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 prayersprayerprapray teach us much about whoo we are andand aaboutbout tthehe GoGodd to wwhomhom we bbelong.elong. —Keith—Keitith J. Egan, Series Editor

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Thishis prayer is traditionatraditionallyraditionalllyy prayedprar inn a callcall anand reresponsesponnse fformat,ormat,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 SSpirit,pip rir t,t andandn fi llll thetht heartsheh a ts ofo your faithful, TheThe giftss of tthe Holy Spirit, the R. An Andd kikkindlendn le iinn thttheme tthehe fi rree off your love. wwaysays in whiwhichc the Holy Spirit acts in our lilives, are wisdom, V. SendSend fforthorth youry Spirit and they shall be created, understanding, counsel, fortitude R. An Andd 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 relishrelish wwhathat is rirightght fi rmation.n. WWhenhen wwe trust in the gifts andnd aalwayslways rejoice in yyourour consoconsolation.lation. of theheh HolyHoly Spirit,SpiritSpi we are formed as WWee ask tthishis throughthrough ChristChrist our Lord.Lord. goodd and hholyoly ppeopeople,o living the fruits of thehe HolHHolyoly SpSpiritiriti in our lives: char- of AAmen.men. iity,ty, jjoy,oy, pepeace,ace, pappatience, kindness, goodness,goodneesss , genegeggenerosity,n gentleness, faithfulness,faithfulffa thfh u momodesty, self-control, and chastitchastity.y. WeWe PPracticeractice

his anancientanc prayer has its roots in both sacred scripture and the traditiontrad of the Church. WithWith phrasesphrases taken from Psalm 104, thisthis familiar pprayerrayer sayssays muchmuch in a few brief but Tbeautifulbeautiful words. We fi nd the opening line of the praprayeryer and echoes ofo its meaning in the for . 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 SundaySunday and thethe Come, FaFatheraththerher ooff thtthee poor! votive 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, thethee ssoul’souull’s momosmostst welcome guest; leaders eachh fall ata anan annualnnun a Red Mass.Mas . SSwSweeteet rerefreshmentefrreseshmennt hhere below; We echocho ththis prayerayer asa wewe sing,singn , “Lord,“Lor , Inn oourur llabor,abbor, rerestst mmosto sweet; ssendend ooututu yyourourou Spirit,piriti , andand renewrenen w tthehe face SoSolaSolacelal cec iinn the midst oof woe. of ttheh earth”rthh” as ourour responsere ponse to ttheh Psalmm on Pentecostente osst SuSSundayayy aandd ooftenftten dduringuring thethe celebrationccele —from—from thethe Pentecost Sequence, Veni,V Sancte Spiritus of tthehe sacramentament ooff cocononfi rmationrrmation.mat on.

WORDS FAiTH By Leisaeisaa AnslinAnslinger,ger, author andan spspeaker,eaker, brbringinginging extensive experienceexperience in Catholic parishesparishes and schools to her ministry.m Seriess Editor,ditor, Keith J. EgEgan, PhD, is President of the Carmelite Institute; Adjunct Professor of Theology, UnivUniversity of Notre Dame; and AqAquinasuinasnas ChChair EmeritEmeritus,us, 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 HolyHoly SpiritSpirit is not alreadyalready with us. The HolyHoly God’s love, fi lled withthh the strstreststrengthn and wisdom of the WSpirit has beeneen withwith thethe ChurchChurch since thethe fi rst outpouringoutpouring at IHolyHoly Spirit,Spirit,t, the earth will certainlycecertairt be renewed! Acting Pentecost, when the Holyoly Spirit descended upon thethe fi rst disciples, caus-caus- as a discipleciple of Christ in our woworldworld—certain of the Spirit’s ing them to proclaim God’sod’s gloryglory in tthehe risen Christ.Christ. 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 sskyky a noise like a strongstrorong ddriv-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, whichw parted and came • The original and still-practicedstistE 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 speaksppeak in difference tongues, as the Spirit en-en AscensionA ThursdayThursday (the fortieth dday of the Easter Season) abled them to proclaim.lallaim.m. (Acts(Acts 2:2–4)2:2–42:2 ) 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 baptism.baptism. during a nine-daynine-day stretchstretch thethe comingcomi month. This practice When we pray “Come,ome, HolyHoly SSpirit,” pirit,” we recrecognizeognize the presencepresence of opens hheartsearts and minds to tthehe woworkingr 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 dayday as a way to remember your commitment.commitment. With CChildChildrenhhilddren A BIT OF HISTORYHISTORY • Teach your ur children this prayer ra r byy using it often, with one The prayprayerer VVeni,eni, Sancte SpirituSpirituss (Come, Holy Spirit)it) iinn youryour householdhousehold acting as tthehe leader,le and the rest pray- wasas quoted by St. Thomas Aquinas inn a seriesserieries ofo ing the response. Not only willill youyoy u be praying to the Holy Pentecostentecost homilies given inn thee lastla 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 prayer,prayer, invite him or her tot act as leader, with the acts, ththatatat thehe Spirit acts, and whatwhatat thethe rremainingemaining familyfamily members prayingprayin the response. SpiritSpipiritrit acts uupon.uponpon. • Start a Sunday tradition witwithh a HolyHo Spirit candle. Choose In the early Church, mostmo Sundays a pillarpillar candlecandle or a cclusterluster ooff sevesevenn smaller fl ames, one for includedcluded a poeticoetic cchant,ch 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- thethe missal that was pupublishedblished in S beberr to namename oneone wayway thatthat hehe 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 (Corpus(p 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 havehave oftenoften inspiredinspired hyhymns,mns, written in Spirit in renewingnewing the earth by partparticipatingpa together in di- thethe vernacular (language of the people). rectct actscts ofo service: One such vernacular hymnhymn is “Come, HolyHoly Ghost,” which remains a favorite for manyany Help a neighbor in need.need CatholicsCatholics today.today. Donate toys to children of prisopriprisoners. Serve a meal at a locall shelter.sheltshel Visit residentsdents ofo aE retirement facility.fa

© 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 AmeriAmerican Ame Bible with Revised New Testament and PsalPsalmsms © 1991, 1986, 1970, coconfraternityn of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.erveved.ed. Nihil Obstat: Reverend Michaelel HeHeintz,eintz, PhDPhD,, Censornsor liborumlib Imprimatur: Most Reverend Johnhn M.. SD’ArcyD’Arcy, BBishop of Fort Wayne–South Bend, May 29, 20200909 WOFØ1.Ø7