Our 2019 Pentecost Novena is written by Father Clement Sofonnou, PSFS, spiritual councilor for the association. Begin the novena May 31, 2019. You may download a PDF here or read the full text below. Audio files are also linked up below.
INTRODUCTION (audio file for Introduction and Day 1)
The Spirit whispers every day; and, at the height of its momentum, it leads us, filling our hearts with divine attraction and opening our spirits to the anticipation of its sacred gifts; which, in their dynamic expression, overflow with a real beauty known to us, although sometimes not perceptible and impenetrable to the uninitiated (those who observe from without or those who are not under the Spirit’s movement).
Indeed, the Holy Spirit, is like the wind … it is, certainly, imperceptible but very real and tangible in its works and manifestations. When it takes possession of someone, it is the glory and power of God at work. “The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8) This means unforeseeable grace bestowed by the Spirit of God to a Christian, to a baptized person, for the good of all the community; this charism is what we wish to purse during the Pentecost Novena.
So then let us place ourselves in the presence of God, adore his Holy Name and invoke his Holy Spirit!
Father Clement Sofonnou, PSFS, Spiritual Councilor
DAY 1 (audio file for Introduction and Day 1)
Faith is this vital desire of the creature toward the Creator either by simple recognition or for greater well-being. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is a gift from God, but it is equally and especially this welcome, free and confidant bond of the creature in his or her strain toward the Creator.
“For by it the men of old received divine approval. By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he received approval as righteous, God bearing witness by accepting his gifts; he died, but through his faith he is still speaking.” (Hebrews 11:2-4) It is by faith that we are able to be pleasurable to God and claim the graces of his presence in our lives. “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.” (Hebrews 11:30)
Holy Spirit, at the beginning of this Novena, bestow upon us the grace of profound faith, a steadfast and unconditional faith; a faith which holds up against winds and floods, a faith which stands up to all the vicissitudes of this life.
Our Father, Holy Mary, Glory Be …
Holy Spirit, enlighten and help us!
Day 2: The Gift of Speaking With Wisdom (audio file)
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who practice it. His praise endures forever!” (Psalms 111:10)
“And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’” (Job 28:28)
Indeed, wisdom is this moral virtue, this “perfect understanding of all things which man can know” (Descartes), which inspires men and women to conduct themselves with moderation, knowledge, prudence, circumspection, interior tranquility and docility. … Wisdom is, according to Jewish thought and faith, this light of the spirit which allows men and women to understand with conviction God’s actions through Revelation and witness. Wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit to understand God’s plan and to discern how to live in accordance with his Will.
“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and preserving the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will walk over you; understanding will guard you; delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of unrighteousness to walk in the perverseness of evil; men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.” (Proverbs 2:6-15)
Lord, in prayer this day, protect us from a spirit of timidity and fill us with your spirit of strength, love and wisdom!
Our Father, Holy Mary, Glory Be …
Holy Spirit, enlighten and help us!
Day 3: The Gift of Speaking With Knowledge (audio file)
In fact, here knowledge integrates with the intelligence which God gives to those who ask for it; it is a gift; it is a grace. If knowledge is in part the consciousness we have of our own existence and the use of our faculties, it is furthermore this aptitude of caution we have to better understand and discover the relationships between facts and things. In the veterotestamentary tradition or at the beginning of humanity in the Bible, knowledge is under an interdiction to prevent man and woman from sinning. In the course of time, knowledge becomes a source of light and wisdom and a shield of faithfulness to God because he is henceforth known.
“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your head to understanding; yes, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. … [F]or wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you; understanding will guard you.” (Proverbs 2: 1-6, 10-11)
“That in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge — even as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you — so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:5-7)
Spirit of love, grant us the grace to attain perfect knowledge (Cf. Job 11:7), and that, by our knowledge and our manner of speaking, we may give glory to God and answer many people, as good servants of God. (Cf. Isaiah 53:11)
Our Father, Holy Mary, Glory Be …
Holy Spirit, enlighten and help us!
Day 4: The Grace to Heal (audio file)
“I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and requite him with comfort, creating for his mourners the fruit of his lips.” (Isaiah 57:18) “Heal” assumes a double meaning of relief and of satisfaction of the soul and body. … It is deliverance from a moral evil or a physical infirmity which hinders someone’s good health. Jesus cured and he bestowed this grace on his disciples for the good of the people. It is a gift; it is a grace.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.” (Isaiah 61:1-2 or Luke 4:18-19)
“And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity.” (Matthew 10:1) Healing, plus the knowledge acquired by experience, is also a grace: “And a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years and could not be healed by anyone.” (Luke 8:43) Here is why: “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues.” (1 Corinthians 12:28)
Spirit of goodwill, grant us the grace to heal and the gift of your Light when someone ill comes to us; enlighten us and always show us the right action to take. In laying our hands upon the sick, may God’s Mercy and Glory be revealed!
Our Father, Holy Mary, Glory Be …
Holy Spirit, enlighten and help us!
DAY 5: The Gift of Miracles (audio file)
“Now many signs and wonders were done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high honor.” (Acts 5:12-13)
The miracle is this fact, this event, this extraordinary phenomenon which surprises and evokes admiration; and which, in reality, is the effect of the God’s Will brought about through the faith of the protagonists in play. The miracle usually exposes the heart of man or woman and calls him or her to true conversion. It is a gift; it is a grace. Moses was ostensibly the first to receive this gift or this grace granted during the exodus of the sons of Israel from servitude in Egypt. “These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which he had made with them at Horeb. And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, ‘You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land.’” (Deuteronomy 29:1-2)
The purpose of the miracle is to lead the beneficiaries to willingly desire to strengthen their faith, or to truly repent. “Then he began to upbraid the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.’” (Matthew 11:20-21)
“And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, while thou stretches out thy hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of thy holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:29-30)
Lord, with the help of the Holy Spirit, grant us the grace to perform miracles in your Holy Name. And that thus, all glory and all power will be yours, forever and ever.
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to thy name give glory, for the sake of thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness!” (Psalms 115:1)
Our Father, Holy Mary, Glory Be …
Holy Spirit, enlighten and help us!
Day 6: The Gift of Prophecy (audio file)
The gift of Prophecy is this spiritual charism which the Holy Spirit bestows on men and women to reveal the Will of God to people and to sometimes reveal the future in warning today of what we can expect tomorrow. Here, it is precisely and above all not the role of the prophet to engage in visions or magic, or to go into a trance …, but to be in harmony with God’s Will in obedience, to warn people by leading them back to order, to the essential, to make people take responsibility for their actions, to call people to conversion, then finally, to make them aware of the danger they are exposing themselves to, or the happiness that will come when they turn away from a bad direction or from an evil they are doing. It is not granted to just anybody to be a prophet; it is a gift; it is a grace. “And the Lord answered me: ‘Write the vision; make it plain upon tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its time; it hastens to the end — it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:2-3)
But be careful! Saint Peter warns us about possible deviations. No prophet may and must not go against sacred Scripture. “And we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. First of all, you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.” (2 Peter 1:19-20)
Holy Spirit, look favorably on our supplications and reveal to us God’s Holy Will for those for whom we ask the gift of prophesy.
Our Father, Holy Mary, Glory Be …
Holy Spirit, enlighten and help us!
Day 7: The Gift of Discernment of Spirits (audio file)
“But test everything; hold fast what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
Discernment is an operation of the Spirit which allows one to distinguish and more clearly and properly judge things, always separating the true from the false. Here, to be suitable for the discernment of spirits, implies the Holy Spirit’s action upon a servant who will aid in exposing the truth and differentiating with justice the Spirit in action in a work or a third party. It is a gift; it is a blessing of the Holy Spirit. It is bestowed on the simple and humble of heart. (Cf. Proverbs 1:4)
“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruits of righteousness, which come through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11)
Lord, grant us the grace of discernment of spirits so that we will never fall into the snares of the evil one, but that we conform in everything and everywhere to the Holy Will of God.
Our Father, Holy Mary, Glory Be …
Holy Spirit, enlighten and help us!
Day 8: The Gift of Tongues (audio file)
This religious term (from the Greek glossa and idiom and the Latin parole) indicates the faculty to speak, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, mysterious languages which call for an interpretation. (Theo, Catholic Encyclopedia for Everyone)
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in their own tongues the mighty works of God.” (Acts 2:1; 4-6; 9-11)
This is the gift of languages; this is glossolalia. This phenomenon, proclaimed by the apostles, makes it possible for each person in the audience to understand each the other in his or her own language. The Spirit, working in the Church and in the world, finds ways for us to benefit from his presence. His word, at the center of our lives, transforms our existence. “We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” (Acts 2:11)
When we understand the power and effect of communication, we can easily sense the impact of the word revealed. Speaking in tongues is thus something useful in order to enter into communication with an audience, but Saint Paul warns us to be vigilant. (Cf. 1 Corinthians 14:2-5)
Lord, grant us again today the gift of tongues so we may better understand you and bring your Scripture to the ends of the earth.
Our Father, Holy Mary, Glory Be …
Holy Spirit, enlighten and help us!
Day 9: The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues (audio file)
In fact, a person cannot ask for the gift of interpretation of tongues without the blessing of interpretation of words. Because the gift of interpretation of words is this aptitude given by the Paraclete to a person to clarify or explain what has been said, and give it sense and significance for the good of all the people. Before the manifestation of this clearly discernable gift of the Holy Spirit, dreams and great weather changes were interpreted. (Cf. Daniel 5:11-14, 17a.:25-26a)
“Now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how shall I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? There are doubtless many languages in the world, and none is without meaning; but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. So with yourselves; since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. Therefore, he who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret.” (1 Corinthians 14:6; 10-13)
“What then, brethren? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret.” (1 Corinthians 14:26-28)
Grant to your faithful, Oh Spirit of the Father and the Son, the gift of clairvoyance in consideration of a true and profound interpretation of the signs of this time which you reveal day after day, for the Glory of your Name and the salvation of mankind.
Our Father, Holy Mary, Glory Be …
Holy Spirit, enlighten and help us!
