“The important thing is to pray to the Holy Spirit so that He may descend on you. When one has Him, one has everything.” “Begin by calling on the Holy Spirit each day. The most important thing is to pray to the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit descends on earth, then everything becomes clear and everything is transformed.”
The Story
“In the time after his suffering, Jesus showed the disciples in many convincing ways that he was alive, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking to them about the reign of God.
On one occasion when he met with them, he told them not to leave Jerusalem: ‘Wait rather for the fulfillment of my Father’s promise, of which you have heard me speak. John baptized with water, but within a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…
‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes down on you; then you are to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, yes, even to the ends of the earth.’ No sooner had he said this then he was lifted up before their eyes in a cloud which took him from their sight…
They returned to Jerusalem… Entering the city, they went to the upstairs room where they were staying: Peter and John and James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James, son of Alphaeus; Simon, the Zealot party member, and Judas, son of James. Together they devoted themselves to constant prayer. There were some women in their company, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”
Acts 1:3-4,8-9,12-14
Novena Opening Prayer:
In + the Name of the Father, And of the Son, And of the Holy Spirit. Amen Come, Holy Spirit, Fill the hearts of your faithful And enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, And we shall be created, And you shall renew the face of the earth.
Psalm 104:30
The Gospel Promise of Jesus: “I will ask the Father and He will give you another Paraclete — to be with you always: the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot accept, since it neither sees Him or recognizes Him, but you can recognize Him because He remains with you and will be within you.”
John 14:16-17
The Litany:
For the Gift of Wisdom:
That we might take our place as peacemakers in the kingdom of God. Lord, in your mercy / Hear our prayer.
For the Gift of Understanding:
That we might know the will of God in the events of our life and time. Lord, in your mercy / Hear our prayer.
For the Gift of Counsel:
That we might put the will of God into practice in our decisions and our actions. Lord, in your mercy / Hear our prayer.
For the Gift of Fortitude:
That we might show courage in living lives of integrity, advancing the cause of justice, and laying the foundations of peace. Lord, in your mercy / Hear our prayer.
For the Gift of Knowledge:
That we might know the pain and suffering of all oppressed and suffering peoples. Lord, in your mercy / Hear our prayer.
For the Gift of Piety:
That we might find ways to reach out in love to the pain and need around us. Lord, in your mercy / Hear our prayer.
For the Gift of Love of the Lord:
That God might disarm our hearts and that the love of God that comes to us in Jesus, Our Lord, might be born within us. Lord, in your mercy / Hear our prayer.
Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9
Day 1: Friday
“Come, Spirit of Wisdom”
“Are you not aware that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells within you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, he will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, and you are that temple.”
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
“You must know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is within you — the Spirit you have received from God. You are not your own. You have been purchased, and at a price. So glorify God in your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“The Spirit God has given us is no cowardly spirit, but one that makes us strong, loving and wise.”
2 Timothy 1:7
Father,
grant us a spirit of wisdom and insight to know you clearly. May your Holy Spirit enlighten our innermost vision that we may know the great hope to which you have called us, the wealth of gifts you have distributed among the members of the Church, and the immeasurable scope of your power in us who believe. Amen.
Ephesians 1:17-19
Day 2: Saturday
“Come, Spirit of Understanding”
“’How can a man be born again once he is old?’ retorted Nicodemus. ‘Can he return to his mother’s womb and be born over again?’
Jesus replied: ‘I solemnly assure you, no one can enter into God’s kingdom without being begotten of water and Spirit. Flesh begets flesh, Sprit begets spirit. Do not be surprised that I tell you, you must all be begotten from above.’”
John 3:4-7
“We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and far from true faith; we were the slaves of our passions and of pleasures of various kinds. We went our way in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us; not because of any righteous deeds we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the baptism of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he lavished on us through Jesus Christ our Savior, that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs, in hope of eternal life.”
Titus 3:3-7
Father in heaven,
may your Holy Spirit open my mind to discern your purpose and understand your ways. Come, Holy Spirit, fill my heart and bring to birth in me a “new person” formed in the image of my Creator. Amen.
Colossians 3:10
Day 3: Sunday
“Come, Spirit of Counsel”
“I will put my Spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees.”
Ezekiel 36:27
“It is obvious what proceeds from the flesh: lewd conduct, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, bickering, jealousy, outbursts of rage, selfish rivalries, dissentions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I have warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God! In contrast, the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patient endurance, kindness, generosity, faith, mildness and chastity.”
Galatians, 5:19-23
Father of Light,
grant me your Holy Spirit to counsel my choices, for not by bread alone am I to live but by every word that comes from the mouth of my God. Come, Holy Spirit, reveal to me your holy and life-giving will in each moment and every situation I face. Amen.
Day 4: Monday
“Come, Spirit of Fortitude”
“In all that we do we strive to present ourselves as ministers of God, acting with patient endurance amid trials, difficulties, distresses, beatings, imprisonments, and riots; as men and women familiar with hard work, sleepless nights and fasting; conducting ourselves with innocence, knowledge and patience in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love as men and women with the message of truth and the power of God.”
2 Corinthians 6:4-7
“May God strengthen you inwardly through the working of his Spirit. May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, and may charity be the root and foundation of your life.”
Ephesians 3:16-17
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me. Amen.
Psalm 51:12-14
Day 5: Tuesday
“Come, Spirit of Knowledge”
“This much I have told you while I was still with you; the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name will instruct you in everything, and remind you of all that I told you.”
John 14:25-26
“When the Paraclete comes, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father — and whom I myself will send from the Father — he will bear witness on my behalf.”
John 15:26
“Being the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.”
John 16:13
“Guard the rich deposit of faith with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.”
2 Timothy 1:14
Father All-knowing,
your Holy Spirit searches all things (1 Cor. 1:10).
May your Holy Spirit teach me the truth about you and
help me face the truth about myself.
Come, Holy Spirit,
bring the teachings and practices of my Catholic Faith
alive with insight and meaning. Amen.
Day 6: Wednesday
“Come, Spirit of Piety”
“All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons and daughters of God. You did not receive a spirit of slavery leading you back into fear, but a spirit of adoption through which we cry out ‘Abba!’ (that is, ‘Father’).”
Romans 8:14-15
“The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in speech. He who searches hearts knows what the Spirit means, for the Spirit intercedes for the saints as God himself wills.”
Romans 8:26-27
Come, Holy Spirit, I need you.
Come, Holy Spirit, I pray.
Come with your strength and your power,
Come in your own gentle way.
All-powerful Spirit, enter into my prayer and my every act of worship.
Give voice to my innermost thoughts and longings,
and to my deeply hidden fears.
Lift my heart up to the Father in prayer
and make the words of the Scriptures come alive to my ear. Amen.
Day 7: Thursday
“Come, Spirit of Love of the Lord”
“Hope will not leave us disappointed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:5
“You are strangers and aliens no longer. No, you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God. You form a building which rises on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure takes shape as a holy temple in the Lord; in him you are being built into this temple, to become a dwelling place for God in the Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:19-22
Father All-Holy,
send forth your Spirit of Holiness to ignite within me a longing love for you. You alone are God. You alone are Lord of my life.
I love you with all my heart, with all my soul,
with all my mind, and with all my strength.
Come, Holy Spirit, help me to live in your presence with an undivided heart and to always approach you with an attentive spirit. Amen.
Day 8: Friday
“Come, Lord and Giver of Life”
“If Christ is in you the body is dead because of sin, while the spirit lives because of justice. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then He who raised Jesus from the dead will bring your mortal bodies to life also, through his Spirit dwelling in you. We are debtors, then, my sisters and brothers — but not to the flesh, so that we should live according to the flesh. If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the evil deeds of the body, you will live.”
Romans 8:10-13
Father of Mercy,
you are right about the hold that my sinful attitudes, words and actions have on my life. I renounce them all! I want them all to go. But I cannot free myself. I claim the freedom Jesus won and paid for with the price of his blood. Come, Holy Spirit, and fight on my behalf against the bondage and forces of sin in my life. The victory is mine so long as I am in communion with you. Amen.
Day 9: Saturday
“Come, Father of the Poor”
“To each person a manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one the Spirit gives wisdom and discourse, to another the power to express knowledge. Through the Spirit one receives faith; by the same Spirit another is given the gift of healing, and still another miraculous powers. Prophecy is given to one; to another the power to distinguish one spirit from another. One receives the gift of tongues, another that of interpreting the tongues. But it is one and the same Spirit who produces all these gifts, distributing them each as he wills.”
1 Corinthians 12:7-11
“The Spirit we have received is not the world’s spirit but God’s Spirit, helping us to recognize the gifts he has given us.”
1 Corinthians 1:12
Divine Giver of Gifts,
everything I am and everything I possess
is your gracious gift to me.
Give me a new heart and place a new spirit within me.
Move me to compassion for all those around me.
Enable me to feel their pain, to know their struggle,
and to rejoice in their hopes.
Grant me a servant’s heart by which I can place the gifts I have received
at the service of others. Amen.
Closing Prayer:
“All of us, gazing on the Lord’s glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed from glory to glory into his very image, by the Lord who is the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3:18
Come, Holy Spirit, fill my heart with your holy gifts.
Let my weakness be penetrated by your strength,
that I may fulfill the duties of my state in life conscientiously; that I may do what is right and just.
Assist me, O Holy Spirit, in all my trials of life:
enlighten my ignorance
advise me in my doubts
strengthen me in my weakness
help me in all my needs
protect me in temptation
and console me in affliction.
Graciously hear me, O Holy Spirit, and pour your light into my heart, my soul and my mind. Assist me in living a holy life and in growing in goodness and grace. Amen.
An hour is coming, and is already here, when authentic worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth. Indeed, it is just such worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.”
John 4:23-24