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Novena to the Holy Spirit

With Gospel passages and texts taken from the Saints of Carmel

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All the texts for this Novena to the Holy Spirit, with the exception of a few hymns and preces, have been taken from Sacred Scripture, the Liturgy for the Solemnity of Pentecost and the writings of some Carmelite Saints. The author has limited herself to putting the texts together to form a Novena. María del Pilar de la Iglesia OCDS

Translated by Chantal Haigh OCDS

Barcelona, 30th May, 2019

DAY I2

Entrance antiphon

Aleluia. The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world. Come let us adore him. Aleluia.

Hymn

Oh Beauty exceeding All other beauties! Paining, but You wound not Free of pain You destroy The love of creatures.

Oh, knot that binds Two so different, Why do You become unbound

For when held fast You strengthen Making injuries seem good.

Bind the one without being With being unending; Finish, without finishing, Love, without having to love, Magnify our nothingness1.

In Spanish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWBfP8GX_MM

Antiphon

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created. Aleluia.A reading from the Old Testament

1 Poetry No 6, The collected works of St. Teresa of Avila, Vol. 3, ICS Publications, Washington, 1985, p.381.

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“But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide. But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide fairly for the land’s afflicted. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips. They shall not harm or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea. On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the peoples - Him the nations will seek out; his dwelling shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:1-4a, 5, 9-10).

Text about the Holy Spirit by St.Teresa of Jesus

“One day while I was anxiously desiring to help the Order, the Lord told me: ‘Do what lies in your power; surrender yourself to me, and do not be disturbed about anything; rejoice in the good that has been given you, for it is very great; my Father takes His delight in you, and the Holy Spirit loves you’2. […] After this I remained in the kind of prayer I now have, that of keeping my soul present with the Blessed Trinity. And it seemed to me that the Person of the Father drew me to Himself and spoke very pleasant words. Among them, while showing me what He wanted, He told me: ‘I gave you My Son, and the Holy Spirit, and this Blessed Virgin. What can you give Me?’”3 […] “That the Holy Spirit must be present between such a Son and such a Father, and He will enkindle your will and bind it with a very great love4. It seems to me the Holy Spirit must be a mediator between the soul and God, the One who moves it with such ardent desires, for He enkindles it in a supreme fire, which is so near. O Lord, how great are these mercies You show to the soul here! May You be blessed and praised forever, for You

2 Spiritual Testimonies, 10. 133 25, 2. 4 Way of Perfection, 27,7

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are so good a Lover. O my God and my Creator! Is it possible that there is no one who loves You? “5

Preces

Christ the Lord has gathered his Church in unity through the Spirit. With sure hope let us ask him: Send forth your Spirit and make the whole world new..

In the beginning you created heaven and earth, and in the fullness of time you renewed all things in Christ, - through your Spirit go on renewing the world with the gift of salvation.You breathed the breath of life into Adam, - send your Spirit into your Church to be its life and vigor that it may bring new life to the whole world.By the light of your Spirit, enlighten the world and dispel the darkness of our times. - turn hatred into love, sorrow into joy and war into the peace we so desire.

(Additional intentions may be added here)

Our Father.

Closing prayer

Almighty ever-living God, who willed the Paschal Mystery to be encompassed as a sign in fifty days, grant that from out of the scattered nations the confusion of many tongues may be gathered by heavenly grace into one great confession of your name. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

DAY II5 Meditations on the Song of Songs, 5,5.

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Entrance antiphon Aleluia. The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world. Come let us adore him. Aleluia.

Hymn

O living flame of lovethat tenderly wounds my soulin its deepest center! Sincenow you are not oppressive,now consummate! if it be your will:Tear through the veil of this

sweet encounter!

O sweet cautery,O delightful wound!O gentle hand! O delicate touch that tastes of eternal lifeand pays every debt!In killing you changed death to life. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X9rnWz_3-s)

O lamps of fire!in whose splendorsthe deep caverns of feeling,once obscure and blind,Now give forth, so rarely, so exquisitely,both warmth and light to their Beloved.

How gently and lovinglyyou wake in my heart,where in secret you dwell alone;and in your sweet breathing,filled with good and glory,how tenderly You swell my

heart with love

Antiphon6

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created. Aleluia.

Gospel reading

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. For no word from God will ever fail. “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her” (Luke 1:26-35, 37-38).

Passage about the Holy Spirit by St. John of the Cross

“Spiritual dryness also hampers the interior satisfaction and sweetness […] First [the soul] impedes this by closing the door to it through continual prayer and devotion. Second, she invokes the Holy Spirit; it is he who will dispel this dryness and sustain and increase her love for the Bridegroom. He also moves the soul to interior exercise of the virtues, so that the Son of God, her Bridegroom, may rejoice and delight more in the bride. She invokes the Holy Spirit because her entire aim is to please her Bridegroom. […] [It is] the [divine breeze of the] Holy Spirit who awakens love. When this divine breeze strikes her it wholly enkindles and refreshes her, quickens and

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awakens the will, and elevates the previously fallen appetites that were asleep to the love of God; it does it in such a way that she can easiy add, “you that waken love,” both his love and hers. […] And this kind of spiration of the Holy Spirit in the soul, by which God transforms her into himself, is so sublime, delicate, and deep a delight, […] for the soul united and transformed in God breathes out in God to God the very divine spiration that God - she being transformed in him - breathes out himself to her”6.

Preces Christ the Lord has gathered his Church in unity through the Spirit. With sure hope let us ask him:

Lord, make the whole world new.Lord Jesus, when you were raised high upon the cross, streams of living water flowed from your pierced side,- pour out on us your life-giving Spirit.

In glory at the right hand of God, you gave the Gift of the Father

to your disciples,

- send forth your Spirit to renew the world.

You gave your Spirit to the apostles, with the power to forgive sins.- destroy all sin in the world. (Additional intentions may be added here) Our Father.

Closing prayer

O God, who by the mystery of today’s great feast sanctify your whole Church in every people and nation, pour out, we pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit across the face of the earth and, with the divine grace that was at work when the Gospel was first proclaimed, fill now once more the hearts of believers. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you

6 Spiritual Canticle B, 17, 2. 4; 39,3. 8

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.DAY III

Entrance antiphon Aleluia. The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world. Come let us adore him. Aleluia. Hymn

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto Me and rest;Lay down, thou weary one, lay down Thy head upon My breast.”I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad;I found in Him a resting place, and He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely giveThe living water; thirsty one, stoop down, and drink, and live.”I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life giving stream;My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in Him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “I am this dark world’s Light;Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise, and all thy day be bright.”I looked to Jesus, and I found in Him my Star, my Sun;And in that light of life I’ll walk, till traveling days are done.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSSiEixBt8E)

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Antiphon

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created. Aleluia. Gospel reading

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:13-17).

Text about the Holy Spirit by St. M. Magdalene of Pazzi

“The Spirit is the dispenser of the treasures which are in the heart of the Father and the treasurer of the advice which the Father and the Word exchange […]. From the heart of the Father he extracts power with gifts more numerous than the stars in the heavens. From the pierced side of the Word, he draws forth a burning love, more abundant in fruit than there are flowers in springtime… From the heart of the Word, he draws an intimate purity, more luminous than the most limpid water. […]. The cataracts of heaven are ever open so that graces can pour forth, but we do not have our mouths open with yearning to receive it… Oh how heaven is ever ready to shower them upon us! […]. Come, come, Oh Holy Spirit! May the union of the Father, the disposition of the Word, the glory of the angels come! You are, oh Spirit of truth, the reward of the saints, the refreshment of souls, the filling of the hungry, the consolation of pilgrims, you are the one in whom is contained all treasures!” […]. “The Spirit has come with the fulness of his gifts and has come into my heart… But it is not enough for him to rest only in me: I beg that you inspire your other, chosen and beloved

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spouses as well as all other creatures”7

Preces

As we celebrate the glory of God with great joy and faith, let us cry out with our prayers:

Send forth your spirit and make the whole world new..

Water flowed from the side of Christ as the fountain of your Spirit, - may it flow over all the earth and bring forth goodness

You desire the whole world to be filled with the Spirit, - help all mankind to build a world of justice and peace.


You bring life and glory to mankind through the Holy Spirit,- through the Spirit lead the departed into the love and joy of heaven.

Our Father.

Closing prayer

O God, who by the mystery of today’s great feast sanctify your whole Church in every people and nation, pour out, we pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit across the face of the earth and, with the divine grace that was at work when the Gospel was first proclaimed, fill now once more the hearts of believers. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

7 Santa MARÍA MAGDALENA DE PAZZI, Éxtasis, amor y renovación. BAC, Madrid 1999, 55-56, 207-208.

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DAY IV


Hymn

The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want;He makes me down to lieIn pastures green; He leadeth meThe quiet waters by.

My soul He doth restore again,And me to walk doth makeWithin the paths of righteousness,E’en for His own name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale,

Yet will I fear no ill;For Thou art with me, and Thy rodAnd staff me comfort still.

My table Thou hast furnishedIn presence of my foes;My head Thou dost with oil anoint,And my cup overflows.

Goodness and mercy all my lifeShall surely follow me,And in God’s house forevermoreMy dwelling-place shall be.

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(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-qLa_2GPcM)Antiphon


Gospel reading

“You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (John 3:7-8; 7:37-39).

Text about the Holy Spirit by Bld. Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus

This Spirit [...] is the Spirit of loving Wisdom, of the divine Mercy who longs to pour out His love, who has created us in order to give Himself to us and bear us away in the powerful movement and the burning intensity of His overflowing life. The Spirit is infinitely wise and infinitely powerful. To serve His designs, He used all the resources of His wisdom and His strength. [...] For the realisation of his gifts in us, our good will is always too slow and too weak. [...] The Holy Spirit will use doorways that are open [the gifts of the Spirit] before Him, precipitating through them like a torrent, like a mighty river, to use an expression from Scripture, to enrich the soul in all its merits, in all its demands, thus taking nothing into account but its very need to surrender, to overflow. Thus by the gifts of the Spirit, [...] God

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takes possession of the soul and there gives it to will and to do, perfecting its virtues. He takes control of it either progressively or at one stroke according to the manner and the measure He has decreed”8.

Preces

God the Father has gathered his Church in unity through Christ. With joy in our hearts let us ask him:

Send your Holy Spirit into the Church..

You desire the unity of all Christians through one baptism in the Spirit,

- make all who believe one in heart and soul..

You desire the whole world to be filled with the Spirit, - help all mankind to build a world of justice and peace.

Lord God, Father of all mankind, you desire to gather together your scattered children in unity of faith, - enlighten the world by the grace of the Holy Spirit.


Our Father.

Closing prayer


8 Fr. Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus, I want to see God, Vol. 1, Christian Classics, Allen, Texas, 1953, p. 356-357.

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DAY V


Hymn O Thou who camest from above, the pure celestial fire to impart kindle a flame of sacred love upon the mean altar of my heart.

There let it for thy glory burn with inextinguishable blaze, and trembling to its source return, in humble prayer and fervent praise.

Jesus, confirm my heart's desire to work and speak and think for thee; still let me guard the holy fire, and still stir up thy gift in me.

Ready for all thy perfect will, my acts of faith and love repeat, till death thy endless mercies seal, and make my sacrifice complete.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3UYybc7Xa0)

Antiphon


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Gospel reading

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:15-17, 26).

Text about the Holy Spirit by St. Mariam of Jesus Crucified

She had an extraordinary devotion to the Holy Spirit. The following prayer, which was revealed to her, was often on her lips: “Holy Spirit, inspire me; Love of God, consume me; lead me along the true path. Mary, my mother, look at me; with Jesus, bless me. From every evil, from all ilusions, from all dangers, preserve me”. Jesus would use her to spread devotion to the Holy Spirit. One day he said to her: “If you want to seek me, know me and follow me, invoke the light of the Holy Spirit who illumined/shone on my disciples and illumines all peoples who invoke him. I tell you in all truth: whoever invokes the Holy Spirit will seek me and find me and it will be through the Holy Spirit that he will find me. His conscience will be as delicate as the flowers of the fields. If the person is a father or a mother with a family, peace will reign in their family and their heart will be at peace in this world and in the next; he will not die in darkness, but in peace. I ardently want priests to celebrate a Mass in honour of the Holy Spirit every month. Whoever says or hears it, will be honoured by the Holy Spirit himself. He will have light and he will have peace. He will cure the sick, he will waken those who sleep”9.

9 P. ESTRATE, Mariam, sainte palestinienne. La vie de Marie de Jésus crucifié, P. Téqui éditeur, Paris 1999, 259-260.

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Preces

God the Father has gathered his Church in unity through Christ. With joy in our hearts let us ask him:

Send your Holy Spirit into the Church.

You promised us the Holy Spirit to teach us all things and remind us of all you had said,- send us your Spirit to enlighten our minds in faith.

Through the Spirit you make all things new, - heal the sick, comfort the distressed, give salvation to all.

(Additional intentions may be added here).

Through the Spirit you raised your Son from the dead,

- raise up the bodies of the dead into everlasting life. Our Father.

Closing prayer


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DAY VI


The Pentecost Sequence

Holy Spirit, Lord of Light,From the clear celestial height.Thy pure beaming radiance give.

Come, thou Father of the poor,Come, with treasures which endure;Come, thou Light of all that live!

Thou, of all consolers best,Thou, the soul's delightful guest,Dost refreshing peace bestow.

Thou in toil art comfort sweet;Pleasant coolness in the heat;Solace in the midst of woe.

Light immortal, Light divine,

Visit thou these hearts of thine,And our inmost being fill.If thou take thy grace away,Nothing pure in man will stay;All his good is turned to ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;On our dryness pour thy 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.

Thou, on us who evermoreThee confess and thee adore,With thy sevenfold gifts descend.

Give us comfort when we die;

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Give us life with thee on high;Give us joys that never end.

Amen. Alleluia.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHRcgghaw2M)

Antiphon


Reading from the New Testament

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for usthrough wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27)

Text about the Holy Spirit by Bld. Francisco Palau “Send this divine Spirit into my heart and He will entreat on my behalf. He will teach me what I need to implore, how and when I need to ask and in addition, He will give me the strength to persevere in my entreating until I have succeeded in what I am asking for. [...] O Lord, my God, You are the Spirit which gives life, who illuminates and joins together the members of the mystical body of Jesus Christ. You are the Spirit who with ineffable groans makes entreaty in our hearts [Rm 8:26] the solution to the needs of the Church. We only achieve it when it is You who make the request in us. Our desires, sighs and tears are only of inestimable worth when they come from You and when it is You who inspire them. Man does not know what or when to ask. He only asks well when it is You who makes him ask. Come, then, O holy Spirit and vivify my heart. You be the One to direct my will and my desires. You unfurl the lips of my soul and teach it how to speak with its God. Speak and ask in me so that I come succeed in my quest… May You be the One who asks the Son in me. Jesus sends me to his Father to thank Him. But how can I go to the Father unless it is You who

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take me by the hand? What would I ask if You did not inspire me? So, Veni, Sancte Spiritus”10.

Preces

Christ the Lord has gathered his Church in unity through the Spirit. With sure hope let us ask him:

Lord, make the whole world new.

You sent the spirit to fill the earth with your love;

—let men build the human city in justice and peace.

Lord God, Father of all men, bring to your scattered children unity of faith:—make the world alive with the power of your Spirit.

By the work of the Soirit you create all minds afresh:—heal the sick, comfort the afflicted, and bring all men to salvation.


Our Father.

Closing prayer


10 Lucha del alma con Dios, IV, 19. 20

DAY VII


Hymn

Véni, Creátor Spíritus,mentes tuórum visita,imple supérna grátia,quae tu creásti péctora.

Qui díceris Paráclitus,altíssimi donum Dei,fons vivus, ignis, cáritas,et spiritális únctio.

Tu septifórmis múnere,dígitus paternae déxterae,tu rite promíssum Patris,sermóne ditans gúttura.

Accénde lumen sénsibus;infunde amórem córdibus,infírma nostri córporisvirtúte firmans pérpeti.

Hostem repéllas lóngius,pacémque dones prótinus;ductóre sic te praeviovitemus omne noxium.

Per te sciámus da Patrem,noscamus atque Filium;teque utriúsque Spíritumcredamus omni témpore.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDhYGdK0KQg)

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Antiphon



“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Rom 8:14-17).

Passages about the Holy Spirit by St. Teresa of the Andes

At the age of seventeen, she was given the grace of discovering the meaning of intra-trinitarian life (Jn 14:23) as is reflected in the first text in her Diary. The second text comes from the retreat for Pentecost which she made in the first month following her being admitted to the Carmel Convent of the Holy Spirit in the Andes, when she was nineteen11.“Living in unity of thought, in unity of sentiments, actions and thus, when the Father gazes on me, He will find the image of his Son. And the Holy Spirit, on seeing the Father and the Son residing there, will make me his bride and the Three Persons will come to dwell in me”.

“I began my retreat yesterday. Our Lord told me that I should go through him to the Father. That the only thing He wanted for me in this retreat was for me to be hidden and submerged in the Divinity so as to know God more and to love Him and to know myself more and to despise myself. He wanted me to let myself be guided entirely by the Holy Spirit. For my life should be an unending praise of love. To lose myself in God. To contemplate 11 The texts come from her Diary, n. 20 and 56.

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Him always without ever losing sight of Him. To achieve this, I must live in silence and forgetfulness of all created things, because God, through his nature, always lives alone. All is silence, harmony, unity in Him. And in order to dwell in Him, it is necessary to live in simplicity, to have but one single thought and activity - that of praise.”

PrecesWhen the days of Pentecost were complete, God sent the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. As we celebrate with great joy and faith, let us cry out with our prayers: Send forth your spirit and make the whole world new.

For all who have been signed and sealed with the Holy Spirit, that his Church may be united as one body made of many parts, let us pray to the Lord. For the peoples of the world who do not know God, that the Spirit of truth proclaimed to every nation may indeed “renew the face of the earth,” let us pray to the Lord. For the outpouring of the Spirit of peace, that men and women may know the forgiveness of their sins, let us pray to the Lord.


Our Father.

Closing prayer


DAY VIII23


Hymn

A mighty wind invades the world,So strong and free on beating wing:It is the Spirit of the LordFrom whom all truth and freedom spring.

The Spirit is a fountain clearFor ever leaping to the sky,Whose waters give unending life,Whose timeless source is never dry.

The Spirit comes in tongues of flame,With love and wisdom burning bright,The wind, the fountain and the fireCombine in this great feast of light.

O tranquil Spirit, bring us peace,With God the father and the Son.We praise you, blessed Trinity,Unchanging, and for ever One.

(Author: Stanbrook Abbey, Tune: Deo gratias)

Antiphon24



“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:4-5, 8).

Texts about the Holy Spirit by St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

“Our Companion’s example is that of servicial love coming to the help of all creatures in order to bring them to fulfilment. This is the title which the Holy Spirit has been given. […] Once an individual has been attracted within the orbit of God and is interiorily recollected and has surrendered himself in loving union, the problem has now been resolved for ever. It is enough to allow oneself to be directed and guided by the Spirit of God, which now moves everything with clarity, so that one may in everything always have the certainty of acting aright. […]. The Spirit of God is feeling and strength. He gives new life to the soul and prepares it for actions, for those which due to our nature we are not prepared for and at the same time, it points out the line to follow in our actions. […] When God himself or a truth hidden close to Him is revealed to us, it happens thanks to his Spirit. In the same way, when someone claims to pass on this this type of truth to others, he must also be moved by this same Spirit”12.

Preces 128 Edith STEIN, Pensamientos, Monte Carmelo, Burgos 1999, 29-31.

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On this day of Pentecost, the Church is filled with joy. Strengthened with measureless hope, we pray to Christ, who is calling his Church together in the Holy Spirit.

Send your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

For all who have been signed and sealed with the Holy Spirit, —that his Church may be united as one body made of many parts, let us pray to the Lord.. For our Holy Father, Pope Francis, for our Bishop N. and for all priests, —May they be given and the Spirit of wisdom and holiness in abundance.

For all who work for peace and harmony among the nations, —may they manage to unite men and women in love. (Additional intentions may be added here)

Our Father.

Closing prayer


DAY IX26


Hymn

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come,From thy bright heav’nly throne,Come take possession of our souls,And make them all thy own.

Thou who art called the Paraclete,Best gift of God above,The living spring, the living fire,Sweet unction and true love.

Thou who art sevenfold in thy grace,Finger of God’s right handHis promise teaching little onesTo speak an understand.

O guide our minds with thy blessed light,With love our hearts inflame;And with thy strength, which never decaysConfirm our mortal frame.

Far from us drive our deadly foe;27

True peach unto us bring;And through all perils lead us safeBeneath thy sacred wing.

Through thee may we the Father know,Through thee the eternal Son,And thee, the Spirit of them both,Thrice-blessed Three in One.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTqgVkoTLM0)

Antiphon



“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (Acts, 2:1-4, 11)

Passage about the Holy Spirit by Bld. Titus Brandsma

“Like a Mother with her children, […] she reminds them of the words of Jesus, which she keeps in her heart. She encourages them to pray in confidence, so that the Holy Spirit can come and renew them and transform their hearts. Would that we were ever ready to listen to Mary. For she also directs her words to us. We too are apostles who need the Holy Spirit, but it is necessary for love to reign in our hearts and for us to surrender ourselves totally to God, if we want them to find their place

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there. Our heart would not be worthy of receiving him, unless we prepare ourselves to hear his inspirations. […] We are children of God and of Mary. She is our refuge and our hope. We will want to pray with her in order to receive the Holy Spirit through her intercession, who will transform us into new and different men and women. […] Our Lady the fire to the world in order to set it alight. May it be lit and burn within us too”13.

Poem about the Holy Spirit by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

The references St. Elizabeth of the Trinity makes about the Holy Spirit in her writings are very penetrating. We will recall just one here: her ‘Poem about Pentecost’ which is a synthesis of her thought.

With your burning, purifying flames, Holy Spirit, deign to inflame my soul; / absorb it into divine love. / Oh You whom I invoke every day!Spirit of God, dazzling light, / You who overwhelm me with favours/ and infuse me with your sweetness / burn and reduce me entirely to nothing.You who has given me my vocation, / lead me on to intimate, interior union, to that life / completely centred on God, which I so long for. […] Holy Spirit, Goodness, Supreme Beauty! / O You Whom I adore, O You Whom I love! / Consume with Your divine flames / This body and this heart and this soul! / This spouse of the Trinity / Who desires only Your will! Holy Spirit, Goodness, supreme Beauty, / You whom I adore and whom I love, / consume my body, my heart all my soul/ with your divine fire, / of this the spouse of the Trinity / who yearns only to do your will14.

13 Tito BRANDSMA, Ejercicios bíblicos con María para llegar a Jesús, Cesca, Caudete 1978, 75-76. 14 Poetry 54, Pentecost, 29.5.1898. She was eighteen years old at the time.

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Passages relating to the Holy Spirit by St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus

The fire is the symbol par excellence to indicate the action of the Holy Spirit as transforming fire which unites her to Christ and brings her to the fulness of divine life.

“Ah! Divine Jesus, you know I love you. / The Spirit of Love sets me aflame with his fire. / In loving you I attract the Father. / My weak heart holds him forever”15. “I ask Jesus to draw me into the flames of His love, to unite me so closely to Him that He live and act in me. I feel that the more the fire of love burns within my heart, the more I shall say: “Draw me,” the more also the souls who will approach me (poor little piece of iron, useless if I withdraw from the divine furnace), the more these souls will run swiftly in the odor of the ointments of their Beloved, for a soul that is burning with love cannot remain inactive”16.

Preces

Christ the Lord has gathered his Church in unity through the Spirit. With sure hope let us ask him:

Lord, make the whole world new.

Lord Jesus, when you were raised high upon the cross, streams of living water flowed from your pierced side,- pour out on us your life-giving Spirit.

In glory at the right hand of God, you gave the Gift of the Father to your disciples,- send forth your Spirit to renew the world.You gave your Spirit to the apostles, with the power to forgive sins.- destroy all sin in the world. (Additional intentions may be added here)

15 Poetry 17, 2. Living on Love.16 Manuscript C 36r.

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Our Father.Closing prayer


Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to free us from all that can prevent or hold back his action in us.

—From the spirit of error. Free us, Spirit of the Father and of the Son.—From the spirit of discord and envy.—From the spirit of obstinacy andstubborness.—From the spirit of pride and presumption.—From the spirit of impurity.—De all diabolical spirits.—From the spirit of lukewarmness in divine service. —From all contagian of the spirit of the world.—For your eternal proceeding from the Father and from the Son. —For the immense holiness with which you adorned the soul of Mary.—For your admirable work in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.—For your manifestation at the baptism of Christ.—For your descent upon the apostles.—For your ineffable goodness, by which you govern and sanctify the Church, strengthens martyrs, iluminates Doctors and adorns the whole people of God with diverse gifts.

Works by Carmelite saints:

http://www.carmelitemonks.org/Vocation/CarmeliteWritings.php

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