Prayer to the Holy Spirit
For Christians, the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of the Holy Trinity: with the Father and the Son, they are one single God. The Spirit enables the relationship between the Father and the Son, as well as the relationship between God and mankind: “I shall ask the Father and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you forever” (John 14:16) says Jesus to us. Prayer to the Holy Spirit is thus a privileged way to welcome God into our heart for Him to work his masterpiece there.
Prayers to the Holy Spirit by Cardinals Verdier and Mercier
Among very numerous prayers to the Holy Spirit which exist, here are the prayers of Cardinal Verdier and of Cardinal Mercier. You can also find the Veni Creator Spiritus, the Veni Sancte Spiritus, and the prayer to the Holy Spirit by St John Paul II.
Prayer to the Holy Spirit by Cardinal Verdier
“Oh Holy Spirit, love of the Father and of the Son, inspire me always as to what to think, what to believe, what to pray, what to say, how to say it, what to keep quiet, what to write, what to do, how I must act to your Glory, to work for the salvation of mankind and my own sanctification. Amen.”
Prayer to the Holy Spirit by Cardinal Mercier
“Oh Holy Spirit, soul of my soul, I adore you! Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I must do, give me your orders. I promise that I will submit to all you desire of me and I will accept all that you will allow to happen to me. Only let me know your will. Amen.”
Why and When to Pray to the Holy Spirit?
To Be Filled with the Spirit of God
The Old Testament talks in several places of the “Spirit of God” by which the prophets are “anointed”. Jesus, the Messiah, is, for his part, perfectly anointed by this Spirit: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me...” (Luke 4:18)
Like Jesus and the prophets, we too are called by Christ to receive the Spirit of God. We receive him in a particular way at our baptism and each year during Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles of Christ. But we are also invited to welcome again the Holy Spirit in our life each day. That is why it is good to begin our daily prayer by a short invocation to the Holy Spirit, an invocation that we can renew several times a day in order to allow ourselves to be accompanied by God.
To receive the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit
To receive the Holy Spirit, is thus to receive God in us, who loves us infinitely and wishes to fill us with His graces. The Holy Spirit manifests in us like a force, he enables us to witness by thoughts, words and actions which manifest the action of God Himself. Through the symbols of the Holy Spirit, we understand better how he can work in us, the charisms he can bring us. The Church has formally set out seven gifts of the Holy Spirit:
- The gift of wisdom unites us to the will of God and renders us capable of manifesting his action.
- The gift of fear of God enables us to become aware of his greatness and astonishes us.
- The gift of piety reinforces our profound intimacy with the Lord.
- The gift of counsel makes us people of discernment.
- The gift of fortitude makes us brave and capable of witnesses to our faith.
- The gift of understanding enables us to understand the Word of God
- The gift of knowledge enables us to see the Work of God through creation and history.
Learn More about the Holy Spirit with Hozana
We can discover or rediscover and ask for the grace to receive these gifts in a particular way during the novena to the Holy Spirit, prayed by thousands of Christians each year during the nine days between Ascension and Pentecost. Do not hesitate to live this novena on Hozana, in communion with all the other people praying! You can also find other types of prayers to the Holy Spirit, such as the program RUAH—Breathe through me, Holy Spirit to help you learn more about the living water by studying His presence throughout the Bible.
