Novena to the Holy Spirit

After the Ascension of Our Lord, His disciples and Apostles spent nine days praying for the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5, 12-14):

And while staying with them he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away; and when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

Thus the tradition of the novena, nine days of prayer for some intention. But the first, and earliest novena, is the original one, recognized by the church, the novena for the Holy Spirit. I join the church in praying this novena each year on the nine days leading up to Pentecost. Please join me.

There are different prayers for each day, found here

as well as the following, which are repeated each day:

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.

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Prayer of the Archdiocese for the Military Services

On this Independence Day let's remember the men and women who help keep us independent.

Prayer of the Archdiocese for the Military Services

Almighty God and Father, look with love upon our men and women in uniform and protect them in their time of need. Give them health and stability and allow them to return to their loved ones whole and unshaken. Be with their families and sustain them in these uncertain times.

Grant strength and peace of mind to the Veterans who have given their best for the country they love. Support them in infirmity and in the fragility of old age. Teach us to remember their sacrifices and to express our gratitude.

Manifest your tender care to those in the Military Academies who prepare for future service and to those who serve our Nation far from home. Teach us to remember the sacrifices of those whose efforts contribute to ensuring our way of life.

Bless and multiply the priests who minister to the faithful of the Archdiocese for the Military Services. Reward their generosity and keep them faithful.

Hear us as we present our prayers to You through Christ our Lord

Amen

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Remember

[Note: This is a modified repost of Ten Years Later]

Pictured above is Frigate FFG 29, the USS Steven W. Groves. It is leaving New York harbor on a shakedown cruise of the Mk92 FCS, a surface to air missile control system (you can see the egg-shaped radar dome for it in the picture). My father helped design the Mk92, and I worked on its software.

This picture was taken in the 1980s and hung in my parents' kitchen for years. It now hangs in my house. I remember looking at it soon after the 9-11 attacks ten years ago, and thinking of the brave Americans, both first responders and military, who have given and still give their lives to keep ours safe. Please join me in prayers for them on this 12^th anniversary of the attacks.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of mercy,
who through your Son gave us a marvelous example of charity
and the great commandment of love for one another.
Send down your blessings on these your servants,
who so generously devote themselves to helping others,
and protect them always as they work to protect us all.
Grant them courage when they are afraid,
wisdom when they must make quick decisions,
strength when they are weary,
and compassion in all their work.
When they are called to aid both friend and stranger,
let them faithfully serve you in their neighbor.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

O Prince of peace, we humbly ask your protection for all our men and women in military service. Give them unflinching courage to defend with honor, dignity and devotion, the rights of all who are imperiled by injustice and evil. Be their rock, their shield, and their stronghold and let them draw their strength from you.

For you are God, for ever and ever. Amen

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As We Know It

I haven't had time to blog in a while. Still busy, but I wanted to let you all know I'm still alive and to pass on a quick message.

The HHS is forcing Catholics and others to violate their consciences. Proposition 8 lost its appeal (no pun intended). My state, NJ, is pushing through a bill to redefine marriage and narrow religious exemptions. The leading Republican candidate is looking more and more like the leading Democratic candidate, leaving little hope for change (pun intended). The US military is censoring Bishops' pastoral letters to their flocks. The NDAA has overturned habeas corpus. Susan G. Komen will continue to fund Planned Parenthood. Religious organizations are barred from renting space in public school buildings in NY.

Sounds like the sky is falling. My message is this. Take heart. the sky is not falling. Relax. Take a deep breath. And pray. As St. Francis said "Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society."

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St Michael

For obvious reasons I have always been partial to St. Michael the Archangel. Each night I pray

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -
by the Divine Power of God -
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen.

So I of course will be participating in Joe's big event. Won't you join us in the Novena to St. Michael the Archangel?

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Ten years later

Pictured above is Frigate FFG 29 the USS Steven W. Groves. It is leaving New York harbor on a shakedown cruise of the Mk92 FCS. This picture was taken in the 1980s and hung in my parents' kitchen for years. It now hangs in my house. I remember looking at it soon after the 9-11 attacks ten years ago, and thinking of the brave Americans, both first responders and military, who have given and still give their lives to keep ours safe. Please join me in prayers for them on the 10^th anniversary of the attacks.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of mercy,
who through your Son gave us a marvelous example of charity
and the great commandment of love for one another.
Send down your blessings on these your servants,
who so generously devote themselves to helping others,
and protect them always as they work to protect us all.
Grant them courage when they are afraid,
wisdom when they must make quick decisions,
strength when they are weary,
and compassion in all their work.
When they are called to aid both friend and stranger,
let them faithfully serve you in their neighbor.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

O Prince of peace, we humbly ask your protection for all our men and women in military service. Give them unflinching courage to defend with honor, dignity and devotion, the rights of all who are imperiled by injustice and evil. Be their rock, their shield, and their stronghold and let them draw their strength from you.

For you are God, for ever and ever. Amen

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How's that Lent thing going for you?

Lent is a time of fasting, prayer and almsgiving. Lent draws us closer to God and prepares us for the mysteries of Easter. And every year I look forward to Lent - it is one of my favorite times. Some years I have had fantastic spiritual experiences during Lent.

Not this year. Instead of being a time for slowing down and reflecting on my life, this year Lent has been marked by extra stress, extra work; broken commitments and missed opportunities. Instead of stepping up my commitment to life through 40 Days for Life, I have had various conflicts that have caused me to do less than ever. My prayer life has been rushed and hollow, when I haven't been too tired to pray at all.

In fact, the only thing that has gone "as planned" this Lent is the Great Adventure Bible Study I am taking, and although it's wonderful, and I highly recommend it, it's a minor part of my life, being 1.5 hours once a week. so for the most part I'd biding my time, trying to hang on until something changes.

So how is Lent going for you? I hope it's better than mine.

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Suggestions for Lent

If you're like me most years, you waited until Ash Wednesday and then try to think of something to give up. Beer? Chocolate? It should be something that makes you a better, healthier person, right? I have a suggestion for you.

Instead of giving up chocolate (again) how about saving someone's life? Last year I joined 40 Days for Life during Lent and it has changed my perspective on a lot of things. I go to an abortion clinic once or twice a week (or as often as I can make it) and pray. If you find it hard to get to a 40 Days site, you can still participate by fasting and/or praying along with their set of daily devotionals.

Another way to get involved this Lent is to spiritually adopt an unborn child. To do this, pick an unborn baby in danger of being aborted. It doesn't have to be anyone you know, just focus your intentions on a single child. You can give the child a name if that helps you to focus on him or her. Each day pray for this child. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen recommended the following prayer:

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you very much. I beg you to spare the life of the unborn baby that I have spiritually adopted who is in danger of abortion.”

Of course you can (and should) pray for the mother and father of that child as well. These things are simple enough to do, and yet they can save a human life, and change yours.

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Save Baby Joseph

Once again real life prevents me from blogging all the things I want to blog, but this is time sensitive. If you can Save Baby Joseph! If you don't know who Baby Joseph is, you need to read LifeSite News!

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What's a spiritual bouquet?

This is something very beautiful and relatively new to me. You all know what a bouquet of flowers is - a pretty arrangement of a bunch of flowers. Well, imagine the same thing, but instead of flowers, it's made up of masses, prayers, and other spiritual devotions. What a great gift! You can join in creating a spiritual bouquet for Pope Benedict XVI to be given to him on the feast of St. Joseph (March 19^th) by going over to Fr. Z's blog and "voting" for the thing you are doing. There's also a link for this over on the right hand side bar.

As Fr. Z points out, this is not only a wonderful way to support our Holy Father, but it can get you an indulgence. I suppose I should write a post on what an indulgence is, but I think the link I just gave explains it better than I could.

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George Washington

From today's American Minute blog:

On OCTOBER 3, 1789, from the U.S. Capitol in New York City, President George Washington issued the first Proclamation of a National Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer to Almighty God, as just one week earlier the first session of the U.S. Congress successfully approved the First Ten Amendments limiting the power of the Federal Government. The First Amendment begins: "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." In his Proclamation, President Washington stated: "Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God....we may...unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations..." Washington continued: "and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our...duties properly...to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws...and to bless them with...peace and concord...and the increase of science...and...to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best."

 Amen!

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40 Days

This Wednesday, September 22^nd, is the start of the next campaign of 40 Days for Life. Twice a year, for 40 consecutive days, a group of people (over 350,000) pray and fast, at home or at abortion clinics in all 50 states, plus several other countries. Our goal is ambitious - to end abortion.

I got involved in the movement last fall, following the example of an online friend. I had heard about it before but was uncertain, and a little scared. I had seen and heard reports of pro-life "extremists" as well as pro-choice "extremists" and thought it would be a horrible, stressful experience. However, as I discovered it is a beautiful way to do something positive, and help save lives.

You can sign up without any obligation other than moral support. Most of my support takes the form of prayer at home, although I do try to actually get to the clinic for at least an hour a week. Praying at the clinic is not hard at all. There is a wonderful group of people there, and you can pray alone or with others, or hold a sign, or have a conversation, or just be there. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Heck, you don't even have to be Christian, just pro-life.

It is a very positive experience. Not only are the people there friendly, but as cars pass and see our signs (the place we go to is on a busy road) there is a nearly constant stream of people tooting their horn and waving, cheering, giving us a thumb's up. Of course there are one or two cars in the hour I am there that shout something else (always the same thing, too), but there is an overwhelming amount of support that increases my faith in humanity.

Do I make a difference by going? Perhaps not me personally, but the group certainly does, I have seen people pull up to the clinic, approach some of the "40 days" people, thank them and leave. Did they change their minds, or did they just come back later? I don't know, but I can hope.

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Would you stop it already!?

I recently found this article at First Things about praying for Christopher Hitchens. For those not following the issue, Hitchens is one of the self-named "new atheists" who has attacked all faith, but especially Christianity with books such as "The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice" and "God is not Great". He was recently diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and is undergoing treatment. A number of Christians have advocated praying for him.

What caught my eye in the original article was a statement made by The Anchoress:

I suppose if someone asks you not to pray for him, you shouldn’t.

I disagree. If someone asks me to hit them, I don't feel obligated to oblige them. If my kids ask me to stop making them do homework, I certainly don't stop. Why? Because even if the person doesn't like it it is something they need. Let's face it, we all need prayer. So why should I stop praying for someone, even if they don't like it.

Of course, the secondary question is "should we pray for Mr. Hitchens? Certainly there are many people who have cancer, many of them Catholics. Perhaps I should pray for them instead, since I'd be helping a person stay alive whom I thought would make the world a better place, rather than helping someone who is bent on keeping souls from salvation. On the other hand, perhaps I should pray for him, since the bible teaches us to pray for our enemies. On the gripping hand (you win the geek award if you know what that refers to), Christopher Hitchens is not my enemy.

I must admit that I have not yet prayed for Mr. Hitchens, but if and when I do I will be praying not just for him to survive cancer, but to conquer his fears, his drinking problems, and whatever else, to find the peace and joy of a loving God.

And if you are deciding for whom to pray, please think of me. I promise I will never ask you to stop.

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What you can do about the abuse scandal

The most positive, helpful thing you can do is pray for the Pope, who is under daily attack for the sins of others. Please join me in supporting the Knights of Columbus in this effort. It only takes a minute or so, for nine days.

"All Knights of Columbus are encouraged to join in a special novena for Pope Benedict XVI, beginning Divine Mercy Sunday, April 11, and concluding Monday, April 19, the fifth anniversary of the Holy Father’s election in 2005.

We pray for the pope and for his pastoral mission, asking God to protect, strengthen and uplift our beloved Holy Father at this time of considerable challenge."

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