OUR PRAYERS: Come, Holy Spirit
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OUR PRA YERS: Come, Holy Spirit Deepp in every human heart is a desire for the living God that expresses itself in prayerprayer.. In the Catholic tradititradition, some prayers have becomeome classic expressions of what the human heart seeks. Words of Faith: Our Prayers exploresess prayeprayers tthat for centuries have revealedealed a faith that fosters a deep, personal, growing, and loving relationship with Jesus Christ.hrist. Th ese prayersprayerpraypra teach us much about whoo we are anandd aaboutbout tthehe GoGodd to wwhomhom we bbelong.elong. —Keit—Keithith J. Egan, Series Editor WeWe PrayPray Thishis prayer is traditionallytraditionaraditionalllyy prayedprar inn a callcall anand reresponsesponnse format,format,rmat, with a leaderer announcingnnouncinguncingncingg thethee versev (V)V)) andandn everyoneev one presentpresennt sayingsay ngg theth responseesspon e (R). DIDDID YOUYO KNOW? V. Come,Comem , Holy Spirit,Spip rir t,t andandn fi llll thetht heartsheh a ts ofo your faithful, TheThe giftss of thet Holy Spirit, the R. AndAnd kindlekik ndn le inin themtht e thethe fi rere off your love. wwaysays in whiwhichc the Holy Spirit acts in our lilives, are wisdom, V. SendSend forthforth youry Spirit and they shall be created, understanding, counsel, fortitude R. AndAnd Y You shall renew the face of the earth. (or courage)courage), kknowledge, piety, and fear (or wonder and awe) of Let us pray. the Lord. These gifts are named in Lord, by the light of the Holy Spirit a prayer that the bishop or his des- you have taught the hearts of your faithful. ignee prays at the beginning of the Inn the same Spirit celebration of the sacrament of con- hhelpelp us to relisrelishh wwhathat is rirightght fi rmation.n. WhenWhen wwe trust in the gifts andnd aalwayslways rejoice in yyourour consoconsolation.lation. of theheh HolyHoly Spirit,SpiritSpi we are formed as WWee ask tthishis tthroughhrough ChristChrist our Lord.Lord. goodd and holyholy peoppeople,o living the fruits of thehe HolHHolyoly SpSpiritiriti in our lives: char- of AAmen.men. iity,ty, joy,joy, peace,peace, pappatience, kindness, goodness,goodneesss , genegeggenerosity,n gentleness, faithfulness,faithfulffa thfh u momodesty, self-control, and chastitchastity.y. WeWe PracticePractice his ancientancan prayer has its roots in both sacred scripture and the traditiontrad of the Church. WithWith phrasesphrases taken from Psalm 104, thisthis familiar prayerprayer sayssays muchmuch in a few brief but Tbeautifulbeautiful words. We fi nd the opening line of the prayerprayer and echoes ofo its meaning in the sequence for Pentecost. A sequence is a liturgical prayer that is either sung or read just before the Gospel on certain high feast days. Those who pray Evening Prayer fi nd part of this prayer as the Come, Holy Spirit, come! response to the Magnifi cat on Pente- And from your celestial home cost. We also see its second stanza Shed a ray of light ddivine! iinn tthehe Alleluia verse before thethe gos-gos- pel reading on Pentecost SundaSundayy and tthehe Come, FaFatheraththerher ooff thtthee poor! votive Mass of the Holy Spirit, which is of- ComeCome,, wwiwithinthhin oourur bbosomso shine. ten celebrated at the beginningg of a nnewew YoYYou,u, ofof ccocomfortercomfortersmfoorterrs thtthe best; academic yyearear or forr ggatheringsatheatheritherringngs of ccivicivic YYoYou,u, tthehee ssoul’souull’s momosmostst welcome guest; leaders eachh fall ata anan annualnnun a Red Mass.Mas . SSwSweeteet rerefreshmentefrreseshmennt hhere below; We echocho thisth prayerayer asa wewe sing,singn , “Lord,“Lor , Inn oourur llabor,abbor, rerestst mmosto sweet; ssendend outoutu yyourourou Spirit,piriti , andand renewrenen w tthehe face SoSolaSolacelal cec iinn the midst oof woe. of theth earth”rthh” as ourour responsere ponse to theth Psalmm on Pentecostente osst SundaySuS ayy anda d ooftenftten duringduring thethe celebrationcelec —from—from thethe Pentecost Sequence, Veni,V Sancte Spiritus of tthehe sacramentament ooff cocononfi rmationrrmation.mat on. WORDS FAiTH By Leisaeisaa Anslinger,Anslinger, author andan spspeaker,eaker, bringingbringing extensive experienceexperience in Catholic parishesparishes and schools to her ministry.m Seriess Editor,ditor, Keith J. Egan,Eg PhD, is President of the Carmelite Institute; Adjunct Professor of Theology, UnivUniversity of Notre Dame; and AquinasAquinasnas ChairCh Emeritus,Emeritus, St. MMary’sary’s ColCollege.lege. We Believe We Live hen we prayy “Come,Come, Holy Spirit,”Spirit, it is not because we think f we Christians truly live as peoplepe overfl owing with that perhapss the HolHolyy SpSpiritirit is not alreadalreadyy with us. The HolyHoly God’s love, fi lled withthh the strestrststrengthn and wisdom of the WSpirit has beeneen withwith thethe ChurchChurch since thethe fi rst ououtpouringtpouring at IHolyHoly Spirit,Spirit,t, the earth will certainlycertaicert be renewed! Acting Pentecost, when the Holyoly Spirit descended upon tthehe fi rst disciples, causcaus-- as a discipleciple of Christ in our world—certainworldwo of the Spirit’s ing them to proclaim God’sod’s glorgloryy in tthehe risen CChrist.hrist. presence in our lives—all with whowwhomo we interact at home, atat work, in our parishes,parishes, towns, cities,cciti and nations will be And suddenly theree came from the skysky a noise like a strongstrorong driv-d iv- touchedouched and transformed by God’s mmercy and love. ing wind, and it fi lleded the entire house in whichich theyey were. Then there appeared to themhem tongues as of fi re,e, wwhich parted and came • The original and still-practicedstistE novena is a nine-day prayerer to the th Holy Spirit that is pr to rest on each one of them.m. And they were all fi lled with the Holy prayer to the Holy Spirit that is prayed each year between Spirit and began too spspeakpeak in difference tongues, as the Spirit en-en AscensionA ThursdayThursday (the fortieth dday of the Easter Season) abled them to proclaim.lallaim.m. ((ActsActs 2:2–42:22:2–4)) andand Pentecost SundaySunday (the fi ftieth dayd of Easter). Take time to praprayy thethe Come, HolyHoly Spirit praprayery each morning or eve- As individuals, the Holyoly Spirit shapes our lives fromfro the moment we ning during thosethose last nine daysdays of the Easter season or encounter the waters of ourur baptisbaptism.m. during a nine-daynine-day stretchstretch thethe comingcomi month. This practice When we pray “Come,ome, HolyHoly S Spirit,”pirit,” we recrecognizeognize the ppresenceresence of opens heartshearts and minds to thethe workingwor of the Spirit. the Holy Spirit already withinS and among us, and we ask the Spirit to • Cultivate one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (see Did You light within us the fi re of divine love. We ask to be overshadowed with Know?) in your life. Ask yourself which fruit seems most in God’s love and to be fi lled with the courage to live as God’s people in the need in your life. How can you work with the Spirit to help world. meet those needs? Make a list of fi ve actions that will make good use of the fruit of the Spirit you have chosen. Post it where youyou will see it each ddayay as a way to remember your cocommitment.mmitment. With ChildrenCChildhhilddren A BIT OF HISTORYHISTORY • Teach yourur children this prayer ra r byy using it often, with one The prayerprayer Veni,Veni, Sancte SpiritusSpiritus (Come, Holy Spirit)it) iinn yyourour hhouseholdousehold acting as tthehe lleader,e and the rest pray- wasas quoted by St. Thomas Aquinas inn a serieseriesries ofo ing the response. Not only willill youyoy u be praying to the Holy Pentecostentecost homilies given inn thee lalast years of his Spirit, but you willll be papparticipatingparticipatin in a common prayer life.ife. Thomas preachedacheded ththat the prayer identifi es E form, callallll and resrresponse.ponse. As yoyourur child becomes familiar four things:hings:g whwhoo the Spirit is, whyy the Spirit with theth pprayer,rayer, invite him or her tot act as leader, with the acts, ththatatat thehe Spirit acts, and whwhatatat tthehe rremainingemaining familfamilyy members praprayingyin the response. SpiSpiritpiritrit acts uuponupon.pon. • Start a Sunday tradition witwithh a HHolyo Spirit candle. Choose In the early Church, mostmo Sundays a ppillarillar candcandlele or a cclusterluster ooff sevesevenn smaller fl ames, one for includedcluded a poeticoetic chant,chc or sequence eeachach gift of the spirit, for a centercenterpiece.p Gather the family prayer,er, butbu only four were retained in aaroundround tthehe llightedighted candle(s) and iinvite each family mem- tthehe missal that was pupublishedblished in S beberr to nnameame ononee wawayy ththatat hhee or shes has been a fl ame or 1570, following the Council of fi re of God’s love during the past week. Or, family mem- Trent, and remain in use today: bers can write these acts of love down on small papers cut Easter Sunday, Pentecost, the in the shape of fl ames. These can then become decorations feast of the Body and Blood of the around the base of the candles, or taped to a poster that ex- Lord (p(Corpus Christi), ), and the feast papandsnds with each week’s conversaticonversation around the candle. of Our Lady of Sorrows. The sequenc- • Help your children understandunderstan ttheir role alongside the es hhaveave ooftenften insinspiredpired hyhymns,mns, written in Spirit in renewingnewing the earth by partparticipatingpa together in di- tthehe vernacular (language of the people). rectct actscts ofo service: One such vernacular hhymnymn is “Come, HolHolyy Ghost,” which remains a favorite for manyany Help a neighbor in need.need CCatholicsatholics todatoday.y. Donate toys to children of prisopriprisoners. Serve a meal at a locall shelter.sheltshel Visit residentsdents ofo aE retirement fafacility. © 2009 by avevee maria press®, inc.iincnc. • Notre Dame, Indianaa • www.avemariapress.comwww • Ph: 1-800-282-1865 • A Ministry of the IndianaIndi Province of Holy Cross. Scripture texts in thist series are taken from the Neww AmericanAmeri Ame Bible with Revised New Testament and PsalmsPsalms © 1991, 1986, 1970, coconfraternityn of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C.