The Novena of the
Holy Spirit is the chief of all novenas because it was the first that was ever
celebrated, and that by the Apostles and Mary in the upper room, and was
distinguished by so many remarkable wonders and gifts, principally by the gift
of the same Holy Spirit, a gift merited for us by the Passion of Jesus Christ
himself. Jesus himself made this known to us when he said to his disciples that
if he did not die, he could not send us the Holy Spirit: “If I go not, the
Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you”. We know well by faith that the Holy Spirit is the love that the Father
and the eternal Word bear one to the other; and therefore the gift of love,
which the Lord infuses into our souls, and which is the greatest of all gifts,
is particularly attributed to the Holy Spirit, as Saint Paul says, “the charity
of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who is given to us”. In this novena, therefore, we must consider, above all, the great
value of divine love, in order that we may desire to obtain it, and endeavor by
devout exercises, and especially by prayer, to be made partakers of it, since
God has promised it to him who asks for it with humility: “your Father from
heaven [will] give the good Spirit to them that ask him!”
O Most Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, we adore thee with all humility; and with the most lively affections of our hearts we beseech thee to assist us in this thy Novena, that we may rightly prepare ourselves to receive thy heavenly gifts. We cannot, O Divine Spirit, receive thee without thine own aid preventing us. Without thee we cannot please thee. Do thou then, who preparedst the heart of Mary to receive the Word Incarnate, vouchsafe so to dispose our hearts that we may happily conceive the blessed flames of thy love. Amen.
Veni Creator
Come, Holy Ghost,
Creator blest,
and in our hearts
take up Thy rest;
come with Thy
grace and heav'nly aid,
To fill the
hearts which Thou hast made.
O Comforter, to
Thee we cry,
Thou heav'nly
gift of God most high,
Thou Fount of
life, and Fire of love,
and sweet
anointing from above.
O Finger of the
hand divine,
the sevenfold
gifts of grace are thine;
true promise of
the Father thou,
who dost the
tongue with power endow.
Thy light to
every sense impart,
and shed thy love
in every heart;
thine own
unfailing might supply
to strengthen our
infirmity.
Drive far away
our ghostly foe,
and thine abiding
peace bestow;
if thou be our
preventing Guide,
no evil can our
steps betide.
Praise we the
Father and the Son
and Holy Spirit
with them One;
and may the Son
on us bestow
the gifts that
from the Spirit flow.
V. Send forth Thy
Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the
earth.
Let us Pray:
O God, Who didst
instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Ghost: give to us,
in the same Spirit, to know what is right, and ever rejoice in His consolation.
Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who with Thee livest and reignest in
the unity of the same Holy Spirit, God. World without end. Amen.
Meditation
Love Is a Fire That Inflames the Heart. God has ordered, in the ancient law,
that there should be a fire kept continually burning on his altar: “The fire on
the altar shall always burn.”
Saint Gregory says that the
altars of God are our hearts, where he desires that the fire of his divine love
should always be burning; and therefore the eternal Father, not satisfied with
having given us his Son Jesus Christ to save us by his death, would also give
us the Holy Spirit, that he might dwell in our souls and keep them constantly
on fire with love.
And Jesus himself declared that he had come into the world
on purpose to inflame our hearts with this holy fire, and that he desired
nothing more than to see it kindled: “I am come to cast fire on the earth: and
what will I, but that it be kindled?” Forgetting, therefore, the
injuries and ingratitude he received from men on this earth, when he had
ascended into heaven he sent down upon us the Holy Spirit.
Prayer
Oh, most loving
Redeemer, You do, then, love us, as well in Your sufferings and ignominies, as
in Your kingdom of glory! This is why the Holy Spirit chose to appear in the
upper room under the form of tongues of fire: “And there appeared to them
parted tongues as it were of fire”. And therefore the Church teaches
us to pray: “May the Holy Spirit, we beseech You, O Lord, inflame us with that
fire which our Jesus Christ came to cast upon the earth, and which he ardently
desired should be enkindled.” This was the holy fire which has inflamed the
saints to do such great things for God, to love their enemies, to desire
contempt, to deprive themselves of all earthly goods, and to embrace with
delight even torments and death. Love cannot remain idle and never says, “This
is enough.” The soul that loves God, the more she does for her beloved the more
she desires to do, in order to please him and to attract to herself his
affections. This holy fire is enkindled by mental prayer. If, therefore, we
desire to burn with love for God, let us love prayer; that is the blessed
furnace in which this divine ardor is enkindled. Affections and prayers. O my
God, up to now I have done nothing for You Who has done so much for me. My
coldness could well make You cast me away from You. But, O Holy Spirit, make
warm what is cold. Deliver me from my lack of fervor and make me burn with the
desire to please You. I now wish to deny all that pleases me. I would rather
die than displease You in the least thing. To You Who has appeared in the form
of fiery tongues, I consecrate my tongue that it may not offend You again. You
did give it to me to praise You, but I, I have used it to injure You and cause
others to offend You. I am sorry for my sins. For the love of Jesus Christ Who
honored You so much by His tongue when He walked this earth, grant that
henceforward I may honor You by praising You, by asking often for Your help
and by speaking of Your goodness and the infinite love You deserve. I love You,
my supreme Good; I love You, O loving God. O Mary, most beloved Spouse of the
Holy Spirit, obtain for me this holy fire.
Our Father
Our Father, Who
art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on
earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our
trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full
of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is
the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and in the hour of our death. Amen.
Glory Be
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is
now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
O, let us fall down and worship him, The love of Father and Son,
The consubstantial breath of God, The co-eternal One!
See, how like the Incarnate Word, His blessed self he lowers, To
dwell with us invisibly, And make his riches ours. Most loving Spirit! Mighty God! Sweet must thy presence be, If
loss of Jesus can be gain, So long as we have thee!
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