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)
+ + + + + + + + +
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
Thank you so much. God bless you. D.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful. Thank you Father.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much Father. I look forward to completing each day as it arises.
ReplyDelete