Ascension to Pentecost: Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts

FOREWORD

The novena in honor of the Holy Spirit is the oldest of all novenas since it was first made at the direction of Our Lord Himself when He sent His apostles back to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost. It is still the only novena officially prescribed by the Church. Addressed to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, it is a powerful plea for the light and strength and love so sorely needed by every Christian.

To be recited daily during the Novena

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
On my knees before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses, I offer myself, soul and body to You, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your justice, and the might of Your love. You are the Strength and Light of my soul. In You I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against You. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Your light, and listen to Your voice, and follow Your gracious inspirations. I cling to You and give myself to You and ask You, by Your compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His Five Wounds, and trusting in His Precious Blood and adoring His opened Side and stricken Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace, O Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Father and the Son to say to You always and everywhere, "Speak Lord for Your servant heareth." Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

O Lord Jesus Christ Who, before ascending into heaven did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul, the work of Your grace and Your love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, and the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples and animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.

The following links go to the prayers proper to each day of the novena which are offered in addition to the preceding Act of Consecration and Prayer for the Seven Gifts:

The following on the same page; page down for days two and three:
First Day
Second Day
Third Day

The following on the same page; page down for days five through seven:
Fourth Day
Fifth Day
Sixth Day
Seventh Day

The following on the same page; page down for day nine:
Eighth Day
Ninth Day



1912 Holy Spirit Fathers

Read more at EWTN.com
Ascension to Pentecost: Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts

FOREWORD

The novena in honor of the Holy Spirit is the oldest of all novenas since it was first made at the direction of Our Lord Himself when He sent His apostles back to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost. It is still the only novena officially prescribed by the Church. Addressed to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, it is a powerful plea for the light and strength and love so sorely needed by every Christian.

To be recited daily during the Novena

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
On my knees before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses, I offer myself, soul and body to You, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your justice, and the might of Your love. You are the Strength and Light of my soul. In You I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against You. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Your light, and listen to Your voice, and follow Your gracious inspirations. I cling to You and give myself to You and ask You, by Your compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His Five Wounds, and trusting in His Precious Blood and adoring His opened Side and stricken Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace, O Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Father and the Son to say to You always and everywhere, "Speak Lord for Your servant heareth." Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

O Lord Jesus Christ Who, before ascending into heaven did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul, the work of Your grace and Your love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, and the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples and animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.

The following links go to the prayers proper to each day of the novena which are offered in addition to the preceding Act of Consecration and Prayer for the Seven Gifts:

The following on the same page; page down for days two and three:
First Day
Second Day
Third Day

The following on the same page; page down for days five through seven:
Fourth Day
Fifth Day
Sixth Day
Seventh Day

The following on the same page; page down for day nine:
Eighth Day
Ninth Day



1912 Holy Spirit Fathers

Read more at EWTN.com

Judge Napolitano and George Weigel at Archbishop Lori Installation in Baltimore Today

George Weigel, center, chats with Father DeAscanis, right, pastor of Saint Agnes Church in Catonsville after the installation Mass for the new Archbishop of Baltimore, His Excellency William Lori

Blog author with Judge Andrew Napolitano

Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity receive a blessing from His Excellency William Lori, the new Archbishop, after the installation Mass today at the Cathedral of Mary, Our Queen, in Baltimore.

Benetton Issues Retraction for Unlawful Use of Pope's Image

UNLAWFUL USE OF POPE'S IMAGE: BENETTON RETRACTION

Vatican City, 15 May 2012 (VIS) - This morning a note from the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., was issued on the conclusion of the legal conflict between the Holy See and the Benetton Group, due to its unlawful use of Pope Benedict XVI's image in the "Unhate" ad campaign.

"Last Friday," reads the communique, "the Benetton Group published a note ... reaffirming its 'regret for having offended His Holiness Benedict XVI and believers', and assuring that it 'guarantees and maintains that all photographic images of the Holy Father have been retracted from commercial distribution and promises not to use the image of the Holy Father in the future without authorization from the Holy See'". It ends with stating that "the Benetton Group will use its resources to stop the further use of the image by third parties on internet sites and in other places".

"The communique of the Benetton Group," emphasizes Fr. Lombardi, "represents the conclusion, based on an agreed settlement, of the conflict between the lawyers of the Holy See ... and those of the Benetton Group, a conflict that took place, as announced, and has been open until now. The Benetton Group recognizes therefore ... that the Pope's image must be respected".

"The Holy See did not seek monetary compensation. Nevertheless, moral compensation in recognition of the abuse committed has been sought as well as affirming the desire to defend, even by legal means, the Pope's image. In place of monetary compensation it has asked and received from the Benetton Group an act of generosity, effective even if limited, toward one of the Church's charitable activities".

Prayer of Blessing for Mothers

O God,
author and sustainer of human life,
from your goodness your servant N. has received the joy of becoming a mother.
Graciously accept our thanks
and give ear to our prayers:
defend this mother and child (and her children) from every evil,
be their companion along their pathway through life,
and welcome them one day
into the joys of your eternal home.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

The Catholic Standard on WaPo hatemongering: "Responding with love to a hate-filled ad"

TheWashington Post runs an ad campaign promoting its newspaper with the slogan, “If you don’t get it, you don’t get it.” More and more, that slogan seems appropriate when analyzing the declining editorial and advertising standards of that once-great paper.

At a time when readership and subscriptions to the print editions of newspapers are at an all-time low, TheWashington Post on May 8 ran a full page ad on page 5 of its front section, not for a department store, but from a group called the Freedom from Religion Foundation. More than one million Catholics live in the Washington metropolitan area, and those who still read
TheWashington Post opened their paper that morning and were “treated” to a viciously anti-Catholic screed titled “It’s Time to Quit the Catholic Church.”

Interestingly, the full page paid advertisement, for which the Post must have received thousands of dollars, was not labeled as an ad. Subtitled as an “open letter to ‘liberal’ and ‘nominal’ Catholics,” the ad included numerous canards and false, malicious statements from beginning to end, and it concluded by encouraging Catholics to “Please, Exit En Mass.” A similar ad from the same group recently ran in The New York Times, who subsequently declined to run a comparable ad attacking the beliefs of Islam. But for The New York Times and The Washington Post, it’s fair game to attack the Catholic Church and its beliefs with a hateful ad filled with distortions, a cartoonish attack that in fact had a cartoon on top of the ad.

The ad’s main target of attack is the U.S. Catholic bishops’ principled defense of religious liberty. The ad frames the issue as a “war against women’s right to contraception.” Wrong. Contraception is legal in our country and is widely available at a low cost. What the nation’s Catholic bishops are objecting to is the unprecedented attempt by the Obama Administration to force religious institutions like Catholic hospitals, universities and social service agencies to violate the teachings of their faith and provide employees with health insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives and sterilization procedures. For the first time, our government, through its HHS mandate, has declared that when we care for the sick and feed the hungry we aren’t really practicing “religion” at all. That is why the bishops are standing united to defend our first freedom and urging the nation’s Catholics to join them in this battle.

The ad calls on people to leave the Catholic Church because of the sexual abuse crisis, but it does not mention how the Church has confronted the tragedy of abuse by adopting a zero tolerance policy toward abusers and by enacting child protection policies across the country. The abuse and neglect of children is a societal problem affecting people of all religions, all backgrounds and occupations, and most often occurring within families. Still, child abuse is distortedly presented in this ad and in the media as if it occurs only in the Catholic Church. The day before, The Washington Post published an editorial attacking the Catholic Church’s “passivity” on the issue, and cited for its evidence the case of a Jesuit priest in Chicago presented with credible complaints of abuse in the 1990s. But The Washington Post in its edition the next day reported on two Montgomery County public school workers accused of recent incidents of child sexual abuse, with no accompanying editorial chastising the public school system for its “passivity” on the issue.

Also, the ad in The Washington Post criticizes the Catholic Church for its opposition to abortion, embryonic stem cell research and same-sex marriage. In a culture of death, the Catholic Church stands for the dignity of human life in all its stages, from conception to natural death. The Catholic Church stands against efforts to redefine marriage, recognizing that marriage between one man and one woman has been the foundation of society for thousands of years.

The Post ad also blames the Catholic Church for causing the world’s poverty and misery because of its opposition to artificial birth control. With its teaching and its charitable outreach, the Catholic Church works to lift up the dignity of the world’s people. Around the world, the Catholic Church helps lift people out of poverty and suffering through its educational, health care and social service programs, which are the largest non-governmental providers of that help. Every day, those Catholic Church programs bring Christ’s love and hope to people in our community and our world, but those stories don’t often appear in the pages of The Washington Post.

The kinds of lies that this ad presents have been hurled at the Catholic Church since the first disciples went out to the ends of the earth to teach people the Good News of Jesus. Today, as we carry out the work of the New Evangelization, that work of knowing, loving and serving Christ is entrusted to us. We Catholics should pray for the people who produce such hateful ads, and for those who are misled by them. When confronted with hate, we as a family of faith must continue to live out Christ’s Gospel of Life and Love, to carry out the mission of building Christ’s kingdom in our world today.

(The Catholic Standard Newspaper.)

Cardinal Dolan: President Obama's Remarks on Marriage 'Deeply Saddening'

May 9, 2012

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), issued the following statement:

President Obama’s comments today in support of the redefinition of marriage are deeply saddening. As I stated in my public letter to the President on September 20, 2011, the Catholic Bishops stand ready to affirm every positive measure taken by the President and the Administration to strengthen marriage and the family. However, we cannot be silent in the face of words or actions that would undermine the institution of marriage, the very cornerstone of our society. The people of this country, especially our children, deserve better. Unfortunately, President Obama’s words today are not surprising since they follow upon various actions already taken by his Administration that erode or ignore the unique meaning of marriage. I pray for the President every day, and will continue to pray that he and his Administration act justly to uphold and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. May we all work to promote and protect marriage and by so doing serve the true good of all persons.

http://usccb.org/news/2012/cardinal-dolan-president-obama-remarks-on-marriage-deeply-saddening.cfm

"Camouflage" Catholics: modernist camp under attack by youthful Traditionalist counter-reformation?

Attacks from without but also betrayal from within tears at the fabric of the Church. "Camouflage" Catholics are called out by Bishop George Leo Thomas of the Diocese of Helena: "the lukewarm spirit is an enemy of the Church".