May 17, 2018
Novena to the Holy Spirit – Day 7
Dear Family of Mary!
Today we call upon the Holy Spirit to be our Guide. Jesus called the Spirit the Paraclete, which can be translated “The one who accompanies…” I like this idea. The Holy Spirit is so gentle and loving that we might not even realize He is with us. But He comes to guide us into holiness and God’s plan for us, if we will let Him. Our Lady lived a life of complete union with the Holy Spirit and so she knows how He operates. She wants us to be led by the Spirit too.
Our Lady spoke about the guidance of the Holy Spirit:
“Dear children! Today I call you, through prayer and sacrifice, to prepare yourselves for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Little children, this is a time of grace and so, again, I call you to decide for God the Creator. Allow Him to transform and change you. May your heart be prepared to listen to, and live, everything which the Holy Spirit has in His plan for each of you. Little children, allow the Holy Spirit to lead you on the way of truth and salvation towards eternal life. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (May 25, 1998)
And St. Paul also lived by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He wrote:
But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him,” God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what person knows a man’s thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit. (1 Cor 2: 9-13)
Cardinal John Henry Newman wrote a famous poem about the guidance of the Holy Spirit:
Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890) – Lead, Kindly Light
Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home-
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene-one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on.
I loved to choose and see my path; but now,
Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will: remember not past years.
So long Thy power hath blessed me, sure it still
Will lead me on,
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone;
And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2018
