Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit, Pentecost, Prayer, Spirituality

7 Holy Spirit Prayers from the Saints

Pentecost is almost here!  When the Holy Spirit arrives on Pentecost, confusion is replaced with confidence, joy and knowledge.   The following prayers to the Holy Spirit were written by the Saints.  They give us the insight into the lives of men and women in search of God’s will in their lives.   Meditating on these prayers is a wonderful way to grow closer to God during this holy season.

 Prayer Before Study

by St.  Thomas Aquinas

Come Holy Spirit, Divine Creator, true source of light and fountain of wisdom.  Pour forth your brilliance upon my dense intellect, dissipate the darkness, which covers me, that of sin and of ignorance.

Grant me a penetrating mind to understand, a retentive memory, method and ease in learning, the lucidity to comprehend, and abundant grace in expressing myself.

Guide the beginning of my work, direct its progress, and bring it to successful completion.

This I ask through Jesus
Christ, true God and true man, living and regning with You and the Father, forever and ever.

Amen

St. Thomas Aquinas
Blessing Prayer

St. Dominic

May God the Father who made us bless us.

May God the Son send his healing among us.

May God the Holy Spirit move within us and give us eyes to see with, ears to hear with, and hands that your work might be done.

May we walk and preach the word of God to all.  May the angel of peace watch over us and lead us at last by God’s grace to the Kingdom.  Amen

St. Dominic
Public Domain Image
Prayer of St. Benedict

O gracious and holy God,

Give us wisdom to know you,

intelligence to understand you,

Diligence to seek you,

Patience to wait for you,

Eyes to behold you,

A heart to meditate upon you,

A life to proclaim you,

the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Amen

St. Benedict
Public Domain Image
Come into my Heart

Saint Catherine of Siena

Holy Spirit, come into my heart.

Draw it to Thee by Thy power, O my God,

and grant me charity with filial fear,

Preserve me, O beautiful love, from every evil thought;

Warm me, inflame me with Thy dear love,

And every pain will seem light to me.

My Father, my sweet Lord, help me in all my actions.

Jesus, love,

Jesus, love.

Amen

St. Catherine of Siena
Come Holy Sprit

St. Bernard

O Come, Holy Sprit

fill the hearts of your faithful

and enkindle in them the fire of your love.

send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.

and you shall renew the face of the earth.

O God, who has taught the hearts of the faithful

by the light of the Holy Spirit,

grant that by the gift of that same Spirit

we may be always truly wise

and ever rejoice in His consolation.

Amen

St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Public Domain Image
Prayer for the Help of the Holy Spirit

St. Anthony of Padua

O God, send forth your Holy Spirit into my heart that I may perceive, into my mind that I may remember, and into my soul that I may meditate.

Inspire me to speak with piety, holiness, tenderness and mercy.  Teach guide and direct my thoughts and senses from beginning to end.

May your grace ever help and correct me, and may I be strengthened now with wisdom from on high, for the sake of your infinite mercy.  Amen

St. Anthony of Padua
Prayer to the Holy Spirit

St. Augustine

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be Holy.

Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work too, may be holy.

Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love only what is holy.

Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.

Guard me, then O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.

Guard me, then O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.

You have created us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.

St. Augustine
Faith, Feast Days

Catholic Church Celebrates its Birthday on Pentecost Sunday

Pentecost
Public Domain Image

 

Many people falsely believe the church began when Christ rose from the dead. However, the official beginning of the church is celebrated on Pentecost Sunday.

 

Fifty days after the crucifixion, the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles. They were transfigured from frightened, confused disciples of Jesus to men of courage and conviction. Their confusion was removed by the Holy Spirit, or as Jesus called him…The Advocate.

 

The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of the Trinity. As Catholics, we believe in One God, manifest by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Belief in the trinity was passed on through church traditions. Before every prayer, we begin with the sign of the cross, praying in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit.

 

The mystery of the cross (suffering) is important to our faith. Without suffering, we cannot come close to Jesus on the cross. Jesus told the Apostles He would not leave them orphaned. He would send them the Advocate, to lead and guide them. Today, we call the Advocate the Holy Spirit.

Just as each of us has more than one type of relationship (mother, daughter, sister) God also shows Himself to us in different ways; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is the creator of everything, Jesus is the Son, sent to redeem the world from the slavery of sin, and the Holy Spirit is the Advocate sent to guide and show us the way to the Father and Son.

The most important part of prayer is actually listening in quiet for guidance from God. Sharing with him our pain, joy and needs is important, but we must also ask him to lead us by His Holy Spirit, so that we may know His will in our life.

The symbols of the Holy Spirit are the Dove, the wind, and the fire. God speaks to us in many ways. Listen for him in the silence.

As Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said,

“In the silence of the heart God speaks.”

When you hear God in the silence of your heart, you are experiencing Pentecost…..the birth of your faith.

[love]

Faith, Pope Francis

Pope Francis defines gift of piety as friendship with God




 

Pope Francis Face Book Image
Pope Francis
Face Book Image

During his catechesis for the general audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis described the gift of piety received from the Holy Spirit, saying not to confuse it with pity. He described piety as a friendship with God, given us by Jesus; a friendship that changes our life and fills us with enthusiasm and joy. According to Zenit News Agency, Pope Francis said this gift is often misunderstood as pity.

Pope Francis told thousands gathered for his weekly general Audience that when the Holy Spirit pours love into our hearts we are led to perceive the Lord’s presence and love in our lives. This moves us to respond joyfully in prayer and adoration.

Pope Francis said,

“We experience ever anew, with joy and gratitude, the loving relationship with God our Father which has been granted us in Jesus his Son which grounds and perfects our authentic worship of God.”

 

Pope Francis clarified that piety is often misunderstood and confused as pity. “However,” he said ,

“piety is not having compassion for someone, having pity for one’s neighbor but indicates our belonging to God and our profound bond with Him. This bond gives meaning to the whole of our life and keeps us firm, in communion with Him, in the most difficult and trying moments.”

He stressed that there are two aspects of piety. First is a bond with the Lord which is not intended as a duty or an imposition. The bond comes from within. Pope Francis explained that it is a relation lived with the heart: it is our friendship with God, given to us by Jesus: a friendship that changes our life and fills us with enthusiasm and joy.

Pope Francis continued:

“When the Holy Spirit makes us perceive the presence of the Lord and all his love for us, He warms our heart and moves us almost naturally to prayer and to celebration,”

 

The pope stated that the second point of piety makes us grow in relationship and communion with God and leads us to live as his children, helping us to pass this love on to others, recognizing them as our brothers.

Distinguishing piety from pity, Pope Francis stressed that pity does not motivate the faithful in their relationships and encounters.

“Why do I say not to pity? Why do some people think that having compassion is close your eyes, make a face like a little picture, pretend to be a saint,” he said. “This is not the gift of piety.”

Rather, he said,

“piety  means to be truly capable of rejoicing with those in joy, to weep with those who weep, to welcome and help those who are in need.”

Pope Francis noted the very close relation between the gift of piety and meekness, he said piety “makes us meek, it makes us tranquil, patient, in peace with God, and at the service of others with meekness.” Meekness is one of the beatitudes.

Recalling Paul’s Letter to the Romans: “All who are led by the Spirit of God ,these are sons of God, and ye have not received a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit adopted as children, by whom we cry, ‘Abba, Father. ‘” The Apostle Paul’s words still apply to faithful today, he stressed.

The Pope concluded his homily with an invitation. He asked the faithful to ask the Lord that the gift of his Spirit conquer our fear, our uncertainties, also our restless, impatient spirit, rendering us joyful witnesses of God and of his love, adoring the Lord in truth and also in the service of our neighbor, with meekness and with the smile that the Holy Spirit always gives us in joy.

 

This article was originally posted on June 5, 2014

 

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