Come, Holy Spirit Novena Day 9

Scripture

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses…” (Acts 1:8)

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31)

“For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and sound judgment.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Meditation

Before ascending to Heaven, Jesus told His disciples to go into all the world making disciples, but then He told them to wait! Wait for what? Jesus said, “I am going to send what my Father has promised. [Wait] until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Later Jesus clarified what He meant by “the Father’s promise.” He said, “Wait for the gift my Father has promised…. In a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses…” (See Acts 1:4-8.)

The Father’s promise Jesus spoke about was the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Repeatedly Jesus draws the connection between the baptism of the Holy Spirit and power. What is God giving us power to do? Ultimately, the Holy Spirit gives us the power to receive the Father’s love and then to love God and others with His love. The person who has experienced a baptism in the Holy Spirit, as a new Pentecost, knows (sometimes very suddenly) that Jesus is alive, that He is Lord, and that He is an intimate God! Love between the Creator and the creature flows and overflows.

God’s love in us overflows to others. Jesus baptized His disciples with the Holy Spirit and gave them power so they would be His witnesses. God gives us the same power of the Holy Spirit, that we may love others enough to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel to them with boldness. God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of love, power, and sound judgment. Our mission, as the Church of Jesus Christ, is to evangelize. And we can only truly evangelize by the power of the Holy Spirit since it is He who prepares us and paves the way for us. As Pope Paul VI said, “The Holy Spirit is the principal agent of evangelization,” since “it is He who impels each individual to proclaim the Gospel, and it is He who in the depths of consciences causes the word of salvation to be accepted and understood.” 

Prayer

Holy Spirit, baptize me as You did the disciples on the day of Pentecost so that I will be filled with power and love to be Your witness here on earth. I renounce my timidity, in the name of Jesus. Make me bold so that I can proclaim Your name as the disciples of the early Church did. Thank you, Father, because You are faithful to do as You promised. Amen

Traditional prayer invoking the Holy Spirit: Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

Meditation and first prayer by Adriana Gonzalez