reverse their decision so quickly?
By the way, as pointed out by Pope Benedict XVI it is best for individual bishops to implement changes like this. A Conference of Bishops shouldn't usurp the power of the local Ordinary when deciding on such matters. For example, it might be wise to move Solemnities to the nearest Sunday in mission territories, such as Wrexham, whilst such a move would be unhelpful in somewhere like Westminster - where getting to weekday Mass is easy. There is no reason to believe that a Conference of Bishops is infallible! You say we have to believe this, but I must say that such a belief is bordering on idolatory or belongs to personality cults.
Pope Benedict himself has often pointed to the human aspects of the episcopacy. In a TV interview as Card Ratzinger he even said that there exist some bishops who were not chosen by the Holy Spirit. He has also often warned about the deification of local Episcopal Conferences. Bishops to make mistakes! To think otherise is not true fidelity, but blind adoration of fallible men.
Remember, St Augustine warned that so many so-called Shepherds were wolves that had stolen themselves into the sheep-fold. Yes, we must respect and love our Bishops as if they were Christ himself - for they have been, even the bad ones, sent by him. But we should never worship them, and, like St Catherine of Siena, have the courage to call a spade a spade.
@ Part-time Pilgrim
thank you for your humble words. But, seeing that Our Lord ascended into Heaven 40 days after his Resurrection, surely it would be more correct (or proper) to celebrate the Ascension on the proper day - the day upon which Christians have kept it for nearly 2000 years? If the Bishops weren't wrong, then why are they about to reverse their decision so quickly?
By the way, as pointed out by Pope Benedict XVI it is best for individual bishops to implement changes like this. A Conference of Bishops shouldn't usurp the power of the local Ordinary when deciding on such matters. For example, it might be wise to move Solemnities to the nearest Sunday in mission territories, such as Wrexham, whilst such a move would be unhelpful in somewhere like Westminster - where getting to weekday Mass is easy. There is no reason to believe that a Conference of Bishops is infallible! You say we have to believe this, but I must say that such a belief is bordering on idolatory or belongs to personality cults.
Pope Benedict himself has often pointed to the human aspects of the episcopacy. In a TV interview as Card Ratzinger he even said that there exist some bishops who were not chosen by the Holy Spirit. He has also often warned about the deification of local Episcopal Conferences. Bishops to make mistakes! To think otherise is not true fidelity, but blind adoration of fallible men.
Remember, St Augustine warned that so many so-called Shepherds were wolves that had stolen themselves into the sheep-fold. Yes, we must respect and love our Bishops as if they were Christ himself - for they have been, even the bad ones, sent by him. But we should never worship them, and, like St Catherine of Siena, have the courage to call a spade a spade.
@ A Reluctant Sinner
Saying the Holy Spirit inspired the deliberations of a Bishop's conference is not the same as claiming infalibility for their decisions much less is it worshipping them. I am not even claiming that they were right. In fact I think they were wrong. All I am suggesting is that it may be you and I who are mistaken and the Bishops may have got it right.
@ Part-time Pilgrim
Thanks for clarifying...
Yes, it is always wise to keep a relatively open mind / heart - for only then can we truly discern God's will (within His known Commandments, of course - the pinnacle of which is the Commandment to Love).
God bless.
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