Day 3: Novena to the Holy Spirit
This is part three of a nine-day prayer series to the Holy Spirit.
Daily Opening Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, come! And from Your celestial home shed a ray of light divine! Come, Father of the poor! Come, Source of all our store! Come, within our bosoms shine. You, of comforters the best; You, the soul’s most welcome Guest; Sweet Refreshment here below; In our labor, Rest most sweet; Grateful Coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. O most blessed Light divine, Shine within these hearts of Yours, And our inmost being fill!
Where You are not, we have naught, Nothing good in deed or thought, Nothing free from taint of ill. Heal our wounds, our strength renew; On our dryness pour Your dew; Wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. On the faithful, who adore and confess You, evermore in Your sevenfold gift descend; Give them virtue’s sure reward; Give them Your salvation, Lord; Give them joys that never end. Amen.
Day Three — Counsel
The knowledge of the wise will increase like a flood, and their counsel is like a life-giving spring. -Sirach 21:13
Jesus’ disciples may not have known exactly what to do next after the Ascension, but the Acts of the Apostles tells us that they had their wits about them, for they spent their day “constantly devoting themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14). They knew that they needed Counsel, or advice, from God. The Holy Spirit’s gift of Counsel leads us to prayerful contemplation of Scripture and the teaching land tradition of the Church so that we may have God’s “advice” to influence our lives. At the same time, the gift of Counsel enables us to advise one another according to the Spirit of Jesus. We need both to seek and to give good advice in the life of Christian faith, and the gift of Counsel makes it possible for us to do so. However, Counsel is a gift that shapes more than just our personal spirituality and relationships. As a Church, we are called to offer “good counsel” to the society in which we live as it strives to deal with the social, cultural, economic and political issues of our day.
Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, nourish in our hearts the gift of Counsel that we may know when to speak and when to be silent. By Your gift of Counsel, strengthen in us our ability to advise and guide one another as we respond to Your guidance in our lives. Help us, as a community of faith, to counsel our society in ways of love, not condemnation.
Daily Concluding Prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, before ascending into heaven, promised to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your apostles and disciples, grant the same Holy Spirit to me, that He may perfect in my soul the work of Your grace and Your love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may not be attached to the perishable things of this world, but aspire only after the things that are eternal; the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the Light of Your 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 You land 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 of the Lord that I may be filled with loving Reverence towards God and may avoid anything that may displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples and animate me in all things with Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
An Act of Consecration to the Holy Spirit
On my knees — before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses — I offer myself, soul and body, to You, eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your justice, and the might of Your love. You are the Strength and the 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 avoid any sin against You.
Mercifully guard my every thought, and grant that I may always watch for Your light and 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.
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 You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace, O Holy Spirit — Spirit of the Father and the Son — to say to You always and everywhere, “Speak, Lord — for Your servant hears.” Amen.
