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Over the next 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 5
• Has God's Spirit compelled me
in my heart, my mind, my imagination?
How has God's Spirit nudged, prodded, urged me
in a particular direction?
Where did that nudge point me? in what direction?
Have I followed where I believe the Spirit was leading me?
• Are there times when I yield to the prompting of the Spirit in my life?
Are there times when I resist or put off
what what the Spirit asks of me?
Do I have a desire to follow where the Spirit leads me?
What's my experience when I take my own path, not the Spirit's way?
• What experiences in my past encourage me to follow
where the Spirit leads me?
What doubts or fears keep me from trusting and following
the movement of the Spirit in my mind and heart?
• "Imprisonment" on account of following the Spirit
is not too likely in my future,
but what hardships might come
from following more faithfully where the Spirit beckons?
Do those hardships keep me from going where the Lord leads me?
• Have here been times when following the Spirit's lead
has brought me peace and a sense of well-being,
even if some hardship was involved?
• What shall I pray for the Church today?
I pray for the Church to follow faithfully where the Spirit leads,
even when that fidelity brings with it a share of hardship...
I pray for the Church to respect and reverence
those who bear their share of hardship in being faithful
to the path the Spirit maps for them...
I pray for the Church to open itself to the Spirit who moves always
freely, powerfully, peacefully: in truth and with mercy...
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...
I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks
to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus.
But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem.
What will happen to me there I do not know,
except that in one city after another
the Holy Spirit has been warning me
that imprisonment and hardships await me.
Yet I consider life of no importance to me,
if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,
to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace.
Acts 20:17-27
For reflection...
I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks
to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus.
But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem.
What will happen to me there I do not know,
except that in one city after another
the Holy Spirit has been warning me
that imprisonment and hardships await me.
Yet I consider life of no importance to me,
if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,
to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace.
Acts 20:17-27
For reflection...
• Has God's Spirit compelled me
in my heart, my mind, my imagination?
How has God's Spirit nudged, prodded, urged me
in a particular direction?
Where did that nudge point me? in what direction?
Have I followed where I believe the Spirit was leading me?
• Are there times when I yield to the prompting of the Spirit in my life?
Are there times when I resist or put off
what what the Spirit asks of me?
Do I have a desire to follow where the Spirit leads me?
What's my experience when I take my own path, not the Spirit's way?
• What experiences in my past encourage me to follow
where the Spirit leads me?
What doubts or fears keep me from trusting and following
the movement of the Spirit in my mind and heart?
• "Imprisonment" on account of following the Spirit
is not too likely in my future,
but what hardships might come
from following more faithfully where the Spirit beckons?
Do those hardships keep me from going where the Lord leads me?
• Have here been times when following the Spirit's lead
has brought me peace and a sense of well-being,
even if some hardship was involved?
• What shall I pray for the Church today?
I pray for the Church to follow faithfully where the Spirit leads,
even when that fidelity brings with it a share of hardship...
I pray for the Church to respect and reverence
those who bear their share of hardship in being faithful
to the path the Spirit maps for them...
I pray for the Church to open itself to the Spirit who moves always
freely, powerfully, peacefully: in truth and with mercy...
• 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...
When I tend towards relying on own counsel,
open me to follow where you lead,
even when I'm not sure of the way...
When I'm tempted to take the easy road, the path of least resistance,
give me the courage to walk the way you've marked out for me...
When I'm lazy or slow to listen for your voice in my heart,
speak with power and ignite within me the determination
to do what is just, to love what is good
and to walk humbly with my God...
When I tend towards relying on own counsel,
open me to follow where you lead,
even when I'm not sure of the way...
When I'm tempted to take the easy road, the path of least resistance,
give me the courage to walk the way you've marked out for me...
When I'm lazy or slow to listen for your voice in my heart,
speak with power and ignite within me the determination
to do what is just, to love what is good
and to walk humbly with my God...
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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