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Over this week, we'll be using a novena for our Praying 10 minutes a day. (After Pentecost Sunday, May 27, we'll return to the usual format.) The oldest novena is the prayer of the first disciples (Mary, the apostles and other believers) from the time Jesus ascended to his Father (40 days after Easter) to the feast of Pentecost. These nine days are a time for us to pray for the coming of the Spirit upon the Church and upon each of us. Each day of the novena you will find a post with scripture and prayer for that day.
Praying 10 minutes today...
Novena to the Holy Spirit - Day 8
Find a quiet time and place to pray...
take a few deep breaths...
be still and know that God is near..
A word to reflect on...
After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples
and eaten breakfast with them,
he said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John,
do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him,
“Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Simon Peter answered him,
“Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed
that he had said to him a third time,
“Do you love me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you
know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted;
but when you grow old,
you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death
he would glorify God.
And when he had said this, he said to him,
“Follow me.”
John 21:15-19
For reflection...
• Peter had three times denied that he knew Jesus at all
After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples
and eaten breakfast with them,
he said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John,
do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him,
“Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Simon Peter answered him,
“Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed
that he had said to him a third time,
“Do you love me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you
know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted;
but when you grow old,
you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death
he would glorify God.
And when he had said this, he said to him,
“Follow me.”
John 21:15-19
For reflection...
• Peter had three times denied that he knew Jesus at all
and now three times affirms his love for Christ:
how, like Peter, do I sometimes love and sometimes deny
the Lord who always loves me?
• It's not always easy to own up to my denial of Christ:
• It's not always easy to own up to my denial of Christ:
might I ask the Spirit today for the courage and knowledge I need
to be honest with the Lord and with myself?
• The Holy Spirit never stops calling me from sin to grace:
• The Holy Spirit never stops calling me from sin to grace:
how might the Spirit be calling, leading me today?
• As Christ called Peter, so he calls me every day to follow him...
• As Christ called Peter, so he calls me every day to follow him...
What wisdom do I need from the Spirit to help me see
where the Lord calls me to follow today?
• What shall I pray for the Church today?
• What shall I pray for the Church today?
I'll pray that the Church, with the Spirit's grace,
will own its failures and seek to follow Christ more perfectly...
I'll pray that the Church, in its mission and ministry,
will draw others to confess their love of Jesus
and follow him more faithfully...
I'll pray that with the Church I will feed and nourish, body and soul,
all those entrusted by Christ to my care
and the care of the people of God...
• The Gifts of the Holy Spirit (as they are named in the Rite of Confirmation) include: wisdom... the spirit of understanding and right judgment... courage... the spirit of knowledge and reverence... and the spirit of wonder and awe in God's presence...
For which of these gifts will I pray today?
Let us pray:
Let us pray:
Come, Holy Spirit
to this time of prayer, this quiet time
and in the stillness, let me know your presence and your power...
Give us the courage
to stand in the light of God's truth
and to confess our infidelities.
Draw your Church,
your ministers and your people,
to the font of God's mercy
where our sins are washed away.
Give us the wisdom to understand
that nothing can come between us
and the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Give us confidence to surrender to God's mercy:
melt our hardened hearts,
shaping them as you made them to be.
Come, Holy Spirit,
Give us the courage
to stand in the light of God's truth
and to confess our infidelities.
Draw your Church,
your ministers and your people,
to the font of God's mercy
where our sins are washed away.
Give us the wisdom to understand
that nothing can come between us
and the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Give us confidence to surrender to God's mercy:
melt our hardened hearts,
shaping them as you made them to be.
Come, Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your people
and kindle in us the fire of your love...
Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created
and you will renew the face of the earth...
(Look to the top of the sidebar and choose one of the 24 songs on the widget as part of your 10 minutes of prayer today...)
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