Parish Novena to the Holy Spirit
Day
Two: Sunday 24th May 2020
‘So that she
can fulfil her mission, the Holy Spirit bestows upon [the Church] varied
hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her. Henceforward the
Church, endowed with the gifts of her founder and faithfully observing his precepts
of charity, humility and self-denial receives the mission of proclaiming and
establishing among all peoples the Kingdom of Christ and of God, and she is on
earth the seed and the beginning of the kingdom.’ (CCC #768.)
The
above quote from the Catechism reminds us of our vocation to be disciples. We
are part of the Church, founded by Him on the rock of Peter, and from the
moment we are baptised we become part of His Church. Our vocation in the Church
is to witness to the power and glory of God in Jesus Christ. All our thoughts,
words and actions should daily reveal to the world around us the love of God.
We are not alone in this endeavour but have fellow brothers and sisters who are
on the same journey. Every person, every family, every parish, every deanery,
every diocese are all part of the One Church, praying, edifying and
contributing to its witness, mission and prayer everyday. Through the work and
life of each faithful member, the visible Church becomes the sign of God’s
presence in the world. A sign of Faith, Hope and Charity.
The
Holy Spirit, as the Catechism teaches, bestows gifts on the Church to help her
in this mission. In our ‘virtual’ Novena
we are going to look particularly at the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. These
Gifts, if we are open to them, allow us to live more virtuous and holy lives
which of course leads to embracing God’s will and building up His Kingdom, here
on earth.
The Gift of Wisdom
Today, let us
reflect on the Gift of Wisdom with King Solomon from the Old Testament.
After
his father, King David, had died the crown passed to Solomon. The new King
recognised that the crown came with responsibility. The ornate, jewel encrusted
band of gold, was a symbol of God’s anointed one and it was the duty of this
anointed one to serve God and lead His people. Many in the past had failed but
now it was Solomon’s time. His first action as king was not to count his new
wealth or organise a triumphant coronation but to turn to God and pray.
‘Now, O Lord
my God, you have made your servant king in succession to David my father. But I
am a very young man, unskilled in leadership. Your servant finds himself in the
midst of this people of yours that you have chosen, a people so many its number
cannot be counted or reckoned. Give your servant a heart to understand how to
discern between good and evil, for who could govern this people of yours that
is so great?’ (1 Kings 3: 7-9)
Solomon’s
prayer is simply for wisdom, the wisdom to see and discern things through God’s
eyes. Human wisdom is imperfect and can lead to confusion and misunderstanding,
just look at the history of humanity. God’s wisdom is perfect and eternal.
It
is through the Holy Spirit’s gift of Wisdom, that we are able to see things
from God’s viewpoint. In the various challenges of life, the gift of wisdom
allows us to respond to the ups and downs of daily living in the way of God
rather than in the way of ‘I’ and ‘Me’. Maybe an image we can use to illustrate
the Spirit’s gift of wisdom is to picture a married couple. The couple have an
argument about something and nothing and imperfect human wisdom says:
‘Show
him how angry he has made you, give him the silent treatment and he can make
his own tea tonight!’; ‘Let her know with a scowl and a grunt that her actions
have displeased you, she’ll soon get the message!’
The
gift of Wisdom, of looking at the situation through the eyes of God says:
‘Why
make a big show of my anger, it won’t help the situation but make it worse.
Isn’t it better to come to some type of truce. I do love him at the end of the
day.’; ‘I was in the wrong. My anger clouded my judgment and I need to make
peace and say sorry. I do love her, that’s why I married her.’
If
we all co-operated with the Holy Spirit and used this gift of wisdom wouldn’t
there be a lot less tension and anger because of poor communication?
Veni Creator
Spiritus
Come, Holy
Spirit, Creator come,
From your
bright heavenly throne!
Come, take
possession of our souls,
And make them
all your own.
You who are
called the Paraclete,
Best gift of
God above,
The living
spring, the living fire,
Sweet
unction, and true love!
You who are
sevenfold in your grace,
Finger of
God's right hand,
His promise,
teaching little ones
To speak and
understand!
O guide our
minds with your blessed light,
With love our
hearts inflame,
And with your
strength which never decays
Confirm our
mortal frame.
Far from us
drive our hellish foe
True peace
unto us bring,
And through
all perils guide us safe
Beneath your
sacred wing.
Through you
may we the Father know,
Through you
the eternal Son
And you the
Spirit of them both
Thrice-blessed
three in one.
All glory to
the Father be,
And to the
risen Son;
The same to
you, O Paraclete,
While endless
ages run.
Amen.
In
today’s few moments of silence let us, like wise King Solomon, turn to God in
prayer. Let us pray that we may have the courage to use the gift of wisdom more
frequently. It is easy to speak and act first and then think later, it is very
human. God’s wisdom asks us to pause, to discern and then to respond. The
results from using this divine wisdom are always more beneficial for everyone
concerned. How else can we increase our wisdom of God? How can we see things
more clearly from His viewpoint rather than our own? Do we need to pick up the
Bible more and read it? When was the last time we picked up a decent spiritual
book that helped explain and reveal more about our Catholic Faith? Do we need
to sacrifice some time each day for more quality prayer? As we reflect on these
thoughts let us be wise enough to put them into action and grow closer to God
and become better disciples.
Come,
Holy Spirit
Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts
of your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of your love.
V. Send forth your Spirit and they
shall be created.
R. And you shall renew the face of
the earth.
Let us pray:
O God, who taught the hearts of the
faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of the same
Spirit we may be always truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation. Through
Christ our Lord. Amen.
God
Bless and keep praying.
We
continue our Novena journey tomorrow.
Fr.
O’Brien