The Bride of Christ, His Mystical Body is born on Pentecost
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Pentecost Sunday__The birthday of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ
Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death: By asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor sinners and we address ourselves to the “Mother of Mercy,” the All-Holy One. We give ourselves over to her now, in the Today of our lives. And our trust broadens further, already at the present moment, to surrender “the hour of our death” wholly to her care. May she be there as she was at her son’s death on the cross. May she welcome us as our mother at the hour of our passing38 to lead us to her son, Jesus, in paradise.
- 2678 Medieval piety in the West developed the prayer of the rosary as a popular substitute for the Liturgy of the Hours. In the East, the litany called the Akathistos and the Paraclesis remained closer to the choral office in the Byzantine churches, while the Armenian, Coptic, and Syriac traditions preferred popular hymns and songs to the Mother of God. But in the Ave Maria, the theotokia, the hymns of St. Ephrem or St. Gregory of Narek, the tradition of prayer is basically the same.
- 2679 Mary is the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men. Like the beloved disciple we welcome Jesus’ mother into our homes,39 for she has become the mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her. The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope.40
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Day Nine COME HOLY SPIRIT! 5.10.08
Saturday, May 10: God promises to send the Holy Spirit
Luke 11:9-13
CCC 2671-72.
Let us pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all married couples, families, and on our elderly.
Luke
Chapter 11
- 9
- “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
- 10
- For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
- 11
- What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?
- 12
- Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
- 13
- If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit 5 to those who ask him?”
If the Spirit should not be worshiped, how can he divinize me through Baptism? If he should be worshiped, should he not be the object of adoration?22
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love.25Heavenly King, Consoler Spirit, Spirit of Truth, present everywhere and filling all things, treasure of all good and source of all life, come dwell in us, cleanse and save us, you who are All-Good.26
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Day Eight LOVE 5.9.08
Friday, May 9: Love
1 Corinthians 12:31, 13
CCC 1822-23.
Let us pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our clergy, for vocations to the priesthood & religious life, on those in training for religious vocations
1 Corinthians
Chapter 12: 31
31 Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way.
1 Corinthians
Chapter 13
1 If I speak in human and angelic tongues 2 but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
- 2
- And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
- 3
- If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
- 4
- 3 Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated,
- 5
- it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
- 6
- it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
- 7
- It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
- 8
- 4 Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
- 9
- For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
- 10
- but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
- 11
- When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
- 12
- At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
- 13
- 5 So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
CCC Charity
1822 Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.
1823 Jesus makes charity the new commandment.96 By loving his own “to the end,”97 he makes manifest the Father’s love which he receives. By loving one another, the disciples imitate the love of Jesus which they themselves receive. Whence Jesus says: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.” And again: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”98
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Day Seven COUNSEL 5.8.08
Thursday, May 8: Counsel/ Right judgement
Proverbs 8:10-15
CCC 1806.
Let us pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit on those serving in the military and on their families.
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Proverbs
Chapter 8
Proverbs
Chapter 8
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Day Six FEAR of the LORD 5.07.08
Wednesday, May 7: Fear of the Lord
Proverbs. 8:13, 1:2-7
CCC 1303
Let us pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit to lead us to humble repentance, deeper conversion and transformation.
Proverbs
Chapter 8
13 (The fear of the LORD is to fate evil); Pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate.
Chapter 1
- 1 The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel:
- 2 That men may appreciate wisdom and discipline, may understand words of intelligence;
- 3
- May receive training in wise conduct, in what is right, just and honest;
- 4
- That resourcefulness may be imparted to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
- 5
- A wise man by hearing them will advance in learning, an intelligent man will gain sound guidance,
- 6
- That he may comprehend proverb and parable, the words of the wise and their riddles.
- 7
- The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; wisdom and instruction fools despise.
CCC 1303
- it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, “Abba! Father!”;117
- it unites us more firmly to Christ;
- it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
- it renders our bond with the Church more perfect;118
- it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross:119
- Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear in God’s presence. Guard what you have received. God the Father has marked you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts.
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Day Five FORTITUDE 5.6.08
Tuesday, May 6: Fortitude/Courage
Ps 31:19-24
CCC 1808.
Let us pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit on those with significant health challenges, the unemployed and underemployed, on all those in great need.
Chapter 31
CCC 1808 Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. “The Lord is my strength and my song.”70 Ps 118:14. “In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”71 (Jn 16:33.
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Day Four PIETY 5.5.08
Monday, May 5: Piety/Reverence for God and His Creation
1 Peter 3:15a
CCC 2144
Let us pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our single adults and college students.
Chapter 3
Are these feelings of fear and awe Christian feelings or not? . . . I say this, then, which I think no one can reasonably dispute. They are the class of feelings we should have—yes, have to an intense degree—if we literally had the sight of Almighty God; therefore they are the class of feelings which we shall have, if we realize His presence. In proportion as we believe that He is present, we shall have them; and not to have them, is not to realize, not to believe that He is present.75
Chapter 3
Footnotes[1-6] The typical marital virtues of women of the ancient world, obedience, reverence, and chastity (1 Peter 3:1-2), are outlined here by the author, who gives them an entirely new motivation: Christian wives are to be virtuous so that they may be instrumental in the conversion of their husbands. In imitation of holy women in the past (1 Peter 3:5) they are to cultivate the interior life (1 Peter 3:4) instead of excessive concern with their appearance (1 Peter 3:3). [7] Husbands who do not respect their wives will have as little success in prayer as those who, according to Paul, have no love: their prayers will be “a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal” (1 Cor 13:1). Consideration for others is shown as a prerequisite for effective prayer also in Matthew 5:23-24; 1 Cor 11:20-22; James 4:3. After all, whatever the social position of women in the world and in the family, they are equal recipients of the gift of God’s salvation. Paul is very clear on this point, too (see 1 Cor 11:11-12; Gal 3:28). [8-12] For the proper ordering of Christian life in its various aspects as described in 1 Peter 2:11-3:9, there is promised the blessing expressed in Psalm 34:13-17. In the Old Testament this refers to longevity and prosperity; here, it also refers to eternal life.
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Day Three WIDSOM 5.4.08
Sunday, May 4: Wisdom
Proverbs 3:13-18, 2:1-10.
Let us pray for a greater outpouring of the Spirit upon the entire Church.
Proverbs
Chapter 3
Chapter 2
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Day Two KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDING 5.3.08
Saturday, May 3: Knowledge and Understanding
Hosea 4,6. Proverbs 8:1-12
CCC 728-29.
Let us pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Hosea
Chapter 4
- 1
- Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel, for the LORD has a grievance against the inhabitants of the land: There is no fidelity, no mercy, no knowledge of God in the land.
- 2
- False swearing, lying, murder, stealing and adultery! in their lawlessness, bloodshed follows bloodshed.
- 3
- Therefore the land mourns, and everything that dwells in it languishes: The beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and even the fish of the sea perish.
- 4
- But let no one protest, let no one complain; with you is my grievance, O priests!
- 5
- You shall stumble in the day, and the prophets shall stumble with you at night; I will destroy your mother.
- 6
- My people perish for want of knowledge! Since you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from my priesthood; Since you have ignored the law of your God, I will also ignore your sons.
- 7
- One and all they sin against me, exchanging their glory for shame.
- 8
- They feed on the sin of my people, and are greedy for their guilt.
- 9
- The priests shall fare no better than the people: I will punish them for their ways, and repay them for their deeds.
- 10
- They shall eat but not be satisfied, they shall play the harlot but not increase, Because they have abandoned the LORD
- 11
- to practice harlotry. Old wine and new deprive my people of understanding.
- 12
- They consult their piece of wood, and their wand makes pronouncements for them, For the spirit of harlotry has led them astray; they commit harlotry, forsaking their God.
- 13
- On the mountaintops they offer sacrifice and on the hills they burn incense, Beneath oak and poplar and terebinth, because of their pleasant shade. That is why your daughters play the harlot, and your daughters-in-law are adulteresses.
- 14
- Am I then to punish your daughters for their harlotry, your daughters-in-law for their adultery? You yourselves consort with harlots, and with prostitutes you offer sacrifice! So must a people without understanding come to ruin.
- 15
- Though you play the harlot, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty! Come not to Gilgal, nor up to Beth-aven, to swear, “As the Lord lives!”
- 16
- For Israel is as stubborn as a heifer; will the LORD now give them broad pastures as though they were lambs?
- 17
- Ephraim is an associate of idols, let him alone!
- 18
- When their carousing is over, they give themselves to harlotry; in their arrogance they love shame.
- 19
- The wind has bound them up in its pinions; they shall have only shame from their altars.
- Hosea
Chapter 6- 1
- In their affliction, they shall look for me: “Come, let us return to the LORD, For it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.
- 2
- He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence.
- 3
- Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.”
- 4
- What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away.
- 5
- For this reason I smote them through the prophets, I slew them by the words of my mouth;
- 6
- For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than holocausts.
- 7
- But they, in their land, violated the covenant; there they were untrue to me.
- 8
- Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood.
- 9
- As brigands ambush a man, a band of priests slay on the way to Shechem, committing monstrous crime.
- 10
- In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing: there harlotry is found in Ephraim, Israel is defiled.
- 11
- For you also, O Judah, a harvest has been appointed.
- Proverbs
Chapter 8 - 1
- 1 Does not Wisdom call, and Understanding raise her voice?
- 2
- On the top of the heights along the road, at the crossroads she takes her stand;
- 3
- By the gates at the approaches of the city, in the entryways she cries aloud:
- 4
- “To you, O men, I call; my appeal is to the children of men.
- 5
- 2 You simple ones, gain resource, you fools, gain sense.
- 6
- “Give heed! for noble things I speak; honesty opens my lips.
- 7
- 3 Yes, the truth my mouth recounts, but the wickedness my lips abhor.
- 8
- Sincere are all the words of my mouth, no one of them is wily or crooked;
- 9
- All of them are plain to the man of intelligence, and right to those who attain knowledge.
- 10
- Receive my instruction in preference to silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold.
- 11
- (For Wisdom is better than corals, and no choice possessions can compare with her.)
- 12
- “I, Wisdom, dwell with experience, and judicious knowledge I attain.
CCC 728 Jesus does not reveal the Holy Spirit fully, until he himself has been glorified through his Death and Resurrection. Nevertheless, little by little he alludes to him even in his teaching of the multitudes, as when he reveals that his own flesh will be food for the life of the world.110 He also alludes to the Spirit in speaking to Nicodemus,111 to the Samaritan woman,112 and to those who take part in the feast of Tabernacles.113 To his disciples he speaks openly of the Spirit in connection with prayer114 and with the witness they will have to bear.115
CCC 729 Only when the hour has arrived for his glorification does Jesus promise the coming of the Holy Spirit, since his Death and Resurrection will fulfill the promise made to the fathers.116 The Spirit of truth, the other Paraclete, will be given by the Father in answer to Jesus’ prayer; he will be sent by the Father in Jesus’ name; and Jesus will send him from the Father’s side, since he comes from the Father. The Holy Spirit will come and we shall know him; he will be with us for ever; he will remain with us. The Spirit will teach us everything, remind us of all that Christ said to us and bear witness to him. The Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth and will glorify Christ. He will prove the world wrong about sin, righteousness, and judgment.
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