A POWERFUL NOVENA TO THE HOLY SPIRIT: DAY 9 – FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT

(IT CAN BE PRAYED ANYTIME IN THE DAY)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Hymn

1. Come, Thou Almighty King,
Help us Thy name to sing,
Help us to praise.
Father, all glorious,
O’er all victorious,
Come, and reign over us,
Ancient of Days.

2. Come, Thou incarnate Word,
Gird on Thy mighty sword,
Our prayer attend:
Come, and Thy people bless,
And give Thy word success;
Spirit of holiness,
On us descend.

3. Come, holy Comforter,
Thy sacred witness bear
In this glad hour:
Thou who Almighty art,
Now rule in every heart,
And ne’er from us depart,
Spirit of power.

4. To Thee, great One in Three,
Eternal praises be
Hence evermore.
Thy sov’reign majesty
May we in glory see,
And to eternity
Love and adore.

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

On my knees, I before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses, 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.

On the other hand, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control; no law can touch such things as these. All who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified self with all its passions and its desires. Since we are living by the Spirit, let our behaviour be guided by the Spirit and let us not be conceited or provocative and envious of one another.

MEDITATION

Once we are reborn by ‘water and the Spirit’ at baptism and sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit at Confirmation, we become filled with the Holy Spirit and power; thus, the Holy Spirit dwelling within us allows us to possess the virtues of Christ, enabling us to live in accordance with the will of God, manifesting the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word ‘καρπός’ (Karpos) that we translate as ‘fruit’ usually means fruit in the edible sense of the word, but it can also be translated as offspring, deed, action, result, or profit. In an agrarian society (i.e. agricultural society – any community whose economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland), fruit is a good thing; it is the result of hard work and careful tending.  Today we use the word ‘fruit’ in a phrase such as the ‘fruit of our labour’ to communicate the results of our effort. Thus, ‘fruit’ in this sense can mean ‘deed, action, or result.’

On the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) #1832 states: “The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: charity, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.” Saint Paul, on the other hand, lists nine of them as we see in today’s scriptural text: ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.’ These are the result or the work of the Spirit in the life of every baptized and practising Catholic.

Dear friends in Christ, as our novena to the Holy Spirit (the mother of all novenas) draws to an end today, we are called to understand that the fruit of the Spirit is a physical manifestation of a life in the Spirit. Scripture says ‘So by their fruits, you shall know them’ (cf. Mat. 7:17-20). The fruit of the Holy Spirit is the evidence that He lives in and directs us. We have asked for his gifts throughout the novena, and these he has given us; these gifts should dispose us to receive God’s graces/favours. Also, these gifts must be fanned into flames in order that the fruits of the Holy Spirit might grow, ripen, and made manifest in us. These fruits should be visible in Christians, for thereby men will know that the Holy Spirit dwells in them, just as the tree is known by its fruits. Therefore, let us cooperate with the graces of the Holy Spirit offered in this novena and in every holy Mass and yield good fruits by our way of life.

Pause for a moment and reflect…

DAY 9 PRAYER

O Lord, Holy Spirit, grant me sight to see the wondrous promise of divine love; insight to see my own weakness; delight in Your divine presence in my soul which You have made Your temple through sanctifying grace. I pray, O Holy Spirit, that I may be not doubting; that I be spared the pain of being alone without trust or hope in Christ; that my prayer may always be “My Lord and my God!” I pray that I may acquire a sense of retreat to prayer and recollection at various times in my daily life, and manifest your divine fruits; for prayer is the bond that joins us to Christ. I pray that I may be aware of the physical needs of the poor and that I may share what I can with them in the charitable works of the Church. I pray, O Holy Spirit, that You will in Your mercy grant me the favour I have sought in this novena (State your request here…) if it be in accordance with Your Holy Will. 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 toward 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.

Our Father… Hail Mary…. (Glory be….X7)

LITANY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Divine Essence, one true God, Have mercy on us

Spirit of truth and wisdom, Have mercy on us

Spirit of holiness and justice, Have mercy on us

Spirit of understanding and counsel, Have mercy on us

Spirit of love and joy, Have mercy on us

Spirit of peace and patience, Have mercy on us

Spirit of longanimity and meekness, Have mercy on us

Spirit of benignity and goodness, Have mercy on us

Love substantial of the Father and the Son, Have mercy on us

Love and life of saintly souls, Have mercy on us

Fire ever burning, Have mercy on us

Living water to quench the thirst of hearts, Have mercy on us

From all evil, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From all impurity of soul and body, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From all gluttony and sensuality, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From all attachments to the things of the earth, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From all hypocrisy and pretence, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From all imperfections and deliberate faults, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From our own will, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From slander, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From deceiving our neighbours, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From our passions and disorderly appetites, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From our inattentiveness to Thy holy inspirations, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From despising little things, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From debauchery and malice, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From the love of comfort and luxury, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From wishing to seek or desire anything other than Thee, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

From everything that displeases Thee, Deliver us, O Holy Spirit.

Most loving Father, forgive us.

Divine Word, have pity on us.

Holy and divine Spirit, leave us not until we are in possession of the Divine Essence, Heaven of heavens.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Send us the divine Consoler.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Fill us with the gifts of Thy Spirit.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Make the fruits of the Holy Spirit increase within us.

V. Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful,

R. And enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.

V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created,

R. And Thou shall renew the face of the earth.

Let Us Pray

God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Spirit we may be truly wise and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord, Amen.

Concluding Meditation/Prayer

The gifts of the Holy Spirit perfect the supernatural virtues by enabling us to practice them with greater docility to divine inspiration. As we grow in the knowledge and love of God under the direction of the Holy Spirit, our service becomes more sincere and generous, the practice of virtue more perfect. Such acts of virtue leave the heart filled with joy and consolation and are known as Fruits of the Holy Spirit. These Fruits in turn render the practice of virtue more attractive and become a powerful incentive for still greater efforts in the service of God, to serve Whom is to reign.

Come, O Divine Spirit, fill my heart with Thy heavenly fruits, Thy charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, faith, mildness, and temperance, that I may never weary in the service of God, but by continued faithful submission to Thy inspiration may merit to be united eternally with Thee in the love of the Father and the Son.

Come, Thou, on those who evermore Thee confess and Thee Adore, in Thy sevenfold gift, Descend; Give Them Comfort when they die; Give them Life with Thee on high; Give them joys which never end, and grant restful sleep to our bodies tonight that we might sleep in peace and rise with joy to sing your praise. Amen.

Blessing+

The Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Shalom!
Written and Compiled by Fr. Chinaka Justin Mbaeri, OSJ
Paroquia Nossa Senhora de Fatima, Vila Sabrina, São Paulo, Brazil
nozickcjoe@gmail.com / fadacjay@gmail.com
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PS: Have you prayed your Rosary today?