Novena to the Holy Spirit

The novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts is the oldest of all novenas. It was first made at the direction of Jesus himself, when he sent his apostles back to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost. 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. Holy Spirit Interactive has adapted it for these times.

Act of Consecration

On my knees, I bow before you, Holy Spirit. 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. Grant that I may always watch for your light, 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. I now stand at the foot of the cross on which Jesus died, and covering myself with the precious blood of Christ and surrounding myself with his holy light, I implore you sweet Spirit of the Living God, to keep me in your grace that I may never sin against you. Spirit of the Father and the Son, please give me the grace to say to you always and everywhere, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” Amen.

Prayer for the Seven Gifts

Lord Jesus Christ, before you ascended into heaven you promised to send your Holy Spirit to finish your work in the souls of your apostles and disciples. It is a promise you fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. Please grant me your Holy Spirit too, so 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. Grant me the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of your divine truth. Grant me the Spirit of Counsel that I may always choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven. Grant me the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with you and overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation. Grant me the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in your love. Grant me the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable. Grant me 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. 

Day 1

Friday, Sixth Week of Easter

Lord of Light! From Your clear celestial height, 

Your pure beaming radiance give the Holy Spirit! 

The Holy Spirit

Only one thing is important — eternal salvation. Only one thing, therefore, is to be feared — sin. Sin is the result of ignorance, weakness, and indifference. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Light, of Strength, and of Love. With His seven-fold gifts,  He enlightens the mind, strengthens the will, and inflames the heart with love of God. To ensure our salvation we ought to invoke the Divine Spirit daily, for “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us.”

Prayer

Almighty and eternal God, who has promised to regenerate us by water and the Holy Spirit, and has forgiven us for all our sins, please pour out upon us 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.

Say

Our Father and Hail Mary (once)

Glory be to the Father (7 times)

Act of Consecration (once)

Prayer for the Seven Gifts (once)

Day 2

Saturday, Sixth Week of Easter

Come, Father of the poor. 

Come, treasures which endure; 

Come, Light of all that live! 

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.” 

Prayer

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.

Amen.

Say

Our Father and Hail Mary (once)

Glory be to the Father (7 times)

Act of Consecration (once)

Prayer for the Seven Gifts (once)

Day 3

Sunday, Seventh Week of Easter

Thou, of all consolers best, 

Visiting the troubled breast, 

Dost refreshing peace bestow. 

The Gift of Piety

The gift of Piety begets in our hearts a filial affection for God as our most loving Father. For His sake, it inspires us to love and respect 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.

Prayer

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

Say

Our Father and Hail Mary (once)

Glory be to the Father (7 times)

Act of Consecration (once)

Prayer for the Seven Gifts (once)

Day 4

Monday, Seventh Week of Easter

Thou in toil art comfort sweet, 

Pleasant coolness in the heat, 

solace in the midst of woe. 

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 the most arduous tasks without hesitancy; to face dangers, to trample under foot human respect, and to endure the slow martyrdom of even lifelong tribulation without complaint. “He who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

Prayer

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 you, my God and greatest good. Amen.

Say

Our Father and Hail Mary (once)

Glory be to the Father (7 times)

Act of Consecration (once)

Prayer for the Seven Gifts (once)

Day 5

Tuesday, Seventh Week of Easter

Light immortal! Light Divine! 

Visit Thou these hearts of Thine,

And our inmost being fill! 

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 possesses it.”

Prayer

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 your glory and my own salvation, always looking beyond them to you and your eternal rewards. Amen.

Say

Our Father and Hail Mary (once)

Glory be to the Father (7 times)

Act of Consecration (once)

Prayer for the Seven Gifts (once)

Day 6

Wednesday, Seventh Week of Easter

If Thou take Thy grace away, 

Nothing pure in man will stay,

All his good is turn’d to ill. 

The Gift of Understanding

Understanding, as a gift of the Holy Spirit, 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.”

Prayer

Come, O Spirit of Understanding, and enlighten our minds, that we may know and believe all the mysteries of salvation; and, at the end, may be deemed worth of seeing the eternal light in your light, and in the light of glory to have a clear vision of you and the Father and the Son. Amen.

Say

Our Father and Hail Mary (once)

Glory be to the Father (7 times)

Act of Consecration (once)

Prayer for the Seven Gifts (once)

Day 7

Thursday, Seventh Week of Easter

Heal our wounds, our strength renews; 

On our dryness pour Thy dew,

Wash the stains of guilt away. 

The Gift of Counsel

The gift of Counsel endows the soul with supernatural prudence, enabling it to promptly and rightly judge what must done, especially in difficult circumstances. Counsel applies the principles furnished by Knowledge and Understanding to the innumerable concrete cases that confront us in the course of our daily duty as parents, teachers, public servants, and Christian citizens. Counsel is supernatural common sense, a priceless treasure in the quest of salvation. “Above all these things, pray to the Most High, that He may direct thy way in truth.”

Prayer

Come, O Spirit of Counsel, help and guide me in all my ways, that I may always do your holy will. Incline my heart to that which is good; turn it away from all that is evil, and direct me by the straight path of your commandments to that goal of eternal life for which I long.

Say

Our Father and Hail Mary (once)

Glory be to the Father (7 times)

Act of Consecration (once)

Prayer for the Seven Gifts (once)

Day 8

Friday, Seventh Week of Easter

Bend the stubborn heart and will,

Melt the frozen warm the chill.

Guide the steps that go astray! 

The Gift of Wisdom

Embodying all the other gifts, as charity embraces all the other virtues, Wisdom is the most perfect of the gifts. Of wisdom it is written “all good things came to me with her, and innumerable riches through her hands.” It is the gift of Wisdom that strengthens our faith, fortifies hope, perfects charity, and promotes the practice of virtue in the highest degree. Wisdom enlightens the mind to discern and relish things divine, in the appreciation of which earthly joys lose their savor, whilst the Cross of Christ yields a divine sweetness according to the words of the Saviour: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Prayer

Come, O Spirit of Wisdom, and reveal to my soul the mysteries of heavenly things, their exceeding greatness, power and beauty. Teach me to love them above and beyond all the passing joys and satisfactions of earth. Help me to attain them and possess them for ever. Amen.

Say

Our Father and Hail Mary (once)

Glory be to the Father (7 times)

Act of Consecration (once)

Prayer for the Seven Gifts (once)

Day 9

Saturday, Vigil of Pentecost

Thou, on those who evermore 

Thee confess and Thee Adore,

In Thy sevenfold gift, Descend;

Give Them Comfort when they die;

Give them Life with Thee on high;

Give them joys which never end.

Amen.

The Fruits of the Holy Spirit

The gifts of the Holy Spirit perfect the supernatural virtues by enabling us to practice them with greater docility to divine inspiration. As we grow in the knowledge and love of God under the direction of the Holy Spirit, our service becomes more sincere and generous, the practice of virtue more perfect. Such acts of virtue leave the heart filled with joy and consolation and are known as Fruits of the Holy Spirit. These Fruits, in turn, render the practice of virtue more attractive and become a powerful incentive for still greater efforts in the service of God, to serve whom is to reign.

Prayer

Come, O Divine Spirit, fill my heart with your heavenly fruits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, that I may never weary in the service of God, but by continued faithful submission to your inspiration may be worthy of being united eternally with you in

the love of the Father and the Son. Amen.

Say

Our Father and Hail Mary (once)

Glory be to the Father (7 times)

Act of Consecration (once)

Prayer for the Seven Gifts (once)

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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. Promoted by Pope Leo XIII, 1810-1903