In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Acts of Virtue
V. I believe in Thee, O my God,
R. Because Thou art the Eternal Truth.
V. I hope in Thee, O my God,
R. Because Thou art infinitely merciful, faithful and almighty.
V. With my whole heart I love Thee, O my God, and am sorry for having offended Thee,
R. Because Thou art ineffably good and lovable.
V. Out of love for me Thou art present in the Blessed Sacrament.
R. Therefore I long for Thee, O my dearest Jesus.
V. Send me from the Father the Holy Spirit with His seven gifts
R. That I may glorify God in all things. Amen.
Preparatory Prayer
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray
O God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit didst instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant us by the same Holy Spirit to love and relish what is right and just and always to enjoy His comforts. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
O Holy Spirit, thou Spirit of light and love, I consecrate to Thee my understanding, my heart and my will, my whole being for time and eternity. Enlighten my mind to understand the truths of religion and make my understanding to be always submissive to Thy heavenly inspirations and to the teaching of the Catholic Church whose infallible guide Thou art. Inflame my heart with love of God and of my neighbor. Grant that my will be ever conformed to the divine will and that my whole life be in accord with the teaching of our Lord and Savior to Whom with the Father and Thee be honor and glory forever. Amen.
CENACLE NOVENA PRAYER
O Holy Spirit Who art the Love of the Father and the Son, and Who through the love of us didst form the Heart of Jesus in the womb of Mary, Thy Immaculate spouse, bestow uponus Thy sevenfold gifts and twelve fruits in memory of Thy descent upon the Apostles and Mary in the Cenacle, and grant that all men may be united with Thee and amongst themselves in charity and peace.
Come, Holy Ghost fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
(300 days each time)
O Holy Spirit, Consoler and Paraclete, sent from the Father and the Son as the seal of their love for me, I humbly beseech Thee to enlighten and strengthen me to bear the burdens of this day, that I may repair by my devotion and resignation the slights and neglect by which I have grieved Thee from childhood. May my heart become Thy pleasing temple.
O Holy Spirit, sweet Guest of my soul, remain with me and make me ever remain with Thee.
(300 days each time)
O Holy Spirit, Lord of the Harvest, look with compassion upon the people still left without a shepherd to lead them to the Father. Before Thee the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace, may the darkness of sin and night of heathenism vanish and may the Heart of Jesus reign in the hearts of men.
O Holy Spirit, Spirit of Truth, come into our hearts; shed the brightness of Thy light on all nations that they may be one in Faith and pleasing to Thee. Amen
(100days once a day)
M E D I T A T I O N
The Gift of Knowledge
THE more reverence and child-like disposition develop in a soul, and faulty valuation of created things, the more it becomes receptive of true "Knowledge". This gift of knowledge enables us to perceive quickly and easily what concerns our salvation and easily what concerns our salvation and sanctification. It enlightens us as to the state of our soul. It makes the service of God by a pious life a sweet obligation, and at the same time fills the soul with a silent grief for the loss of time which is not employed for God and our sanctification. It helps us to look upod creatures with the eyes of faith.
So many people nowadays have their heart to the world. They strive after temporal goods, after earthly enjoyments, after the intoxication of carnal pleasures, after the joys the senses. To be sure, the world does show a laughing countenance and mirthful lips. Yet the joys of earthly comfort which cannot satiate the soul, the joys, which are fleeting like the flash of lightning in the evening sky, deserve not the name of JOY. The world cannot offer man true joy, because ut is selfish and ungrateful.
There are people who are attached to God, yet do not forsake the world . They are the undecided. It is incompatible to respect the divine commandments, and at the same time to conform ourselves to the views and demands of men contrary to the divine precepts. It is impossible to be a child of God and at the same time slave of the world.
The gift of knowledge helps us to understand better the importance of Christ for our life. We must become CHRIST-like! Our whole religion is concentrated in this Sacred Name. Christ is the beginning and end of the Church, of the ecclesiastical year, of Church history and is the center of the history of the world. We have all in Christ! Do you seek a healing for your wounds? He is the Physician. Are you consumed by a fever's heat? He is the refreshing Spring. Are you weighed down under the weight of injustice? He is your Justice. Are you in need of help? He is your Strength. Do you seek nourishment? He is your Food. Do you flee darkness? He is your Light. Do you fear death? He is the Life. Do you wish to go to heaven? He is the Way. Christ is the richest treasure of our soul. He is the Bliss of our heart, the Joy of our soul, the Sun of our life.
E X A M P L E
In the lives of most great men we may see that often only one idea is the driving force of all their actions. Thus the ruling idea of St. Aloysius was the pharse: "What doth if profit me for eternity?" Eternity was for him the radiant light tower in the nocturnal shadows of this life; the shore towards which his bark hastened; the standard by which he measured all transitoriness.
While visiting a church in Florence, he by chance saw the famous fresco of the Annunciation of Mary. He was enthranced by it. Thereafter he visited the church everyday and there performed his devotions. About this time , a book on the rosary fell into his hands, out of which he now could meditate on the Glories of Mary. His heart was filled thereby with consolation. As he once again prayed before the Annunciation, a wish entered his heart to do something great to honor Mary. He prayed on and considered what might give joy to the Mother of God.
At a later visit, the inspiration came to him that he should consecrate his virginity to the Blessed Virgin. This was the great deed which Mary desired of him. His resolve was quickly made, and he then and there, with great earnestness and with a joyful and love-growing heart, before the picture of the Annunciation, made the Vow of perpetual chastity. The Queen of Heaven gladly accepted the sacrifice of the child. In recompense, she obtained for Aloysius the grace that throughout his whole life he was never assailed by a violent temptation against holy purity. Through this vow he felt himself called to the priesthood. From this his thoughts went over to the religious life. It was on a feast of the Blessed Virgin that the saint obtained full charity as to his vocation, through the intercession of Mary, the Immaculate Spouse of the Holy Spirit.
A P P L I C A T I O N
Do you wish you know how you stand? Ask yourself: "Where is my heart?" Be honest in your answer. Or what do you like best to think for the future? What is the desire of your heart? What object or what state seems to you ideal? Now examine how this secret goal of your heart looks. Is it something divine, noble, or is it something earthly, lowly? Have you the life's aim of a child of God or that of a slave of the world? Pray for the Gift of Knowledge that you may efer more make your heart free from the fetters of your passions and of the world, that you may learn to give the entire love of your heart to God alone. Only then will you be truly happy, for: "restless is our heart until it rests in Thee. O God", rightfully says St. Augustine.
PRACTICE: Always invoke the help of the Holy Spirit before the important actions of the day; to see and do the Will of God.
Prayer for the Fourth Day
O Holy Spirit, Who, in the Sacrament of Baptism, didst come into my heart, abide in it and lead it on the narrow way of the Cross. Detach it from my lower and selfish nature and make it free to serve Thee. Speak to my soul in prayer and meditation, in works of light and consolation and make it strong against the attacks of the devil, that in innocence and simplicity I may walk on the way of my eternal salvation, and loving and serving Thee, merit to possess Thee for all eternity. Amen.
Closing Prayer
O Holy Spirit, Creator, be propitious to the Catholic Church and by Thy heavenly power, make it strong and secure against the attacks of its enemies and renew in charity the spirit of Thy servants, whom Thou hast anointed, that they may glorify Thee and the Father and His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
O Holy Spirit, Spirit of truth, come into our hearts; shed the brightness of Thy light on all nations that they may be one in faith and pleasing to Thee. Amen.
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory be to the Father...
- - -
O Paraclete Divine, Thou art called the "Forgotten Paraclete" for so few there are who invoke Thy divine intercession. Forgive me, dear Paraclete, for I too have ugratefully neglected Thee.
O Holy Paraclete. Spirit of adoption of the Father, I believe that Thou hast made me a Child of God in the Sacrament of Baptism. Guide Thou my poor prayers for without Thee I know not how or what I should pray to obtain my desire. O Paraclete Divine, Spirit of Fortitude, Thou hast strengthened me in Holy Confirmation. I hope in Thy aid, and entrust my petition to Thee. Do not forsake me, dear Paraclete Divine!
O Spirit of Love! Thou dwellest in my heart by sanctifying grace as the most precious gift that Jesus has given to me from the Father. may I love Thee in every beat of my heart and renew my petition together with Thee and in union with those who have joined in this prayer. In reparaton for my neglect, I shall do all in my power to spread devotion to Thee. O Mother Immaculate Spouse of the Holy Spirit and my Patron, keep me near to my Paraclete. Amen.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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