A Novena of Prayer to the Holy Spirit: Day 1 (Audio)

Let us, upon our knees, pray in a special way to God the Holy Spirit during this time between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost.

This is one way to pray.  I invite the readership to join in.

MANNER OF PRAYING THE NOVENA

Each day the meditation and prayer for the particular day is said, followed by 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and 7 Glory be to the Father, followed by the Act of Consecration and the Prayer for the Seven Gifts.

FIRST DAY OF THE NOVENA

Holy Spirit! Lord of Light!
From Your clear celestial height,
Your pure beaming radiance give!

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 Ghost is the Spirit of Light, of Strength, and of Love. With His sevenfold 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 helpeth our infirmity. We know not what we should pray for as we ought. But the Spirit Himself asketh for us.”

Almighty and eternal God, Who hast vouchsafed to regenerate us by water and the Holy Ghost, and hast given us forgiveness of all sins, vouchsafe to send forth from heaven upon us your sevenfold Spirit, 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.

(Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE. Glory be to the Father 7 TIMES. Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts)

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY GHOST

On my knees before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses, I offer myself, soul and body, to Thee, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Thy purity, the unerring keenness of Thy justice, and the might of Thy love. Thou art the Strength and Light of my soul. In Thee I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve Thee by unfaithfulness to grace, and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against Thee. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Thy light, and listen to Thy voice, and follow Thy gracious inspirations. I cling to Thee and give myself to Thee and ask Thee, by Thy compassion, to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus, and looking at His five wounds, and trusting in His Precious Blood, and adoring His opened side and stricken Heart, I implore Thee, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, so to keep me in Thy grace that I may never sin against Thee. Give me grace, O Holy Ghost, Spirit of the Father and the Son, to say to Thee always and everywhere, “Speak Lord, for Thy servant heareth.” Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST

O Lord Jesus Christ, who before ascending into Heaven, didst promise to send the Holy Ghost to finish Thy work in the souls of Thine 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.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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13 Comments

  1. APX says:

    Whenever I’m stuck in a spiritual rut, this novena is especially helpful.

  2. pax says:

    Should we fast during this time?

  3. Elizabeth D says:

    My friends and I are praying the exact novena together for ourselves and also for religious sisters and those in formation in women’s religious communities. It had been on our hearts to pray a novena for sisters and we decided to do it as an actual Pentecost novena. But I need it very much myself. Very much. Grateful to be able to pray with you leading Fr Z, and be moved and consoled by the Veni Creator at the end.

    What is this about the new Council of Nicea in 2025 with the Patriarch of Constantinople? Jawdropping. Is it what it sounds like? Can we have Easter together? Do we have to agree about filioque or not?

    Come, Holy Spirit.

  4. Imrahil says:

    Fasting is, as always, a worthy devotional exercise.

    That said, until Thursday the following week, traditionally there would have been celebration of the octave of Ascension… which in itself makes this time rather look like feasting (with prayer) than like extra fasting.

    In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas.

  5. smithUK says:

    Thank you very much, Father. I rely on you to keep bringing down from the attic these wonderful riches that were hidden away from many of us for the past few decades, presumably on the erroneous grounds that they were crusty old irrelevances. What a perfectly apposite devotion to undertake at this time.

  6. HeatherPA says:

    God bless you Father Z, and thanks for this.

  7. msc says:

    I’d be very interested in knowing the sources and dates of these.

  8. Marie Teresa says:

    Dear Fr. Z,
    Thank you!
    May God bless you!

  9. Uxixu says:

    Beautiful, thank you Father for posting. I said these after my rosary today. One other person was in the Church as I prayed before the Blessed Sacrament. Hopefully they didn’t think I was doing anything banal on my smartphone as I recited these.

    Perhaps you can make some small cards for the swag store.

  10. pax says:

    Thanks Imrahil! Thank you for posting Fr. Z. This is such a beautiful novena. You remain always in our ardent prayers.

  11. OrthodoxChick says:

    Thank you for posting this, Father. Such powerful prayers. Beautiful!

  12. DebbieInCT says:

    This is so beautiful, thank you very much for posting it, Fr. Z. God bless you!

  13. MouseTemplar says:

    This is big. And timely. My family needs this badly.

    Thank you.

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