Parish Novena to the Holy Spirit
Day Nine: Pentecost Sunday 31st May 2020
Happy Pentecost! We have come to the end of our
Novena pilgrimage. Today is Day Nine and throughout our journey together we
have reflected on the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit; Wisdom, Understanding,
Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord. Each gift, freely
given, is bestowed upon us so that we can fulfil our baptismal calling. A
calling to be an active disciple of Jesus Christ in the Church that he founded
on the rock of Peter. A calling to go out to others and share the good news
about Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
‘Baptism
gives us the grace of new birth in God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy
Spirit. For those who bear God’s Spirit are led to the Word, that is, to the
Son, and the Son presents them to the Father, and the Father confers
incorruptibility on them.
And
it is impossible to see God’s Son without the Spirit, and no one can approach
the Father without the Son, for the knowledge of the Father is the Son, and the
knowledge of God’s Son is obtained through the Holy Spirit.’
(St. Irenaeus)
The above quote, from Saint Irenaeus, is found in
the Catechism (#683) and beautifully expresses the loving actions of all
Persons in the One God, The Most Holy Trinity. A mystery that defies logic and
human sensibility but is felt and experienced by all of us. What awakens our
faith in the Trinity and opens us to be receptive to this mystery of God is the
Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who has been our companion over these last
nine days and who we all now hopefully see and hear a little more clearly and
feel a little more closer to.
Saint John Vianney is the patron saint for all
priests and a disciple who knew his need for the Holy Spirit. He wrote this
meditation:
“Take in one hand a sponge full of water, and in
the other a little pebble; press them equally. Nothing will come out of the
pebble, but out of the sponge will come abundance of water. The sponge is the
soul filled with the Holy Spirit, and the stone is the cold and hard heart which
is not inhabited by the Holy Spirit.”
A disciple is not called to be a robot who performs
certain functions to give the appearance of being a Christian. A disciple is
called to be ‘another Christ’ to the world around them. They are to
imitate the Lord in his unconditional love, mercy, forgiveness and gentleness.
They are called to be the beating heart of Jesus for all the Church and the
people they live and work with. That heart can only truly beat if, as St. John
Vianney wrote, it is filled like a sponge with the Holy Spirit.
We need to be ever more mindful of the Holy Spirit
especially during this present time. Lockdown is beginning to ease at different
paces both globally and locally, with countries and peoples still being
sensibly cautious. However, what is emerging is that life has changed. No
matter how great or small life has changed. Change is never comfortable or
welcomed because it disturbs the status quo but our dislike and aversion to it
does not alter the fact of its definite presence. The closure of churches has
been dramatic and it would be naive to say that it has not effected anyone.
From our Holy Father the Pope right down to the little baby waiting for baptism
– everyone has been effected by Covid-19.
What has emerged during this pandemic is the voice
of the Holy Spirit. The amount of people who have shown Fortitude whether they
be a key worker or an individual going the extra mile for a neighbour and
stranger. The gifts of Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge have seen people taking
time out of ‘the rat race’ and fast paced world to view life differently. There
is a new appreciation for the relationships of family and friends. Prayer and
belief in God seems to be bucking the perception that the 21st
century is a non-religious century. The gift of Counsel has been making people
discern their daily decisions and frequent choices in life. ‘Do I need to
buy this much food? How much do I waste weekly? How much time do I spend on the
internet rather than speaking with real people? Is my job, my career going in
the right direction? Am I living as a disciple or just being a good actor and
playing the part?’ And finally the gifts of Piety and Fear of the Lord have
not sat dormant but have made people rethink prayer, their relationship with
God and their own vocation.
In these next few months we will all need to
continue to ask the Holy Spirit to be our constant companion on the future
road. There will be changes for us as a Church, diocese, deanery, parish and as
individual believers in the ways we respond to the Lord’s commandment of loving
God and each other.
‘You
know that the Holy Spirit constitutes the soul, the life blood of the Church
and of every individual Christian: He is the Love of God who makes of our
hearts his dwelling place and enters into communion with us. The Holy Spirit
abides with us always, he is always within us, in our hearts.’
(General
Audience, St. Peter’s Square 9th April 2014)
Veni
Creator Spiritus
Come,
Holy Spirit, Creator come,
From
your bright heavenly throne!
Come,
take possession of our souls,
And
make them all your own.
You
who are called the Paraclete,
Best
gift of God above,
The
living spring, the living fire,
Sweet
unction, and true love!
You
who are sevenfold in your grace,
Finger
of God's right hand,
His
promise, teaching little ones
To
speak and understand!
O
guide our minds with your blessed light,
With
love our hearts inflame,
And
with your strength which never decays
Confirm
our mortal frame.
Far
from us drive our hellish foe
True
peace unto us bring,
And
through all perils guide us safe
Beneath
your sacred wing.
Through
you may we the Father know,
Through
you the eternal Son
And
you the Spirit of them both
Thrice-blessed
three in one.
All
glory to the Father be,
And
to the risen Son;
The
same to you, O Paraclete,
While
endless ages run.
Amen.
In the final prayers of our parish Novena let us
ask God the Holy Spirit to remain with us always and allow us the grace to
cooperate with those freely bestowed gifts that he pours upon us. Saint Paul in
his letter to the Galatians gives us a good barometer to test if we are living
in the life of the Spirit or if we are living the life of our own self and ego.
I think it is important that the Apostles words are quoted in full.
‘Let
me put it like this: if you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger
of yielding to self-indulgence, since self-indulgence is the opposite of the
Spirit, the Spirit is totally against such a thing...When self-indulgence is at
work the results are obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual
irresponsibility; idolatry and sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad
temper and quarrels; disagreements, factions, envy; drunkenness, orgies and
similar things. I warn you now, as I warned you before: those who behave like
this will not inherit the kingdom of God. What the Spirit brings is very
different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness,
gentleness and self control...You cannot belong to Jesus Christ unless you
crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires. Since the Spirit is our life,
let us be directed by the Spirit. We must stop being conceited, provocative and
envious.’ (Gal 5:16-25)
Some will roll their eyes and mock Paul for his
words and accuse him of being old fashioned for what they see as outdated sins
and values. The truths he speaks out about though, do not change. It is the
world that tries to water sin down and remodel the appearance of faults and
failings so that it can feel better about itself and it’s decisions. What words
in his list resonate with us? Do we find ourselves bearing much of the Spirit’s
fruits of patience, self-control and love or more the rotten produce of feuds
and wrangling etc.
O
God the Holy Spirit, make our souls that sponge which draws all your gifts of
Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the
Lord into our inner being. Help us in our daily lives to embrace and use those
gifts to water the thirsting world around us that cries out for Jesus Christ. Assist
us in our baptismal calling to build up your true and only One Church, and not
hold on to our own selfishness. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit
Come, O Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of your love.
V. Send forth your
Spirit and they shall be created.
R. And you shall renew
the face of the earth.
Let us pray:
O God, who taught the
hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of
the same Spirit we may be always truly wise and ever rejoice in his
consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
I hope that despite my poverty some of the
reflections and meditations I have written over these last nine days have
helped you in your prayer. The next posting will be on Friday 5th
June 2020 and I will let you know if we have received any more information or
updates from the diocese.
God Bless and keep praying.
Happy Pentecost!
Fr. O’Brien