PRAYER: Novena To The Holy Spirit—Day Four, Patience, by Philip Bochanski
Praying With Saint Philip Neri For An Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit
From: Novena to the Holy Spirit
Hymn: Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest,
And in our souls take up your rest;
Come with your grace and Heavenly aid
To fill the hearts which you have made.
O Comforter, to you we cry,
O Heavenly gift of God Most High,
O fount of life and fire of love,
And sweet anointing from above.
You in your sevenfold gifts are known;
You, finger of God’s hand we own;
You, promise of the Father, you
Who do the tongue with power imbue.
Kindle our senses from above,
And make our hearts overflow with love;
With patience firm and virtue high
The weakness of our flesh supply.
Far from us drive the foe we dread,
And grant us your peace instead;
So shall we not, with you for guide,
Turn from the path of life aside.
Oh, may your grace on us bestow
The Father and the Son to know;
And you, through endless times confessed,
Of both the eternal Spirit blest.
Now to the Father and the Son,
Who rose from death, be glory given,
With you, O holy Comforter,
Henceforth by all in Earth and Heaven.
Amen.
Antiphon
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and they will be created.
And you will renew the face of the Earth.
Prayer
Father, the grace of your Holy Spirit gives us courage to endure all things. Strengthen our hearts, that like Saint Philip, we may patiently endure every trial, and persevere in doing your will. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Reading
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the Earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You, too, must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. (James 5:7-8)
Responsory
The love of God has been poured into our hearts. Alleluia.
By his Spirit living in us, alleluia.
Meditation
The way that Saint Philip dealt with his own illnesses, which were many, points us to another fruit that the Spirit bore in his life: namely, patience. The Vulgate translation of the scriptures adds another fruit here, called long-suffering, and Saint Thomas distinguishes the two in this way: Each, he says, refer to the ability of the mind not to be disturbed. Patience, properly so-called, endures when evil threatens; long-suffering perseveres when good things are delayed. Both aspects of patience were central to Saint Philip’s spirituality. “The great matter,” he insisted over and over, “is to persevere.”
Certainly patience is necessary in the midst of physical suffering – “Resignation is all in all to the sick man;” – but it applies equally to spiritual tribulations, persecutions, and misunderstandings as well. Saint Philip was no stranger to this kind of suffering: on more than one occasion those who misunderstood his efforts or were jealous of his success (often the same people) went out of their way to make life difficult for him, even going so far as to report him to the Holy See as a suspected heretic. Each time he was vindicated and given reassurance, often by the Holy Father himself, but the hurt was real. Still, he saw everything he suffered as part of God’s plan, and welcomed it with love. “There is no surer or clearer proof of the love of God than adversity,” he advised. “Tribulations, if we bear them patiently for the love of God, appear bitter at first, but they grow sweet when one gets accustomed to the taste.”
He likewise advised his penitents to make patience and long-suffering a part of their prayer life: “We must not give up praying because we do not receive what we ask for all at once.” Not only did they need to have patience when asking something from God and waiting for it to be fulfilled, but they ought, he said, to make perseverance itself the object of their request. “Among the things we ought to ask of God is perseverance in well-doing and in serving the Lord, because, if we only have patience and persevere in the good life we have begun to lead, we shall acquire a most eminent degree of spirituality. We must often remember what Christ said, that not he who begins, but he who perseveres to the end, shall be saved.”
Litany of Saint Philip
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of Virgins, pray for us.
Saint Philip, pray for us.
Vessel of the Holy Ghost, pray for us.
Child of Mary, pray for us.
Apostle of Rome, pray for us.
Counsellor of Popes, pray for us.
Voice of prophecy, pray for us.
Man of primitive times, pray for us.
Winning saint, pray for us.
Hidden hero, pray for us.
Sweetest of Fathers, pray for us.
Flower of purity, pray for us.
Martyr of charity, pray for us.
Heart of fire, pray for us.
Discerner of spirits, pray for us.
Choicest of priests, pray for us.
Mirror of the divine life, pray for us.
Pattern of humility, pray for us.
Example of simplicity, pray for us.
Light of holy joy, pray for us.
Image of childhood, pray for us.
Picture of old age, pray for us.
Director of souls, pray for us.
Gentle guide of youth, pray for us.
Patron of thy own, pray for us.
Who didst observe chastity in thy youth, pray for us.
Who didst seek Rome by divine guidance, pray for us.
Who didst hide so long in the Catacombs, pray for us.
Who didst receive the Holy Ghost into thy heart, pray for us.
Who didst experience such wonderful ecstasies, pray for us.
Who didst so lovingly serve the little ones, pray for us.
Who didst wash the feet of pilgrims, pray for us.
Who didst ardently thirst after martyrdom, pray for us.
Who didst distribute the daily word of God, pray for us.
Who didst turn so many hearts to God, pray for us.
Who didst converse so sweetly with Mary, pray for us.
Who didst raise the dead, pray for us.
Who didst set up thy houses in all lands, pray for us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Remember thy Congregation.
Which thou hast possessed from the beginning.
O God, who hast exalted blessed Philip, your Confessor, in the glory of your saints, grant that, as we rejoice in his commemoration, so we may profit by the example of his virtues, through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done
on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Doxology
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Concluding Prayer
Heavenly Father, hear the prayers that we make in the name of your son, and give us the Paraclete whom he promised you would send. May your love for us give us strength to respond to you, and to bear fruit in our love for you and for our neighbor. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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