"...for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples." Isaiah 56:7

"O Lord,...you have been pleased to bless this house of your servant, so that it will always remain. It is you, O Lord, who blessed it, and it will be blessed forever." 1 Chr 17: 26-27

Sr. Marie De Mandat-Grancey Foundation
P.O.Box 275
Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724 USA

" I am not a priest and cannot bless them, but all that the heart of a mother can ask of God for her children, I ask of Him and will never cease to ask Him." ~ Sister Marie

“The grace of our Lord be with us forever.” ~ Sr. Marie

Thursday, May 8, 2008

The Great Novena ot the Holy Spirit - Day 7

With the Apostles in the Upper Room during that very first Novena as they awaited the Advocate promised by Jesus, we pray:

Come Holy Spirit! Come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Your well beloved Spouse!

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;

On our dryness pour Thy dew;

Wash the stains of guilt away.


Meditation
Understanding, as a gift of the Holy Spirit, helps the Christian, in the state of grace, to grasp according to his mental capacity, the meaning of the truths of our holy religion. Perhaps, to many of us, the articles of the creed are but dry disconnected truths. God gives us the gift of Understanding to enable us to penetrate the truths of our holy religion in a manner that will enable us to live them. Many Catholics find the Catholic newspapers flat and unsavory. On Sundays they would like to hear the Priest speak of the topics of the times rather than give catechetical instructions. That is because they are imbued with the spirit of the age. They have never become accustomed to thinking seriously of religious subjects. They have no religious, no Catholic, no supernatural ideals. Perhaps one of the reasons why we do not duplicate the majestic cathedrals of Europe is, because we do not live the religious mysteries and ideals which inspired those monuments of faith. We need an increase of the gift of Understanding to make our religion real and living. Therefore let us pray fervently for that intention.


Prayer
Come, O Spirit of Understanding, and enlighten our minds, that we may know and believe all the mysteries of salvation; and may merit at last to see the eternal light in Thy Light; and in the light of glory to have a clear vision of thee and the Father and the Son. Amen.

Glory Be, seven times.
Sr. Marie, please pray with us and for us through the intercession of Mary to Her Spouse the Holy Spirit that we may be filled with an abundance of His gifts during this Novena. May the cause for the beatification of Sr. Marie DeMandat-Grancey be opened very soon so that more and more graces of peace, love, forgiveness, and understanding from the source of all grace, The Holy Spirit, may envelope this weary world!

Oh, Holy Spirit, 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 do Your will. (This submission to the Holy Spirit is the Secret of Sanctity -- Cardinal Mercier)

The non-italicised portion of this Novena has been compiled by Catherine Fournier.
You may find this Novena in Honor of the Holy Spirit,
compiled in preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Millennium,
in the link enclosed in the title to this post.