May 21, 2023 Reflection – Novena to the Holy Spirit, Day 3

May 21, 2023
Seventh Sunday of Easter
(Feast of the Ascension in some diocese)Dear Family of Mary!This is Day 3 the Novena to the Holy Spirit. It will consist of a message from Our Lady of Medjugorje, a prayer written by St. John Henry Newman, and the Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. We can all include our own petitions! Let’s expect great things on Pentecost!

Novena to the Holy Spirit, Day 3

April 25, 2015 “Dear children! I am with you also today to lead you to salvation. Your soul is restless because your spirit is weak and tired from all worldly things. You, little children, pray to the Holy Spirit that He may transform you and fill you with His strength of faith and hope, so that you may be firm in this battle against evil. I am with you and intercede for you before my Son Jesus. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

In this message, Our Lady recognizes that our souls can become restless and our spirits weak and tired due to the stresses and concerns of the world. Many of those stresses are due to the activity of the evil one. Fighting him, we must cling to our hope as the answer to all his lies and temptations. Our hope will sustain us in good and in prayer. Through hope, we await the deliverance of the Lord, joyfully!

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church it says:

1817 Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” “The Holy Spirit . . . he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.”

Thank you, dearest Mother, for giving us your hope, the hope that comes from Heaven in your heart! Through your hope and the power of the Holy Spirit we will grow in hope, and win every battle!

The Paraclete, the Fount of Love
(A prayer by St. John Henry Newman)

My God, I adore You, as the Third Person of the Ever-Blessed Trinity,
under the name and designation of Love.
You are that Living Love, wherewith the Father and the Son love each other.
And You are the Author of supernatural love in our hearts.

“Fons vivus, ignis, charitas.”

As a fire You came down from heaven on the day of Pentecost;
and as a fire You burn away the dross of sin and vanity in the heart
and light up the pure flame of devotion and affection.

It is You who unite heaven and earth
by showing to us the glory and beauty of the Divine Nature,
and making us love what is in Itself so winning and transporting.

I adore You, O uncreated and everlasting Fire,
by which our souls live,
by which alone they are made fit for heaven. Amen

The Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit:

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, before ascending into heaven, didst promise to send the Holy Ghost to finish Thy work in the souls of Thy Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me, that He may perfect in my soul the work of Thy grace and Thy 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,

the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Thy divine truth,

the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining Heaven,

the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with Thee, and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation,

the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints,

the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable,

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 Thy true disciples and animate me in all things with Thy Spirit. Amen.

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
(c)Mary TV 2023