Today begins nine days of prayer, the Pentecost Novena, to ask God to prepare our hearts to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. God pours out the Holy Spirit beyond measure and without ration (Jn 3:34; Eph 3:20). Nevertheless, we need to prepare our hearts. We don't pray the Pentecost Novena because God needs persuading, but rather because we need docility to receive the Spirit.
Jesus revealed that our heavenly Father won't give us "a poisonous snake when [we ask] for a fish" (Mt 7:10), and that He is predisposed to give good things to those who ask Him (Mt 7:11). In Luke's parallel version of this passage, Jesus replaces the phrase "good things" with "the Holy Spirit" (Lk 11:13).
At the first Pentecost Novena, the apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary gathered to pray communally and intensely for the promise of the Father, that is, the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14). Let us likewise gather with other Christians to pray earnestly to receive the Holy Spirit, Whom God is already lavishing on us (Ti 3:6).
God wants to send the Holy Spirit to open our "minds to the understanding of the Scriptures" (Lk 24:45). Therefore, let's give God opportunities to bestow the Spirit on us by reading the Scriptures frequently during the Pentecost Novena.
| PRAYER: | Father, pour out Your love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rm 5:5). Come, Holy Spirit! |
| PROMISE: | "Do not be afraid. Go on speaking and do not be silenced, for I am with you." –Acts 18:9-10 |
| PRAISE: | St. Damien's love was greater than fear of disease and death as he kept his eyes fixed on Jesus and thereby gave Hope to the hopeless. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College