Novena to Our Lady Queen of Heaven

 Today is the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1954 with the encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam

O Glorious Virgin and Mother of God, Mary! I beseech thee through the everlasting crown of glory with which God has crowned thee queen of heaven and earth; obtain for me through thy mighty intercession the grace to persevere in virtue to the end, so that finally I may attain the crown of bliss prepared by God for those that love Him.

Hail Mary.

Queen of all saints, pray for us. Help of Christians, pray for us. Amen

Prayer to The Holy Ghost

 

COME, HOLY GHOST (PRAYER)

Veni, Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium: et tui amoris in eis ignem accende. V. Emitte Spiritum tuum, et creabuntur. R. Et renovabis faciem terrae. Oremus. Deus, qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti: da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere; et de eius semper consolatione gaudere. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Come, Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love. V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created. R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth. Let Us Pray O God, Who hast instructed the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Ghost, grant that by the same Spirit we may be always truly wise, and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for the Grace of the Holy Ghost

 

Come, Holy Ghost, Sanctifier all powerful, God of love, Thou Who didst fill the Virgin Mary with grace, Thou Who didst wonderfully transform the hearts of the Apostles, Thou Who didst endow all Thy martyrs with a miraculous heroism, come and sanctify us. Illumine our minds, strengthen our wills, purify our consciences, rectify our judgments, set our hearts on fire, and preserve us from the misfortune of resisting Thine inspirations. Amen.

(Indulgence of 500 days)

Prayer to the Holy Ghost by Cardinal Mercier

 

I am going to reveal to you the secret of sanctity and happiness. Every day for five minutes control your imagination and close your eyes to all the noises of the world in order to enter into yourself. Then, in the sanctuary of your baptized soul (which is the temple of the Holy Ghost) speak to that Divine Spirit, saying to Him:

O Holy Ghost, beloved of my soul, I adore You.

Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me.

Tell me what I should do; give me Your orders.

I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me

and to accept all that You permit to happen to me.

Let me only know Your Will.

If you do this, your life will flow along happily, serenely, and full of consolation, even in the midst of trials. Grace will be proportioned to the trial, giving you the strength to carry it and you will arrive at the Gate of Paradise, laden with merit. This submission to the Holy Ghost is the secret of sanctity.

A Novena Prayer to the Holy Ghost for a Special Favour

 

O Holy Ghost, thou art the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity! Thou art the Spirit of truth, love and holiness, proceeding from the Father and the Son, and equal to Them in all things! I adore Thee and love Thee with all my heart. Teach me to know and to seek God, by whom and for whom I was created. Fill my heart with a holy fear and a great love of Him. Give me compunction and patience, and do not let me fall into sin.

Increase in me faith, hope and charity, and bring forth in me all the virtues proper to my state of life. Help me to grow in the four Cardinal Virtues, Thy seven Gifts and Thy twelve Fruits.

Make me a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, an obedient child of the Church, and a help to my neighbour. Give me the grace to keep the Commandments and to receive the Sacraments worthily. Raise me to holiness in the state of life to which Thou hast called me, and lead me through a happy death to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Grant me also, O Holy Ghost, Giver of all good gifts, the special favour for which I ask (name it), if it be for Thy honour and glory and for my well-being.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The Gifts of the Holy Ghost by Father Prosper Gueranger

 

The Sacrament of Confirmation: Sealed with the Gift of the Holy Ghost

It is our intention to explain, during this Week, the workings of the Holy Ghost, both in the Church, and in the faithful Soul. These seven Days are given to us, that we may know and appreciate the great Gift sent us by the Father and the Son. Moreover, the Spirit Who proceeds from the Father and the Son, has seven different ways whereby He manifests His presence in our souls. It behoves us, therefore, to devote this happy Week to the study and love of the Sevenfold Gift, whereby are to be wrought our salvation and sanctification.

The Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost are seven energies, which He graciously puts into the soul, when He enters there by sanctifying grace. Actual graces put these divinely infused powers into motion, either all at once or separately; and hereby, acts supernatural and meritorious of life everlasting, are produced by the free consent of our will.

The Prophet Isaias, guided by divine inspiration, has told us of these Seven Gifts. He is foretelling the workings of the Holy Ghost upon the Soul of the Son of God made Man, Whom he calls the Flower of a virginal Root of Jesse. He says: And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the Spirit of Wisdom, and of Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and of Fortitude, the Spirit of Knowledge, and of Godliness, and he shall be filled with the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord (Is. xi. 2, 3). These mysterious words do not only express the qualities of the Holy Ghost; they also describe the effects He produces in the soul of man; and it is in this sense that they have been interpreted by the Holy Fathers and Theologians.

The sacred Humanity of the Incarnate Son of God is the supernatural type of our own; and what the Holy Ghost operated in the former, for its sanctification, that same, in proportion, He wills to do in the latter. He infused into the Son of Mary the seven energies mentioned by the Prophet; the same seven Gifts are prepared for regenerated man. But let us notice the order in which they come. Isaias begins with the Spirit of Wisdom, and ends with the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord. Wisdom, as we shall see further on, is the noblest prerogative of which man is capable; whereas the Fear of the Lord is but the beginning of Wisdom, as the Royal Psalmist assures us (Ps. cx. 10). The Soul of Jesus was created for a personal union with the divine Word, and was therefore treated with exceptional honor; the first and foremost Gift infused into it was that of Wisdom, and the Gift of the Fear of the Lord followed, necessarily indeed, (because a creature is not perfect unless it have this quality,) but still as a sequel and completion. With us, on the contrary, frail and inconstant as we are, the Fear of God is the foundation of our whole spiritual building, and by it we raise ourselves gradually to that Wisdom which brings union with God. It is by means of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost that man attains to perfection; but they are bestowed upon him in the order inverse of that wherein Isaias names them, when speaking of the Son of God. We receive them at the time of our Baptism; and, when we have the misfortune to lose them, (as we do when we lose sanctifying grace, that is, when we commit a mortal sin,) they are restored to us by the Sacrament of Penance.

Let us respectfully consider how the whole work of our salvation and sanctification is marked with the mysterious number of Seven. There are seven principal Virtues which render us dear to our Maker; it is by seven Gifts, that the Holy Ghost leads us to our last end; the seven Sacraments apply to us the merits of the Incarnation and Redemption; it is after seven Weeks from the Pasch, that the Holy Spirit is sent upon the earth, there to establish and maintain the kingdom of God. Can we wonder after this, that Satan should have sacrilegiously mimicked the work of God, striving to destroy, by the seven deadly sins, the creatures whom God would save?

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The Gift of Fear

Pride is the obstacle to man's virtue and wellbeing. It is pride that leads us to resist God, to make self our last end, in a word, to work our own ruin. Humility alone can save us from this terrible danger. Who will give us humility? The Holy Ghost; and this, by infusing into us the Gift of the Fear of God.

This holy sentiment is based on the following truths, which are taught us by faith: the sovereign majesty of God, in comparison with Whom we are mere nothingness; the infinite sanctity of that God, in Whose presence we are but unworthiness and sin; the severe and just judgment we are to go through after death; the danger of falling into sin, which may be our misfortune at any time, if we do not correspond to grace, for although grace be never wanting, yet we have it in our power to resist it.

Man, as the Apostle tells us, must work out his salvation with fear and trembling (II. Philipp. ii. 12); but this Fear, which is a gift of the Holy Ghost, is not the base sentiment which goes no further than the dread of eternal punishments. It keeps alive within us an abiding compunction of heart, even though we hope that our sins have long ago been forgiven. It prevents our forgetting that we are sinners, that we are wholly dependent upon God's mercy, and that we are not as yet safe, except in hope (Rom. viii. 24).

This Fear of God, therefore, is not a servile fear; on the contrary, it is the source of the noblest sentiments. Inasmuch as it is a filial dread of offending God by sin, it may go hand-in-hand with love. Arising as it does from a reverence for God's infinite majesty and holiness, it puts the creature in his right place, and, as St. Paul says, it contributes to the perfecting of sanctification (II. Cor. vii. 1). Hence this great Apostle, who had been rapt up to the third heaven, assures us that he was severe in his treatment of himself, lest he should become a cast-away (I. Cor. ix. 27).

The spirit of independence and of false liberty which is now-a-days so rife amongst us, is a great enemy to the Fear of God; and one of the miseries of our age is, that there is little Fear of God. Familiarity with God but too frequently usurps the place of that essential basis of the Christian life. The result is, that there is no progress in virtue, such people are a prey to illusion, and the Sacraments, which previously worked so powerfully in their souls, are now well-nigh unproductive. The reason is, that the Gift of Fear has been superseded by a conceited self-complacency. Humility has no further sway; a secret and habitual pride has paralyzed the soul; and seeing that these people scout the very idea of their ever trembling before the great God of heaven, we may well ask them, if they know Who God is?

Therefore we beseech thee, O Holy Spirit! keep up within us the Fear of God, which thou didst infuse into our hearts at our Baptism. This saving Fear will ensure our perseverance in virtue, for it will oppose the growth of pride. Let it pierce our soul through and through, and ever abide with us as our safeguard. Let it bring down our haughtiness, and rouse us from tepidity, by its ceaselessly reminding us of the greatness and holiness of Him Who is our Creator and our Judge.

This holy Fear does not stifle the sentiment of Love; on the contrary, it removes what would be a hindrance to its growth. The heavenly Powers see and ardently love their God, their infinite and eternal good; and yet, they tremble before his dread Majesty: Tremunt Potestates. And shall we, covered as we are with the wounds of our sins, disfigured by countless imperfections, exposed on every side to snares, obliged to fight with so many enemies, shall we flatter ourselves that we can do without this strong and filial Fear? and that we need nothing to stimulate us, when we are in those frequent trials--a want of fervour in our will, or of light in our mind? O Holy Spirit! watch over us! Preserve within us Thy precious Gift! Teach us how to combine peace and joy of heart with the Fear of our Lord and God, according to those words of the Psalmist: Serve ye the Lord with fear, and rejoice unto Him with trembling (Ps. ii. II)!

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The Gift of Godliness

The gift of the Fear of God is intended as a cure for our pride; the gift of Godliness is infused into our souls by the Holy Ghost, in order that we may resist self-love, which is one of the passions of our fallen nature, and the second hindrance to our union with God. The heart of a Christian is not made to be either cold or indifferent; it must be affectionate and devoted; otherwise, it never can attain the perfection for which God, Who is Love, has graciously created it.

The Holy Ghost, therefore, puts the Gift of Godliness into the soul, by inspiring it with a filial affection for her Creator. You have received, says the Apostle, the Spirit of adoption of Sons, whereby we cry to our God, Abba! Father (rom. viii. 15)! This disposition mates the soul alive to whatsoever regards God's honour. It enables man to nourish within him a sorrow for his sins, in consideration of the divine mercy which has borne with and forgiven him, and of the Sufferings and Death of his Redeemer. It makes him thirst for God's glory to be ever spreading; he would, if he could, bring all his fellow-creatures to adore this God; he feels most keenly every insult that is offered to so dear a King. His greatest joy is to see others growing in their love and devotedness in the service of the sovereign Good. He is filled with filial submission to his Heavenly Father, Whose every will he is most ready to do, cheerfully resigned to whatsoever He may appoint.

His Faith is unhesitating and fervent. Affectionately docile to the Church, he is always in the disposition of mind to abandon his most cherished ideas the moment he discovers them to be, in any way, out of harmony with her teaching or practice, for he has an instinctive horror of novelties and insubordination.

This devotedness to God, which results from the gift of Godliness, and unites the soul to her Creator by filial love, makes her love all God's creatures, inasmuch as they are the work of His hands and belong to Him.

The Blessed in heaven hold the first place in the fraternal affection of such a Christian. He has a most tender love for the holy Mother of God, and is zealous for her honour; he venerates the Saints; he is a warm admirer of the courage of the Martyrs, and of the heroic actions of the servants of God; he delights in reading of their miracles, and has a devotion to their sacred Relics.

But his love is not limited to the citizens of heaven; it is extended also to his fellow-creatures here on earth, for the gift of Godliness makes him find Jesus in them. He is kind to everyone, without exception. He forgives injuries, bears with the imperfections of others, and, where an excuse is possible for his neighbor, he makes it. He has compassion on the poor, and is attentive to the sick. His whole conduct is the index of a sterling warm-heartedness, that weeps with them that weep, and rejoices with them that rejoice.

All this is found in those, who use thy gift of Godliness, O Holy Spirit! By infusing it into our souls, Thou enablest us to withstand the workings of our self-love, which would corrupt the heart; Thou preservest us from that odious indifference to everyone around us, which dries up all feeling; thou drivest from us the sentiments of jealousy and hatred. Yes, Godliness inspired us with a filial love for our Creator, that softened the heart; and every creature of God became dear to us. O Blessed Paraclete! grant that this Gift may produce its rich fruits in us! Never permit us to stifle it by the love of self. Our Jesus has told us, that His heavenly Father maketh His sun to rise upon the good and bad (St. Matth. v. 45): He would have us take this divine generosity as our model: do thou, therefore, foster within us that germ of devotedness, kindness and sympathy, which we received from Thee on the day of our Baptism, when thou first tookest possession of our souls!

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The Gift of Knowledge

Detached from evil by the fear of the Lord, and ennobled with holy love by the gift of Godliness, the soul feels the want of knowing how she is to avoid what she is to fear, and how to find what she must love. The Holy Ghost comes to her assistance, and brings her what she needs, by infusing into her the Gift of Knowledge. By means of this precious gift, truth is made evident to her; she knows what God asks of her and what he condemns, she knows what to seek and what to shun. Without this holy Knowledge, we are in danger of going astray, because of the frequent darkness which, more or less, clouds our understanding. This darkness arises, in the first place, from our own nature, that bears upon itself the but too visible proofs of the Fall. It is added to by the false maxims and judgments of the World, which so often warp even those whose upright minds seemed to make them safe. And lastly, the action of Satan, who is the Prince of darkness, has this for one of its chief aims, to obscure our mind, or to mislead it by false lights.

The Light of our soul is Faith, which was infused into us at our Baptism. By the Gift of Knowledge, the Holy Ghost empowers our Faith to elicit rays of light, strong enough to dispel all darkness. Doubts are then cleared up, error is exposed and put to flight, truth beams upon us in all its beauty. Everything is viewed in its true light, the light of Faith. We see how false are the principles which sway the world, which ruin so many souls, and of which we ourselves were once, perhaps, victims.

The gift of Knowledge reveals to us the end which God had in creation, and out of which creatures can never find either happiness or rest. It teaches us what use we are to make of creatures, for they were not given us to be a hindrance, but a help whereby to reach our God. The secret of life thus possessed, we walk on in safety, we halt not, and we are resolved to shun every path which would not lead us to our end.

The Apostle had this Gift in view, when speaking to the converts of Ephesus, he said: Ye were heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord: walk then as Children of the Light (Eph. v. 8). Hence comes that unhesitatingness, that confidence, of the Christian Life. There may be a want of experience now and then; so much so, indeed, that the little world around talks feelingly about the indiscretions and scandals which are almost sure to arise; but they forget that there is the Gift of Knowledge, of which the Sacred Scripture thus speaks: She conducted the just through the right ways, and gave him the Knowledge of holy things, or, as some render it, the Science of the Saints. We have daily proofs of this truth: a Christian, by means of supernatural light, is found to escape every danger; he has no experience of his own, but he has the experience of God.

We give Thee thanks, O Holy Paraclete! for this Thy gift of light, which Thou so lovingly maintainest within us! Oh! never permit us to seek any other. It alone is sufficient; without it, there is nought but darkness. Preserve us from those sad inconsistencies, of which so many are guilty, who follow Thy guidance today, and the maxims of the world tomorrow; wretched double dealing, which displeases Thee, and does not please the world! Make us love that Knowledge, which thou gavest us in order to our salvation. The enemy of our souls is jealous of our having such a Gift, and is ever studying to make us exchange it for his lying principles. O Divine Spirit! suffer not his treachery to triumph. Be thou ever within us, aiding us to distinguish truth from falsity, and right from wrong. May our Eye be single and simple, as our Jesus bids it be; that so our Body, that is, the Body of our actions, desires and thoughts, may be lightsome; and preserve us from that evil Eye, which makes the whole Body to be Darkness (St. Matth. vi. 22, 23, 24).

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The Gift of Fortitude

The gift of Knowledge has taught us what we must do and what we must avoid, in order that we may be such as Jesus, our divine Master, wishes us to be. We now need another gift of the Holy Ghost, from which to draw the energy necessary for our persevering in the way he has pointed out to us. Difficulties we are sure to have; and our need of support is proved enough by the miserable failures we are daily witnessing. This support the Holy Ghost grants us by the gift of Fortitude, which, if we but faithfully use it, will enable us to master every difficulty, yea, will make it easy to us to overcome the obstacles which would impede our onward march.

When difficulties and trials of life come upon him, man is tempted, sometimes to cowardice and discouragement, sometimes to an impetuosity, which arises either from his natural temperament or from pride. These are poor aids to the soul in her spiritual combat. The Holy Ghost, therefore, brings her a new element of strength; it is supernatural Fortitude, which is so peculiarly His gift, that when our Saviour instituted the seven Sacraments, He would have one of them be for the special object of giving us the Holy Ghost as a principle of energy. It is evident, that having to fight, during our whole lives, against the devil, the world, and ourselves, we need some better power of resistance than either pusillanimity or daring. We need some gift, which will control both our fear, and the confidence we are at times inclined to have in ourselves. Thus gifted by the Holy Ghost, man is sure of victory; for grace will supply the deficiencies, and correct the impetuosities, of nature.

There are two necessities, which are ever making themselves felt in the Christian life; the power of resistance, and the power of endurance. What could we do against the temptations of Satan, if the Fortitude of the Holy Spirit did not clad us with heavenly armour and nerve us to the battle? And is not the World, too, a terrible enemy? Have we not reason to dread it, when we see how it is every day making victims by the tyranny of its claims and its maxims? What, then, must be the assistance of the Holy Ghost, which is to make us invulnerable to the deadly shafts that are dealing destruction around us?

The passions of the human heart are another obstacle to our salvation and sanctification; they are the more to be feared, because they are within us. It is requisite that the Holy Ghost change our heart, and lead it to deny itself as often as the light of grace points out to us a way other than that which self-love would have us follow. What supernatural Fortitude we need in order to hate our life (St. John, xii. 25), as often, as our Lord bids us make a sacrifice, or when we have to choose which of the two Masters we will serve (St. Matth. vi. 24). The Holy Spirit is daily working this marvel by means of the Gift of Fortitude: so that, we have but to correspond to the Gift, and not stifle it either by cowardice or indiscretion, and we are strong enough to resist even our domestic enemies. This blessed Gift of Fortitude teaches us to govern our passions and treat them as blind guides; it also teaches us never to follow their instincts, save when they are in harmony with the law of God.

There are times, when the Holy Spirit requires from a Christian something beyond interior resistance to the enemies of his soul: he must make an outward protestation against error and evil, as often, as position or duty demands it. On such occasions, one must bear to become unpopular, and console one's self with the words of the Apostle: If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ (Gal. i. 10). But the Holy Ghost will be on his side; and finding him resolute in using His Gift of Fortitude, not only will He give him a final triumph, but He generally blesses that soul with a sweet and courageous peace, which is the result and recompense of a duty fulfilled.

Thus does the Holy Ghost apply the gift of Fortitude, when there is question of a Christian's making resistance. But, as we have already said, it imparts also the energy necessary for bearing up against the trials, which all must go through who would save their souls. There are certain fears, which damp our courage, and expose us to defeat. The gift of Fortitude dispels them, and braces us with such a peaceful confidence, that we ourselves are surprised at the change. Look at the Martyrs; not merely at such an one as St. Mauritius, the leader of the Theban Legion, who was accustomed to face danger on the battle-field, but at Felicitas, a mother of seven children, at Perpetua, a high-born lady with everything this world could give her, at Agnes, a girl of thirteen, and at thousands of others like them; and say, if the gift of Fortitude is not a prompter to heroism? Where is the fear of death, that death, the very thought of which is sometimes more than we can bear? And what are we to say of all those lives spent in self-abnegation and privation, with a view to make Jesus their only treasure and be the more closely united with him? What are we to say of those hundreds and thousands of our fellow-creatures, who shun the sight of a distracted and vain world, and make sacrifice their rule? whose peacefulness is proof against every trial, and whose acceptance of the cross is as untiring as the cross itself is in its visit? What trophies are these of the Spirit of Fortitude! and how magnificent is the devotedness he creates for every possible duty! Oh! truly, man, of himself, is of little worth; but, how grand when under the influence of the Holy Ghost!

It is the same Divine Spirit who also gives the Christian courage to withstand the vile temptation of human respect, by raising him above those worldly considerations which would make him disloyal to duty. It is He that leads man to prefer, to every honour this world could bestow, the happiness of never violating the law of his God. It is the Spirit of Fortitude that makes him look upon the reverses of fortune as so many merciful designs of Providence; that consoles him, when death bereaves him of those who are dear to him; that cheers him under bodily sufferings, which would be so hard to bear but from his taking them as visits from his heavenly Father. In a word, it is He, as we learn from the Lives of the Saints, that turns the very repugnances of nature into matter for heroic acts, wherein man seems to go beyond the limits of his frail mortality and emulate the impassible and glorified spirits of heaven.

O divine Spirit of Fortitude! take full possession of our souls, and keep us from the effeminacies of the age we live in. Never was there such lack of energy as now, never was the worldly spirit more rife, never was sensuality more unbridled, never were pride and independence more the fashion of the world. So forgotten and unheeded are the maxims of the Gospel, that when we witness the Fortitude of self-restraint and abnegation, we are as surprised as though we beheld a prodigy. O Holy Paraclete! preserve us from this anti-christian spirit, which is so easily imbibed! Suffer us to present to thee, in the form of prayer, the advice given by St. Paul to the Christians of Ephesus: Give us, we beseech thee, " the armour of God, that we may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. Gird our reins with truth; arm us with the breast-plate of justice; let our feet be shod with the love and practice of the Gospel of peace; give us the shield of Faith, wherewith we may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one; cover us with the helmet of the hope of salvation; put into our hand the spiritual sword, which is the Word of God, (Eph. vi. 11-17)" and by which we, as did our Jesus in the Desert, may defeat all our enemies! O Spirit of Fortitude! hear, we beseech thee, and grant our prayer!

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The Gift of Counsel

We have seen how necessary for the sanctification of a Christian is the gift of Fortitude; but it is not sufficient; there is need of another gift, which completes it. This other gift is Counsel. Fortitude needs direction. The gift of Knowledge is not the guide of Fortitude, and for this reason, that Knowledge teaches the soul her last end, and gives her general rules for her conduct; but it does not bring her light sufficient for the special application of God's law to particular cases, and for the practical doing our duty. In those varied circumstances in which we are to be placed, and in the decisions we must then form, we shall have to hearken to the voice of the Holy Ghost, and this voice speaks to us through the gift of Counsel. It will tell us, if we are attentive to its speaking, what we must do and what we must not do, what we must say and what we must not say, what we may keep and what we must give up. The Holy Ghost acts upon our understanding by the gift of Counsel, as He acts upon our will by the gift of Fortitude.

This precious gift bears upon our whole life; for we are continually obliged to be deciding on one of two sides or questions. How grateful, then, should we not be to the Holy Ghost, Who is ever ready to be our Counsellor, if we will but permit Him! And if we follow His direction, what snares He will teach us to avoid! how many illusions He will dispel! how grand the truths He will show us! But, in order that His inspirations may not be lost upon us, we must be on our guard against such miseries of our nature as the following: natural impulse, which is but too often the sole motive of our acts; rashness, which makes us follow whatever feeling happens to be uppermost in our mind; precipitation, which urges us to judge or act, before we have seen both sides of the case; and lastly, indifference, which makes us decide at haphazard, out of a repugnance we have to take the trouble of examining what is the best course to pursue.

By the gift of Counsel, the Holy Ghost saves us from all these evils. He corrects the impetuosity, or, it may be, the apathy of our temperament. He keeps the soul alive to what is true, and good, and conducive to her real interests. He introduces into the soul that virtue which completes and seasons every other, we mean discretion, whereby the other virtues are harmonized and kept from extremes. Under the direction of the gift of Counsel, the Christian has nothing to fear; the Holy Ghost takes the whole responsibility. What matters it, therefore, if the world find fault, or criticize, or express surprise, or be scandalized? The world thinks itself wise; but it has not the gift of Counsel. Hence, it often happens, that what is undertaken by its advice, results in the very opposite to what was intended. Was it not of the world that God spoke, when he said: My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways (Is. lv. 8)?

Let us, then, with all the ardour of our hearts, desire this divine gift, which will preserve us from the danger of being our own guides; but let us remember, it will only dwell in us on the condition of our allowing it to be master. If the Holy Ghost see that we are not led by worldly principles, and that we acknowledge our own weakness, He will be our Counsel; if He find that we are wise in our own eyes, He will withdraw his light, and leave us to ourselves.

O Holy Spirit! we would not that thou shouldst ever abandon us. Sad experience has taught us how fraught with danger is all human prudence. Most cheerfully do we promise Thee to mistrust our own ideas, which are so apt to blind and mislead us. Keep up within us the magnificent gift Thou gavest us at Baptism: be Thou our Counsel, yea, unreservedly and forever! Show me, O Lord, thy ways, and teach me Thy paths. Direct me in Thy truth, and teach me; for Thou art the God Who canst save me; therefore have I waited on Thee, all the day long (Ps. xxiv. 4. 5). We know that we are to be judged for all our works and intentions; but we know, too, that we have nothing to fear so long as we are faithful to Thy guidance. Therefore will we attentively hear what the Lord God will speak in us (Ibid. lxxxiv. 9); we will listen to Thee, O Holy Spirit of Counsel, whether Thou speakest to us directly Thyself, or whether Thou sendest us to those whom Thou shalt appoint as our guides. Blessed, then, be Jesus, Who has sent us such a Counsellor! and blessed be Thou, O Holy Spirit! Who deignest to give us Thine aid, in spite of all our past resistance!

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The Gift of Understanding

This sixth Gift of the Holy Ghost raises the soul to a still higher state. The first five Gifts all tend to action. The Fear of God keeps man in his right place, for it humbles him; Godliness opens his heart to holy affections; Knowledge enables him to discern the path of salvation from that of perdition; Fortitude arms him for the battle; Counsel directs him in his thoughts and works: thus gifted, he can act, and pursue his journey with the sure hope of coming at length to his heavenly home. But the Holy Ghost has other favours in store for him. He would give him a foretaste, here below, of the happiness that awaits him in the next life: it will give him confidence, it will encourage him, it will reward his efforts. Contemplation, yes, this is the blissful region thrown open to him, and the Holy Ghost leads him thither by the gift of Understanding.

There will be a feeling of surprise and hesitation arising in the minds of many at hearing this word, Contemplation. They have been taught to look on Contemplation as an element of the spiritual life which is rarely to be hoped for, and almost impossible for persons who are in the ordinary walks of life. We must begin, then, by telling them, that such an idea is a great and dangerous error, and one that checks the progress of the soul. No: Contemplation is a state, to which, more or less, the soul of every Christian is called. It does not consist in those extraordinary effects which the Holy Ghost occasionally produces in some privileged souls, and by which He would convince the world of the reality of the supernatural life. It is simply a relation of close intimacy existing between God and a soul that is faithful to him in Action. For such a soul, unless she herself put an obstacle, God reserves two favours: the first is the gift of Understanding, which consists in a supernatural light granted to the mind of man.

This light does not remove the sacred obscurity of Faith; but it enlightens the eye of the soul, strengthens her perception, and widens her view of divine things. It dispels clouds, which were occasioned by the previous weakness and ignorance of the soul. The exquisite beauty of the mysteries is now revealed to her, and the truths which hitherto seemed unconnected, now delight her by the sweetness of their harmony. It is not the face-to-face vision which heaven gives, but it is something incomparably brighter than the feeble glimmer of former days, when all was mist and doubt. The eye of her spirit discovers analogies and reasons, which do something more than please, they bring conviction. The heart opens under the influence of these bright beams, for they feed faith, cherish hope, and give ardour to love. Everything seems new to her. Looking at the past, and comparing it with the present, she wonders within herself, how it is, that Truth, which is ever the same, has a charm and power over her now which it once had not?

The reading or hearing of the Gospel produces an impression far deeper than formerly: she finds a relish in the words of Jesus, which, in times past, she never experienced. She can understand so much better the object of the institution of the Sacraments. The holy Liturgy, with its magnificent ceremonies and sublime formulas, is to her an anticipation of heaven. She loves to read the Lives of the Saints; she can do so, and never feel a temptation to carp at their sentiments or conduct: she prefers their Writings to all others, and she finds in these communications with the friends of God a special increase of her spiritual good. No matter what may be the duties of her station in life, she has, in this glorious Gift, a light which guides her in each of them. The virtues required from her, however varied they may be, are so regulated, that one is never done to the detriment of another; she knows the harmony that exists between them all, and she never breaks it. She is as far from scrupulosity as from tepidity, and when she commits a fault, she loses no time in repairing it. Sometimes, the Holy Ghost favours her with an interior speaking, which gives her additional light for some special emergency.

The world and its maxims are mere vanities in her estimation; and when necessity obliges her to conform to what is not sinful in either, she does so without setting her heart upon it. Mere natural grandeur or beauty seems unworthy of notice to her whose eye has been opened, by the Holy Spirit, to the divine and eternal. To her, this outward world, which the carnal-minded man loves to his own destruction, has but one fair side: it is, that the visible creation, with the impress of God's beauty upon it, can be turned to its Maker's glory. She gives him thanks when she uses it; she elevates it to the supernatural order, by praising, as did the Royal Prophet, Him Who shadowed the likeness of His own beauty on this world of created things, which men so often abuse to their perdition, but which were intended as so many steps to lead us to our God.

The gift of Understanding teaches the Christian a just appreciation of the state of life in which God has placed him. It shows him the wisdom and mercy of those designs of Providence which have, at times, disconcerted his own plans, and led him in a direction the very opposite to his wishes. He sees that had he been left to arrange things according to his own views, he would have gone astray; whereas now, God has put him in the right place, though the workings of his Fatherly wisdom were, at first, hidden from him. Yes, he is so happy now! he enjoys such peace of soul! he knows not how sufficiently to thank his God for having brought him, where he is, without consulting his poor fancies! If such a Christian as this be called upon to give counsel, if either duty or charity require him to guide others, he may safely be trusted; the gift of Understanding teaches him to see the right thing for others as well as for himself. Not that he ever intrudes his counsel upon others, or makes himself adviser-general to all around him; but if his advice be asked, he gives it, and the advice seems a reflex of the inward light that burns within him.

Such is the gift of Understanding. It is the true light of the soul, and it is weaker or stronger according to the measure of her correspondence with the other Gifts. Its safeguards are humility, restraint over the desires of the heart, and interior recollection. Dissipation of mind would dim its brightness, or even wholly put out the light. But where duty imposes occupation, not only busy and frequent, but even distracting, let the Christian discharge them with a pure intention, and his soul will not lose her recollection. Let him be single-hearted, let him be little in his own eyes, and that which God hides from the proud and reveals to the humble (St. Luke, x. 21), will be manifested to him and abide with him.

It is evident from all this, that the gift of Understanding is of immense importance to the salvation and sanctification of the soul. It behoves us, therefore, to beg it of the Holy Ghost with all the earnestness of supplication; for we must not forget, that it is obtained rather by the longings of our love, than by any efforts of the intellect. True, it is the intellect that receives the light; but it is the heart, the will, inflamed with love, that wins the radiant Gift. Hence that saying of Isaias: Unless ye Believe, ye shall not Understand (Is. vii. 9; thus quoted from the Septuagint by several of the Greek and Latin Fathers)! Let us, then, address ourselves to the Holy Spirit in these words of the Psalmist: Open thou our eyes, and we will consider the wondrous things of thy law! Give us understanding, and we shall live (Ps.cxvii. 10 and 144)! Let us beseech Him in these words of the Apostle, wherein He is praying for His Ephesians: let us make his prayer our own: "Give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation, whereby we may have the knowledge of our God! Enlighten the eyes of our heart, that we may know what is the hope of our calling, and what the riches of the glorious inheritance prepared for the Saints (Eph. i. 17, 18)!"

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The Gift of Wisdom

The second favour destined by the Holy Ghost for the soul that is faithful to Him in action, is the gift of Wisdom, which is superior to that of Understanding. The two are, however, connected together, inasmuch as the object shown by the gift of Understanding, is held and relished by the gift of Wisdom. When the Psalmist invites us to draw nigh to God, he bids us relish our sovereign good: Taste, says he, and see that the Lord is sweet (Ps. xxxiii. 9)! Holy Church prays for us, on the Day of Pentecost, that we may "relish what is right and just,"--recta sapere,-- because the union of the soul with God is rather an experience or tasting, than a sight, for such sight would be incompatible with our present state. The light given by the gift of Understanding is not intuitive; it gladdens the soul, and gives her an instinctive tendency to the truth, but its own final perfection depends upon its union with Wisdom, which is, as it were, its end.

Understanding, therefore, is light; Wisdom is union. Now, union with the sovereign good is attained by the will, that is, by love, which is in the will. Thus, in the angelic hierarchy, the Cherubim, with their sublime intellect, are below the Seraphim, who are inflamed with love. It is quite true, that the Cherubim have ardent love, and the Seraphim profound intelligence; but they differ from each other by their predominating quality; and that choir is the higher of the two which approaches the nearer to the Divinity by its love and relish of the sovereign good.

The seventh gift is called by the beautiful name of Wisdom, which is taken from its uniting the soul, by love, to the Eternal Wisdom. This Eternal Wisdom, Who mercifully puts Himself within our reach even in this vale of tears, is the Divine Word, Whom the Apostle calls the brightness of the Father's glory, and the figure of his substance (Heb. i. 3). It is He who sent us the Holy Ghost, that He might sanctify us and lead us to Himself; so that the sublimest of the workings of this Holy Spirit is His procuring our union with Him, Who, being God, became Flesh, and for our sakes, made Himself obedient unto death, even to the death of the Cross (Philipp. ii. 8). By the mysteries wrought in His Humanity, Jesus enabled us to enter within the veil of His Divinity; by faith, enlightened by supernatural Understanding, we see the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father (St. John, i. 14); and just as He made Himself a partaker of our lowly human nature, so does He give Himself, the uncreated Wisdom, to be loved and relished by that created Wisdom, which the Holy Ghost forms within us, and is the noblest of His Gifts. Happy, then, they who possess this precious Wisdom, which makes the soul relish God and the things that are of God!

The sensual man, says the Apostle, perceiveth not the things that are of the Spirit of God (I Cor. ii. 14); and in order that he may enjoy this Gift, he must become spiritual, and docile to the teachings of the Holy Spirit; and then there would happen to him, what has happened to thousands of others, namely, that after being a slave to a carnal life, he would recover his Christian freedom and dignity. The man who is less depraved than the former, but still imbued with the spirit of this world, is also incapable of receiving or even comprehending the gifts of Understanding and Wisdom. He is ever ridiculing those whom he cannot help knowing possess these gifts; he never leaves them in peace, but is ever carping at their conduct, setting himself in opposition to them, and, at times, seeks to satiate his jealousy by bitter persecution. Jesus assures us, that the World cannot receive the Spirit of Truth, because it seeth Him not, nor knoweth Him (St. John, xiv. 17). They, therefore, who would possess the supreme good, must first divorce themselves from the spirit of the world, which is the personal enemy of the Spirit of God. If they break asunder the chain that now fetters them, they may hope to be gifted with Wisdom.

The special result of this Gift is great vigor in the soul, and energy in all her powers. Her whole life is, so to speak, seasoned with it; the effect may be likened to that produced in the body by wholesome diet. There is no disagreement between such a soul and her God; and hence, her union with Him is almost inevitable. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, says the Apostle, there is liberty (II. Cor. iii. 17). Everything is easy to the soul that is under the influence of the Spirit of Wisdom. Things that are hard to nature, are sweet to such a soul; and suffering does not appall her, as once it did. To say that God is near to her is saying too little; she is united with Him. And yet, she must keep herself in an attitude of profound humility, for pride may reach her even in that exalted state, and oh! how terrible would be her fall!

Let us, with all the earnestness of our hearts, beseech the Holy Ghost to give us this Wisdom, which will lead us to our Jesus, the Infinite Wisdom. One who was wise under the Old Law aspired to this Gift, when he wrote these words, of which we Christians alone can appreciate the full meaning: I wished, and Understanding was given to me; and I called upon God and the Spirit of Wisdom came upon me (Wisd. vii. 7). So that we are to ask for this gift, and with great fervour. In the New Covenant, we have the Apostle St. James thus urging us to pray for it: If any of you want Wisdom, let him ask of God, Who giveth to all men abundantly, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him; but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (Rom. vii. 17). O Holy Spirit! we presume to follow this injunction of the Apostle, and say to Thee: O thou Who proceedest from Power and Wisdom! give us Wisdom! He that is Wisdom has sent Thee unto us, that thou mayst unite us to Him. Take us from ourselves, and unite us to Him Who united Himself to our weak nature. O sacred source of Unity! be thou the link uniting us forever to Jesus; then will the Father adopt us as his heirs, and joint heirs with Christ (Rom. vii. 17)!

Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost

 

O Lord Jesus Christ Who, before ascending into heaven, didst promise to send the Holy Ghost to finish Thy work in the souls of Thy Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul the work of Thy grace and Thy 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 Thy 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 Thee 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; 

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 with the sign of Thy true disciples and animate me in all things with Thy Spirit. Amen.

Novena to the Holy Ghost by St Alphonsus Liguori

Meditations for Each Day of the Novena, Beginning with the Feast of the Ascension (this Novena can be prayed throughout the year)

The Novena to the Holy Spirit is the chief of all the Novenas, because it was the first that was ever celebrated, and that by the holy Apostles and the most holy Mary in the supper-room, and distinguished by so many remarkable wonders and gifts ; principally by the gift of the same Holy Spirit, a gift merited for us by the Passion of Jesus Christ himself. Jesus himself made this known to us, when he said to his disciples, that if he did not die, he could not send us the Holy Ghost: If I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you} We know well by faith that the Holy Ghost is the love that the Father and the Eternal Word bear one to the other; and therefore the gift of love, which the Lord infuses into our souls, and which is the greatest of all gifts, is particularly attributed to the Holy Ghost, as St. Paul says : The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us? In this Novena, therefore, we must consider, above all, the great value of divine love, in order that we may desire to obtain it, and endeavor, by devout exercises, and specially by prayer, to be made partakers of it, since God has promised it to him who asks for it with humility: Your Father from heaven will give the good Spirit to them that ask Him.

1 ” Si autem non abiero, Paracletus non veniet ad vos; si autem abiero, mittam eum ad vos.” John, xvi. 7.

2 ” Charitas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spiritum Sanctum, qui datus est nobis.” Rom. v. 5.

MEDITATION I

Love is a Fire that inflames the Heart

God had ordered, in the ancient law, that there should be a fire kept continually burning on his altar: The fire on the altar shall always burn. St. Gregory says, that the altars of God are our hearts, where he desires that the fire of his divine love should always be burning; and therefore the Eternal Father, not satisfied with having given us his Son Jesus Christ, to save us by his death, would also give us the Holy Ghost, that he might dwell in our souls, and keep them constantly on fire with love.

And Jesus himself declared, that he had come into the world on purpose to inflame our hearts with this holy fire, and that he desired nothing more than to see it kindled: “I am come to cast fire upon the earth; and what will I but that it be kindled?” Forgetting, therefore, the injuries and ingratitude he received from men on this earth, when he had ascended into heaven he sent down upon us the Holy Spirit. O most loving Redeemer, Thou dost, then, love us as well in Thy sufferings and ignominies as in Thy kingdom of glory! Hence it was that the Holy Ghost chose to appear in the supper-room under the form of tongues of fire: “And there appeared to them parted tongues, as it were of fire” And hence the Church teaches us to pray: “May the Holy Ghost, we beseech Thee, O Lord, inflame us with that fire which our Lord Jesus Christ came to cast upon the earth, and which he ardently desired should be enkindled.” This was the holy fire which has inflamed the saints to do so great things for God, to love their enemies, to desire contempt, to deprive themselves of all earthly goods, and to embrace with delight even torments and death. Love cannot remain idle, and never says, “It is enough.” The soul that loves God, the more she does for her beloved, the more she desires to do, in order to please him, and to attract to herself his affections the more.

This holy fire is enkindled by mental prayer: In my meditation a fire shall flame out? If, therefore, we desire to burn with love towards God, let us love prayer; this is the blessed furnace in which this divine ardor is enkindled.

Affections and Prayers

My God, hitherto I have done nothing for Thee, who hast done such great things for me! Alas! my coldness deserves that Thou shouldst “vomit me out of Thy mouth.” O Holy Spirit, I beseech Thee, “warm what is cold,” deliver me from this coldness, and enkindle within me an earnest desire of pleasing Thee. I now renounce all my worldly gratifications; and I will rather die than give Thee the least displeasure. Thou didst appear in the shape of fiery tongues ; I consecrate my tongue to Thee, that it may never offend Thee more. Thou didst give it me, O my God, to praise Thee with; and I have made use of it to offend Thee, and to draw others also into sinning against Thee. I repent of this with my whole soul. Oh, for the love of Jesus Christ, who, during his life on earth honored Thee so much with his tongue, grant that I also may from this day forth honor Thee constantly, by celebrating Thy praises, by frequently invoking Thy aid, and by speaking of Thy goodness and the infinite love which Thou deserves! I love Thee, my sovereign good, I love Thee, O God of love! O Mary, thou art the most dear spouse of the Holy Ghost, obtain for me this holy fire!

MEDITATION II

Love is a Light that Enlightens the Soul

One of the greatest evils that the sin of Adam has produced in us, is that darkening of our reason by means of the passions which cloud our mind. Oh, how miserable is that soul that allows itself to be ruled by any passion! Passion, is as it were, a vapor, a veil which prevents us from seeing the truth. How can he fly from evil, who does not know what is evil? Besides, this obscurity increases in proportion as our sins increase, But the Holy Spirit, who is called “most blessed light,” is he who not only inflames our hearts to love him, through his divine splendor, but also dispels our darkness, and shows us the vanity of earthly things, the value of eternal goods, the importance of salvation, the price of grace, the goodness of God, the infinite love which he deserves, and the immense love which he bears us. The sensual man perceiveth not those things that are of the Spirit of God! A man who is absorbed in the pleasures of earth knows little of these truths, and therefore, unfortunate that he is, he loves what he ought to hate, and hates what he ought to love. St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi exclaimed: O love not known! O love not loved!” And therefore St. Teresa said that God is not loved because he is not known. Hence the saints were always seeking light from God: Send forth Thy light and illuminate my darkness; open Thou my eyes. Yes, because without light we cannot avoid precipices, nor can we find God.

Affections and Prayers

Holy and divine Spirit, I believe that Thou art really God, but one only God with the Father and the Son. I adore Thee, and acknowledge Thee as the giver of all those lights by which Thou hast made known to me the evil which I have committed in offending Thee, and the obligation which I am under of loving Thee. I thank Thee for them, and I repent with my whole heart of having offended Thee. I have deserved that Thou shouldst abandon me in my darkness; but I see that Thou hast not yet forsaken me. Continue, O eternal Spirit, to enlighten me, and to make me know more and more Thy infinite goodness; and give me strength to love Thee for the future with my whole heart. Add grace to grace; so that I may be sweetly overcome, and constrained to love none other but Thee. I implore this of Thee, through the merits of Jesus Christ. I love Thee, my sovereign good; I love Thee more than myself. I desire to be entirely Thine; do Thou accept me, and suffer me not to be separated from Thee any more. O Mary, my Mother, do thou always assist me by thy intercession!

MEDITATION III

Love is a Fountain that Satisfies

Love is also called a living fountain: “a living fountain, fire, and charity.” Our Blessed Redeemer said to the Samaritan woman: “But he that shall drink of the water that I will give him shall not thirst for ever.” Love is the water which satisfies our thirst ; he who loves God really with his whole heart neither seeks nor desires anything else; because in God he finds every good. Wherefore, satisfied with God, he often joyfully exclaims, “My God and my all!” My God, Thou art my whole good.

But the Almighty complains that man and souls go about seeking for fleeting and miserable pleasures from creatures, and leave him, who is the infinite good and fountain of all joy: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Wherefore God, who loves us, and desires to see us happy, cries out and makes known to all: If any thirst, let them come to me! He who desires to be happy, let him come to me; and I will give him the Holy Ghost, who will make him blessed both in this life and the next. He that believeth in Me (he goes on to say), as the Scripture saith, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water! He therefore, that believes in Jesus Christ, and loves him, shall be enriched with so much grace, that from his heart (the heart, that is, the will), shall flow many fountains of holy virtues, which shall not only serve to preserve his own life, but also to give life to others. And this water was the Holy Ghost, the substantial love which Jesus Christ promised to send us from heaven after his ascension: Now this He said of the Spirit, which they should receive who believed in Him, for as yet the Spirit was not given, because Jesus was not yet glorified!

The key which opens the channels of this blessed water is holy prayer, which obtains every good for us in virtue of the promise, Ask, and you shall receive! We are blind, poor, and weak ; but prayer obtains for us light, strength, and abundance of grace. Theodoret said: “Prayer, though but one, can do all things.” He who prays receives all he wishes. God desires to give us his graces; but he will have us pray for them.

Affections and Prayers

Lord, give me this water! O my Jesus, with the Samaritan woman, I beseech Thee, give me this water of Thy love, which may make me forget the earth, to live only for Thee, O amiable, infinite one. “Water that which is dry.” My soul is a barren soil, which produces nothing but the weeds and thorns of sin; oh, do Thou water it with Thy grace, so that it may bring forth some fruits to Thy glory, before death takes me out of this world. O fountain of living water, O sovereign good, how many times have I left Thee for the puddles of this earth, which have deprived me of Thy love! Oh, would that I had died before I offended Thee! But for the future I will seek after nothing but Thee, O my God. Do Thou assist me, and enable me to be faithful to Thee. Mary, my hope, do thou keep me always under thy protection!

MEDITATION IV

Love is a Dew which fertilizes

Thus does Holy Church teach us to pray: “May the infusion of the Holy Ghost cleanse our hearts, and fertilize them by the interior sprinkling of his dew.” Love fertilizes the good desires, the holy purposes, and the good works of our souls: these are the flowers and fruits which the grace of the Holy Spirit produces. Love is also called dew, because it cools the heart of bad passions and of temptations. Therefore the Holy Ghost is also called refreshment and cooling in the heat: “In heat refreshment and pleasing coolness.” This dew descends into our hearts in the time of prayer. A quarter of an hour’s prayer is sufficient to appease every passion of hatred or of inordinate love, however ardent it may be: He brought me into the cellar of wine, He set in order charity in me? Holy meditation is this cellar where love is set in order, so that we love our neighbor as ourselves, and God above everything. He who loves God loves prayer; and he that loves not prayer will find it morally impossible to overcome his passions.

Affections and Prayers

Holy and divine Spirit, I will no longer live to myself; but I will spend all the days that remain for me in this lire in loving Thee and pleasing Thee. Therefore I beseech Thee to grant me the gift of prayer. Do Thou descend into my heart, and teach me to pray as I ought. Give me strength not to leave it off through weariness in times of aridity; and give me the spirit of prayer, that is to say, the grace constantly to pray to Thee, and to use those prayers which are clearest to Thy Sacred Heart.

I was once lost through my sins; but I see, from all the kindnesses I have received from Thee, that Thou wiliest that I should be saved and become a saint ; and I desire to become a saint to give Thee pleasure, and that I may love Thy infinite goodness more and more. I love Thee, O my sovereign good, my love, my all; and because I love Thee I give myself entirely to Thee. O Mary, my hope, do thou protect me!

MEDITATION V

Love is a Repose that refreshes

Love is also called, “in labor rest, in mourning comfort.” Love is repose that refreshes; because the principal office of love is to unite the will of the lover to that of the beloved one. To a soul that loves God, in every affront that it receives, in every sorrow that it endures, in every loss that happens to it, the knowledge that it is the will of its beloved that it should suffer these trials is enough to comfort it. It finds peace and contentment in all tribulations by merely saying, This is the will of my God. This is that peace which surpasses all the pleasure of sense: The peace of God which surpasseth all understanding? St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi, by merely saying, “The will of God,” was always filled with joy.

In this life every one must carry his cross; but St. Teresa says, that the cross is heavy for him that drags it, not for him that embraces it. Thus our Lord knows well how to strike and how to heal: He woundeth and cureth, says Job. 3 The Holy Spirit, by his sweet unction, renders even ignominies and torments sweet and pleasant: Yea, Lord; for so hath it seemed good in Thy sight. Thus ought we to say in all adversities that happen to us: So be it done. Lord, because so hath it pleased Thee. And when the fear of any temporal evil that may befall us alarms us, let us always say: “Do what Thou wilt, my God; whatever Thou doest, I accept it all, henceforth.” And thus it is a very good thing to offer one’s self constantly during the day to God, as did St. Teresa.

Affections and Prayers

My God, how often, for the sake of doing my own will, have I opposed myself to Thy will and despised it! I regret this evil more than every other evil. O Lord, from this day forward I will love Thee with my whole heart: Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth. Tell me what Thou wouldst have me to do, I will do it all. Thy will shall be my only desire, my only love. O Holy Spirit, help my weakness. Thou art goodness itself; how can I love any other but Thee? Oh, do Thou draw all my affections to Thyself by the sweetness of Thy holy love. I renounce everything, to give myself entirely to Thee. Do Thou accept me and help me. O Mary, my Mother, I trust in thee!

MEDITATION VI

Love is the Virtue which gives us Strength

Love is strong as death. As there is no created strength that can resist death, so there is no difficulty for a loving soul that love cannot overcome. When there is question of pleasing its beloved, love conquers all, losses, contempt, and sorrow: “Nothing is so hard, but that the fire of love can conquer it.”

This is the most certain mark whereby to know if a soul really loves God, if it is as faithful in love when things are adverse as when they are prosperous. St. Francis de Sales said, that “God is quite as amiable when he chastises as when he consoles us, because he does all for love.” Indeed, when he strikes us most in this life, then it is that he loves us most. St. John Chrysostom esteemed St. Paul in chains more fortunate than St. Paul rapt up into the third heaven.

Hence the holy martyrs, in the midst of their torment, rejoiced and thanked the Lord, as for the greatest favor that could fall to their lot that of having to suffer for his love. And other saints, where there were wanting tyrants to afflict them, became their own executioners, by the penances which they inflicted upon themselves in order to please God. St. Augustine says, that “For that which men love, either no labor is felt, or the labor itself is loved.”

Affections and Prayers

God of my soul, I say that I love Thee; and yet what do I do for Thy love ? Nothing. This shows, therefore, that either I do not love Thee, or I love Thee too little. Send me therefore, O my Jesus, Thy Holy Spirit, that he may come and give me strength to suffer for Thy love, and to do something for the love of Thee before death overtakes me. O my beloved Redeemer, let me not die cold and ungrateful as I have hitherto been to Thee. Grant me strength to love suffering, after so many sins whereby I have deserved hell. O my God, who art all goodness and love, Thou desirest to dwell in my heart from which I have so often expelled Thee; come, then, dwell within it, take possession of it, and make it entirely Thine. I love Thee, O my Lord; and if I love Thee, Thou art already with me, as St. John assures me: He that abideth in charity abideth in God, and God in him? Since, therefore, Thou art with me, increase the flames, increase the chains, so that I may neither seek nor love anything else but Thee; and thus bound, may never be separated from Thy love. I desire to be Thine, O my Jesus, and entirely Thine. O Mary, my Queen and Advocate, obtain for me love and perseverance!

MEDITATION VII

Love causes God to dwell in our Souls

The Holy Ghost is called “Sweet guest of the soul.”

This was the great promise made by Jesus Christ to those who love him, when he said: If you love Me, I will pray My Father, and He will send you the Holy Spirit, that He may always dwell in you. If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you forever. For the Holy Spirit never forsakes a soul, says the Council of Trent, if he is not driven away from it: “He does not forsake, unless he be first forsaken.” God, then, dwells in a soul that loves him; but he declares that he is not satisfied if we do not love him with our whole heart. St. Augustine tells us, that the Roman senate would not admit Jesus Christ into the number of their gods, because they said that he was a proud god, who would have none other beloved but himself. And so it is: he will have no rivals in the heart that loves him; and when he sees that he is not the only object loved, he is jealous (so to say), according to what St. James writes, of those creatures who divide with him the heart which he desires to have all to himself: Do you think the Scripture saith in vain: To envy doth the spirit covet which dwelleth in you?* In short, as St. Jerome says, “Jesus is jealous.”

Hence the heavenly Spouse praises that soul which, like the turtle-dove, lives in solitude and hidden from the world: Thy checks are beautiful as the turtle-doves: Because he does not choose that the world should take a part of that love which he desires to have all to himself, therefore he also praises his Spouse by calling her “a garden enclosed:” My sister, My spouse, is a garden enclosed. A garden closed against all earthly love. Do we doubt that Jesus deserves our whole love? “He gave himself wholly to thee,” says St. John Chrysostom; “He left nothing for himself.” He has given thee all his blood and his life; there remains nothing more for him to give thee.

Affections and Prayers

My God, I see that Thou desirest to have me entirely for Thine own. I have oftentimes driven Thee from my soul, and yet Thou hast not disdained to return to me and reunite Thyself to me again. Oh, do Thou now take possession of my whole self. I give myself this day entirely to Thee; accept of me, O my Jesus, and let me never for the future live one moment deprived of Thy love. Thou seekest me, and I seek none other but Thee. Thou desirest my soul, and my soul desires none but Thee. Thou lovest me, and I love Thee; and since Thou lovest me, bind me to Thyself, so that I may never more be separated from Thee. O Queen of heaven, I trust in thee!

MEDITATION VIII

Love is a Bond which binds

As the Holy Spirit, who is uncreated love, is the in dissoluble bond which binds the Father to the Eternal Word, so he also unites the soul to God. “Charity is a virtue,” says St. Augustine, “uniting us to God.” Hence, full of joy, St. Laurence Justinian exclaims: O love, thy bond has such strength, that it is able to bind even God, and unite him to our souls: ” O love, how strong is thy bond, which could bind God!”

The bonds of the world are bonds of death; but the bonds of God are bonds of life and salvation: Her bonds are a healthful binding? Yes, because the bonds of God by means of love unite us to God, who is our true and only life.

Before the coming of Jesus Christ men fled away from God, and being attached to the earth, refused to unite themselves to their Creator; but the loving God has drawn them to himself by the bonds of love, as he promised by the prophet Osee: I will draw them with the cords of Adam, with the bands of love? These bands are the benefits, the lights, the calls to his love, the promises of paradise, which he makes to us; but above all, the gift which he has bestowed upon us of Jesus Christ in the Sacrifice of the Cross and in the Sacrament of the Altar, and finally, the gift of his Holy Spirit. Therefore the prophet exclaims: Loose the bonds from off thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion? O my soul, thou who art created for heaven, loose thyself from the bonds of earth, and unite thyself to God by the bonds of holy love: Have charity, which is the bond of perfection. Love is a bond which unites to herself all other virtues, and makes the soul perfect. “Love, and do what you will,” said St. Augustine. Love God, and do what thou wilt; because he who loves God tries to avoid causing any displeasure to his beloved, and seeks in all things to please him.

Affections and Prayers

My dearest Jesus, how much hast Thou not done to oblige me to love Thee, and how much hath it cost Thee to gain to Thy self my love! Ah, I should be too ungrateful if I loved Thee little, or divided my heart between Thy creatures and Thyself, after Thou hast given me Thy blood and Thy life. I will detach myself from everything, and in Thee alone will I place all my affections. But I am weak in carrying out this my desire; O Thou who hast inspired me with it, do Thou give me strength to execute it. Pierce my poor soul, O dearest Jesus, with the sweet dart of Thy love, so that I may ever languish with desire of Thee, and be dissolved with the love of Thee; that I may seek Thee alone, desire only Thee, and find none but Thee. My Jesus, I desire Thee, and Thee alone. Make me repeat continually in this life, and especially at the hour of my death, “Thee alone do I desire, and nothing else.” O Mary, my Mother, obtain for me that henceforth I may desire nothing but God.

MEDITATION IX

Love is a Treasure containing every Good

Love is that treasure of which the Gospel says that we must leave all to obtain it; yes, because love makes us partakers of the friendship of God: An infinite treasure to men, which they that use become the friends of God. O man, says St. Augustine, wherefore, then, goest thou about seeking for good things? seek that one good alone in which all other good things are contained. But we cannot find God, who is this sovereign good, if we do not forsake the things of the earth. St. Teresa writes, “Detach thy heart from creatures, and thou shalt find God.”

He that finds God finds all that he can desire: Delight in the Lord, and He will give thee the requests of thy heart. The human heart is constantly seeking after good things that may render it happy; but if it seeks them from creatures, how much soever it may acquire, it will never be satisfied with them; but if it seeks God alone, God will satisfy all its desires. Who are the happiest people in. this world, if it be not the saints? And why? Because they desire and seek only God.

A certain prince, as he was going out hunting, saw a solitary who was running about in the forest, and asked him what he was doing in that desert. The solitary replied, “And thou, O prince, what art thou seeking?” The prince said, “I am going out in search of wild beasts.” “And I,” said the hermit, “am going out in search of God.” The tyrant offered gold and gems to St. Clement, in order to persuade him to renounce Jesus Christ; the saint exclaimed, with a sigh, “Alas, is God put into competition with a little dirt? Blessed is he who knows this treasure of divine love, and strives to obtain it. He who obtains it will of his own accord divest himself of everything else, that he may have nothing else but God.” “When the house is on fire,” says St. Francis de Sales, “all the goods are thrown out of the window.” And Father Paul Segneri the Younger, a great servant of God, used to say, that love is a thief, which robs us of all earthly affections; so that we can say, “And what else do I desire, but Thee alone, O my Lord?”

Affections and Prayers

My God, hitherto I have not sought Thee, but myself and my own pleasures; and for the sake of these I have turned my back upon Thee, my sovereign good. But I am comforted by these words of Jeremias, The Lord is good to the soul that seeketh Him? They tell me that Thou art all goodness towards him who seeks Thee. My beloved Saviour, I know the evil that I have committed in forsaking Thee, and I repent of it with my whole heart. I know that Thou art an infinite treasure. I will not abuse this light; I will forsake all, and choose Thee for my only love. My God, my love, my all, I love Thee, I desire Thee, I sigh after Thee. Come, O Holy Spirit, and destroy in me by Thy sacred fire every affection which has not Thee for its object. Grant that I may be all Thine, and that I may conquer everything to please Thee. O Mary, my advocate and Mother, do thou help me by thy prayers!

MEDITATION X

The Means of loving God and of becoming a Saint

The more we love God, the more holy do we become. St. Francis Borgia says that it is prayer that introduces divine love into the human heart; and it is mortification that withdraws the heart from the earth, and renders it capable of receiving this holy fire. The more there is of the earth in the heart, the less room there is for holy love: Wisdom is not to be found in the. land of them that live in delights. Hence the saints have always sought to mortify as much as possible their self-love and their senses. The saints are few; but we must live with the few, if we will be saved with the few: “Live like the few,” writes St. John Climacus, “if you would reign with the few.” And St. Bernard says, “That cannot be perfect which is not singular.” He who would lead a perfect life must lead a singular life.

But before all, in order to become saints, it is necessary to have the desire to be saints; we must have the desire and the resolution. Some are always desiring, but they never begin to put their hands to the work. “Of these irresolute souls,” says St. Teresa, “the devil has no fear.” On the other hand, the saint said, “God is a friend of generous souls.” The devil tries to. make it appear to us to be pride to think of doing great things for God. It would indeed be pride in us, if we thought of doing them, trusting in our own strength; but it is not pride to resolve to become saints, trusting in God, and saying, I can do all things in Him who strengthened me.

We must therefore be of good courage, make strong resolutions, and begin. Prayer can do everything. What we cannot do by our own strength, we shall do easily with the help of God, who has promised to give us what ever we ask of him: You shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you?

Affections and Prayers

My dearest Redeemer, Thou desirest my love, and commandest me to love Thee with my whole heart. Yes, my Jesus, I desire to love Thee with my whole heart. O my God, I will say to Thee, trusting in Thy mercy, my past sins do not make me fear, because I now hate them and detest them above every other evil; and I know that Thou dost forget the offences of a soul that is penitent and loves Thee. Indeed, because I have offended Thee more than others, I will also love Thee more than others, with the help that I hope to obtain from Thee. O my Lord, Thou desirest that I should be a saint; and I desire to become a saint to please Thee. I love Thee, O infinite goodness. To Thee do I give myself entirely. Thou art my only good, my only love. Accept of me, O my beloved, and make me entirely Thine, and suffer me not to offend Thee any more. Grant that I may be wholly consumed for Thee, as Thou hast wholly consumed Thyself for me, O Mary, the most loving and most beloved spouse of the Holy Spirit, obtain for me love and fidelity!