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Father of Light, 

from whom every good gift comes,

Send your Spirit into our lives

With the power of a mighty wind,

And by Flame of Your Wisdom

Open the horizons of our minds.

Loosen our tongues  to sing Your  praise

In words beyond the power of speech,

For without Your Spirit

Man could never raise his voice 

in words of peace

Or announce the Truth

That JESUS IS LORD,

Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

One GOD forever and ever.  Amen

Pentecost - Meditation and Prayer

Meditation

The Holy Spirit is God, and Third Person of the Holy Trinity, really God, the same as the Father and the Son are really God.  He is the love of the Father and the Son.

Christ promised that this Spirit of Truth would come and would remain within us  “I will ask the Father and He will give you another Paraclete—to be with you always: the Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot accept, since it neither sees Him nor recognizes Him: but you can recognize Him because He remains with you and will be within you” (John 14:16-17)

The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, never to depart.  Fifty days after Easter, on Pentecost Sunday, He changed the Apostles from weak fearful men to brave men of faith that Christ needed to spread His Gospel to the nations.

Pentecost the Holy Spirit Comes!

The Holy Spirit is present in a special way in the Church, the community of those who believe in Christ as Lord.  He helps the Church to continue the work of Christ in the world.   By His presence people are moved by His Grace to unite themselves with God and men in sincere love and to fulfill their duties to God and man.  He makes the Church pleasing to God because of the Divine life of grace which He gives.  By the power of the Gospel He makes the Church grow.  He renews it with His gifts, and leads it to perfect union with Jesus.

The Holy Spirit guides the Pope, bishops, and priests of the Church in their work of teaching Christ’s doctrine, guiding souls, and giving God’s grace to the people through the Sacraments.  He directs all thew work of Christ in the Church—the care of the sick, the teaching of children, the guidance of youth, the comforting of the sorrowful, the support of the needy.

We should honor the Holy Spirit by loving Him as our God and by letting Him guide us in life.  St. Paul reminds us to do so: “Are you not aware that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16)

Since the Holy Spirit is always with us if we are in the state of grace, we should often ask Him for the light and strength we need to live a holy life and to save our soul.

The Word of God

“I solemnly assure you, no one can enter into God’s Kingdom without being begotten of water and Spirit. Flesh begets flesh, Spirit begets spirit.”  Jn 3:5-6

“This much I have told you while I was still with you, the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit Whom the Father will send in My Name, will instruct you in everything, and remind you of all that I told you.”  Jn 14:25-26

“When the day of Pentecost came it found them gathered in one place.  Suddenly from up in the sky there came a noise like a strong, driving wind which was heard all through the house where they were seated. Tongues of fire appeared, which parted and came to rest on each of them.  All were filled with the Holy Spirit.  They began to express themselves in foreign tongues and make bold proclamation as the Spirit prompted them.”  Acts 2:1-4

“To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one the Spirit gives wisdom in discourse, to another the power to express knowledge.  Through the Spirit one receives faith; by the same Spirit another is given the gift of healing, and still another miraculous powers.  Prophecy is given to one; to another power to distinguish one spirit from another.  One receives the gift of tongues, another that of interpreting the tongues.  But is is one and the same Spirit Who produces all these gifts, distributing them to each as He wills.”  1 Cor 12:4-11

Come, Holy Spirit!!

Consecration

Holy Spirit, Divine Spirit of light and love, I consecrate to You my understanding, heart, and will, my whole being, for time and for eternity.  May my understanding be always submissive to Your heavenly inspirations and to the teaching of the Catholic Church, of which You are the infallible Guide.  May my heart be ever inflamed with the love of God and of my neighbor.  May my will be ever conformed to the Divine Will.  May my whole life be faithful to the imitation of the life and virtues of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to Whom with the Father and You be honor and glory forever.

God, Holy Spirit, Infinite Love of the Father and the Son, through the pure hands of Mary, Your Immaculate Spouse, I place myself this day, and all the days of the my life, upon Your chosen altar, consuming fire, being firmly resolved now more than ever to hear You voice and to do in all things Your most holy and adorable Will.

Pentecost Tongues of Fire -- Holy Spirit Come!

Come, Holy Spirit, Creator Blest!

Come, Holy Spirit, 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 do 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 o’erflow 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 true 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.

V.   Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created;

R.  And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.  God, You have taught the hearts of Your faithful people 

by sending them the light of Your Holy Spirit.  

Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things 

and evermore to rejoice in His Holy comfort.  

Through Christ our Lord.  

Amen.

Novena to the Holy Spirit (Starts 9 days before Pentecost)

Holy Spirit Novena Prayers

(starts 9 days before Pentecost)

Novena Prayer

Holy Spirit, third Person of the Blessed Trinity, Spirit of Truth, 

love and holiness, 

proceeding from the Father and the Son, 

and equal to Them in all things, I adore You and love You with all my heart.

Dearest Holy Spirit, 

confiding in Your deep, personal love for me, 

I am making this novena for the following request, 

if it should be Your holy Will to grant it: (Mention your request).

Teach me, Divine Spirit, 

to know and seek my last end; 

grant me the holy fear of God; 

grant me true contrition and patience.  

Do not let me fall into sin.  

Give me an increase of faith, 

hope and charity, and bring forth in my soul 

all the virtues proper to my state in life.

Make me a faithful disciple of Jesus 

and an obedient child of the Church.  

Give me efficacious grace sufficient 

to keep the Commandments and to receive the Sacraments worthily.  

Give me the four Cardinal Virtues, 

Your Seven Gifts, Your Twelve Fruits.  

Raise me to perfection in the state of life 

to which You have called me 

and lead me through a happy death 

to everlasting life.  

I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Blessed Spirit of Wisdom help me to seek God.  Make Him the center of my life and order my life to Him, so that love and harmony may reign in my soul.

Blessed Spirit of Understanding,, enlighten my mind, that I may know and love the truths of faith and make them truly my own.

Blessed Spirit of Counsel, enlighten and guide me in all my ways, that I may always know and do Your holy Will.  Make me prudent and courageous.

Blessed Spirit of Fortitude, uphold my soul in every time of trouble or adversity.  Make me loyal and confident.

Blessed Spirit of Knowledge, help me to know good from evil.  Teach me to do what is right in the sight of God.  Give me clear vision and firmness in decision.

Blessed Spirit of Piety, possess my heart, incline it to a true faith in You, to a hoy love of You, my God, that with my whole soul I may seek You, Who are my Father, and find You, my best, my truest joy.

Blessed Spirit of Holy Fear, penetrate my inmost heart that I may ever be mindful of Your presence.  Make me fly for sin, and give me the intense reverence for God and for my fellow men who are made in God’s image.

Prayer

Grant, we beg of You, Almighty God, that we may so please Your Holy Spirit by our earnest prayers, that we may, by His grace, be freed from all temptations and merit to receive the forgiveness of our sins.  Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for Healing your Family Tree

Prayer for Healing the Family Tree

By Fr. John Hampsch

Heavenly Father, I come before You as Your child, in great need of Your help; I have physical health needs, emotional needs, spiritual needs, and interpersonal needs.  Many of my problems have been caused by my own failures, neglect, and sinfulness, for which I humbly beg Your forgiveness, Lord.  But I also ask You to forgive the sins of my ancestors whose failures have left their effects on me in the form of unwanted tendencies, behaviour patterns, and defects in body, mind, and spirit.  Heal me, Lord, of all these disorders.

With Your help I sincerely forgive everyone, especially living or dead members of my family tree, who have directly offended me or my loved ones in any way, or those whose sins have resulted in our present sufferings and disorders.  In the name of Your Divine Son, Jesus, and in the power of His Holy Spirit, I ask You, Father, to deliver me and my entire family tree from the influence of the evil one.  Free all living and dead members of my family tree, including those in adoptive relationships and those in extended family relationships, from every contaminating form of bondage.  By Your loving concern for us, Heavenly Father, and by the shed blood of Your Precious Son, Jesus, I beg You to extend Your blessing to me and to all my living and deceased relatives.  Heal every negative effect transmitted through all past generations, and prevent such negative effects in future generations of my family tree.

I symbolically place the cross of Jesus over the head of each person in my family tree and between each generation; I ask You to let the cleansing blood of Jesus purify the bloodlines in my family lineage.  Set Your protective angels to encamp around us, and permit Archangel Raphael, the patron of healing, to administer Your divine healing power to all of us, even in areas of genetic disability.  Give special power to our family members’ guardian angels to heal, protect, guide, and encourage each of us in all our needs.  Let Your healing power be released at this very moment, and let it continue as long as Your sovereignty permits.

In our family tree, Lord, replace all bondage with a holy bonding in family love.  And let there be an ever-deeper bonding with You, Lord, by the Holy Spirit, to Your Son, Jesus.  Let the family of the Holy Trinity pervade our family with its tender, warm, loving presence, so that our family may recognize and manifest that love in all our relationships.  All of our unknown needs we include with this petition that we pray in Jesus’ precious name.  Amen.

St. Joseph, patron of family life, pray for us.

Excerpt from Church Militant Field Manual, Special Forces Training for the Life in Christ by Father Richard M. Heilman.  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK.  You can purchase online on the Church Militant.com website. 

Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit -- Do you have them?

PUT ON THE ARMOR OF GOD

The Glory Be prayer -- Why we pray it

THE GLORY BE PRAYER

The Very Words Of The Glory Be Prayer
Create A Reassuring Peacefulness

To him be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.
                                                                         -Rev. 1:6

The very words of the Glory Be Prayer of the Catholic Rosary create a reassuring peacefulness. 

The Greek word doxology refers to a simple prayer that praises God. The Letters of St. Paul in the New Testament are usually concluded with a doxology. Two such examples are

• "For of him, and by him, and in him, are all things: to him be glory for ever. Amen." -Romans 11:36
• "To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, unto all generations, world without end. Amen." -Ephesians 3:21

You can find Jesus' command to baptize all nations in St. Matthew's Gospel. Jesus uses the following phrase which acknowledges the relationship of the Blessed Trinity.

• "Going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." -Matthew 28:19

The Glory Be prayer continues by professing that God is everlasting. 

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit were one from the beginning of time and will continue to be forever. 

This is a Biblical truth and is supported by many passages in the New Testament. 

The phrase "glory forever" is repeated throughout the Letters of St. Paul as you can see from one of the above Bible verses. 

Such comfort and peace can come from the knowledge that God loves you and takes care of you. 

He has from the moment of your creation and will continue to forever. 

When you believe that God is in control of your life you can live in complete peace and security.

---

The History And Origin Of
The Glory Be Prayer

Many Catholic prayers, including the Glory Be prayer, were formed to combat false teachings.

This has brought much tranquility for Catholics - being able to confidently believe in the truths of God.

And, more importantly...

...knowing where to turn to find them.

As early as the year 300 Catholics began using the phrase, "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit".

This phrase became popular for two reasons.

• The first reason is because it is fitting to praise God in this form following the example Jesus gave when He instructed his followers go out and baptize. 

• And secondly to defend and promote the belief in the Blessed Trinity. The belief in three divine Persons in one God.

In the year 529 the second part of the prayer was added. "As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end."

This phrase was added to confirm that there truly are three Persons in one God.

That the Son and the Holy Spirit were one with the Father in the beginning, now and always will be. 

During that period up until present day, there have been two forms of this prayer. The short or minor prayer that is used in the Catholic Rosary prayers and the greater or major prayer which is prayed during Catholic Mass. 

It is a longer and more elaborate prayer which goes like this: 

Glory Be Prayer  Longer Version   Glory to God in the highest,  and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King,  almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks,  we praise you for your glory.  Lord Jesus Christ,  only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world:  have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand  of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One,  you alone are the Lord, You alone are the Most High,  Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit,  in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

By the 600s the Catholic Rosary prayer, the Glory Be Prayer, has been prayed in the exact form as you now pray it. 

It has always been a fitting prayer to use when ending a longer prayer form. 

Traditionally it was used at the end of the psalms and after a sermon and of course after each decade of the Rosary prayer. 


http://www.how-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com/glory-be-prayer.html

The Sign of the Cross +

Why Do Catholics Make the Sign of the Cross?

The following is taken from the May/June 2003 issue of the Oblates magazine, by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate

 "The Sign of the Cross is probably the most often used prayer of Christians and most likely the first prayer we learned as children. Despite its simplicity, the Sign of the Cross is an ancient prayer rich in meaning. References to it appear in writings dating back to 240 AD, and it is believed that it was in use during the earliest days of Christianity.

Initially the Sign of the Cross was made with thumb, usually on the forehead but sometimes on the lips and chest. This small Sign of the Cross was in common use by the end of the 4th century and is still used today at every Mass, with the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Anointing of the Sick. It also is used for marking the forehead with ashes on Ash Wednesday.

By the 6th century, people were using the first two fingers, held together to make a large Sign of the Cross, touching the forehead, chest, and shoulders. The two fingers symbolized the divine and human natures of Christ.

The use of three fingers became popular in the 9th century. The thumb and first two fingers were held outstretched together to symbolize the Trinity, while the remaining two fingers were bent to signify Christ's two natures. This form of the large Sign of the Cross is still used in Eastern Christian churches, where the right shoulder is touched before the left.

By the end of the Middle Ages, the Western Church had adopted the practice of making the large Sign of the Cross with an open hand and touching the left shoulder before the right. This is the form we Catholics continue to use today.

 

The Sign of the Cross is primarily a blessing. We use it to call God's blessing upon us. We also use it, in both large and small versions, to bless others or things, such as a rosary. When used in this way,the large Sign of the Cross is made in the air. Laypersons as well as clergy can use it to bless others. Parents,for example, may use the Sign of the Cross to bless their children.

When we make the Sign of the Cross upon ourselves, we are also expressing our belief in God and the Trinity. Through it, we remind ourselves of God's love for us, of the sacrifice Jesus made to give us eternal life, and of the presence of the Holy Spirit within us.

The Sign of the Cross also gives us a way to express our belief in Jesus' death and our hope in the Resurrection. We embrace the cross of Jesus and express our willingness to take up our own cross, all the while bursting with joyful hope in the Resurrection.

The routine at Mass of making the small Sign of the Cross on our foreheads, lips, and chest before the reading of the Gospel also has meaning. In doing this, we acknowledge our belief in the Word of God, our commitment to spread God's Word in our daily lives, and our awareness of God's presence in our hearts.

So while making the Sign of the Cross may sometimes seem like a routine action, it is not. It marks us as Christians and is a visible expression of our belief and hope in God."

http://www.stisidore-yubacity.org/signofthecross.htm

12 Articles of the Catholic Faith

The Twelve Articles of Catholic Faith

If you want to know the basics of the Catholic faith, look no further than the articles of Catholic faith. 

This list of twelve articles mirrors the Apostles' Creed, a prayer that sets out Catholic tenets:

  
 Article 1: 

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. 

 This affirms that God exists, that he's a Triune God (one God in three persons, known as the Holy Trinity), and that he created the known universe.

  

Article 2:  

(I Believe) and in 

Jesus Christ, 

his only Son, our Lord.  

This attests that Jesus is the Son of God and that he's most certainly divine. The word Lord implies divinity, because the Greek Kyrios and the Hebrew Adonai both mean "lord" and are ascribed only to God. So the use of Lord with Jesus is meant to profess his divinity. The name Jesus comes from the Hebrew Jeshua, meaning "God saves." So Catholics believe that Jesus is Savior.

       

                  

Article 3:  

Who was conceived by the power 

of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.  

This affirms the human nature of Christ, meaning he had a real, true human mother, and also affirms his divine nature, meaning he had no human father but by the power of the Holy Spirit was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He's therefore considered both God and man by Christians—fully divine and fully human.

 

Article 4: 

He suffered under Pontius Pilate,

 

  

was crucified,  

died,

   

and 

was buried. 

 

The human nature of Christ could feel pain and actually die, and he did on Good Friday. The mention of Pontius Pilate by name wasn't meant so much to vilify him forever in history but to place the Crucifixion within human history.

Reference is made to an actual historical person, the Roman governor of Judea, appointed by Caesar, to put the life and death of Jesus within a chronological and historical context. 

It also reminds the faithful that one can't blame all Jews for the death of Jesus, as some have erroneously done over the ages.

Certain Jewish leaders conspired against Jesus, but the actual death sentence was given by a Roman and carried out by Roman soldiers. So both Jew and Gentile alike shared in the spilling of innocent blood. Anti-Semitism based on the Crucifixion of Jesus is inaccurate, unjust, and erroneous.

Christ decended to the Dead

Article 5:  

He descended into hell.  

The hell Jesus descended into wasn't the hell of the damned, where Jews and Christians believe the devil and his demons reside.  

Hell was merely aword that Jews and early Christians used to describe the place of the dead.

 On the 

third day 

he arose again 

from the dead.

   

This passage affirms that on the third day he rose, meaning Jesus came back from the dead of his own divine power. 

He wasn't just clinically dead for a few minutes; he was dead dead — then he rose from the dead.  (it was 3 days)

 More than a resuscitated corpse, 

Jesus possessed a glorified and risen body.

 Article 6: 

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.  

 The Ascension reminds the faithful that after the human and divine natures of Christ were united in the Incarnation, they could never be separated. In other words, after the saving death and Resurrection, Jesus didn't dump his human body as if he didn't need it anymore. Catholicism teaches that his human body will exist forever. Where Jesus went, body and soul, into heaven, the faithful hope one day to follow.

 



Article 7:  

He will come again to judge the living and the dead.  

This article affirms the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the world to be its judge. Judgment Day, Day of Reckoning, Doomsday—they're all metaphors for the end of time when what's known as the General Judgment will occur. Catholics believe that after the death of any human person, immediate private judgment occurs and the person goes directly to heaven, hell, or purgatory (an intermediate place in preparation for heaven). 

Holy Spirit depicted by the Dove

Article 8:  

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

This part reminds the believer that God exists in three persons — the Holy Trinity — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. What's referred to as the Force in the movie Star Wars isn't the same as the Holy Spirit, who is a distinct person equal to the other two — God the Father and God the Son.

 

Vatican City The Seat of Peter , Rome

                                  

Article 9:  

the holy catholic Church, 

 

Christ and the Communion of Saints

the Communion of Saints,  

Catholics believe that the Church is more than a mere institution and certainly not a necessary evil. It's an essential dimension and aspect of spiritual life. Christ explicitly uses the word church (ekklesia in Greek) in Matthew 16 when he says, "I will build My Church."

 
  

Article 10: 

the forgiveness of sins,  

Christ came to save the world from sin. Belief in the forgiveness of sins is essential to Christianity. Catholicism believes sins are forgiven in Baptism and in the Sacrament of Penance.

 

Signorelli's depiction of the Resurrection of the Dead

Article 11: 

the resurrection of the body,  

From the Catholic perspective, a human being is a union of body and soul, so death is just the momentary separation of body and soul until the end of the world, the Second Coming of Christ, the General Judgment, and the resurrection of the dead. The just go, body and soul, into heaven, and the damned go, body and soul, into hell.

Article 12:

   

And in life everlasting. 

As Christ Our Savior died, 

so, too, 

must mere mortals. 

As he rose, so shall all human beings. 

Death is the only way to cross 

from this life into the next. 

 

  

At the very moment of death, 

private judgment occurs; Christ judges the soul:

           

  




 

 * If it's particularly holy and virtuous, the soul goes directly to heaven.

            

 

* If it's evil and wicked and dies in mortal sin, it's damned for eternity in hell.

 

* If a person lived a life not bad enough to warrant hell but not holy enough to go right to heaven, 

Catholics believe the soul goes to purgatory, which is a middle ground between heaven and earth, a state where departed souls want to go to be cleansed of any attachments to sin before going through the pearly gates.

Taken from Catholicism For Dummies.  From Catholicism For Dummies, 2nd Edition by Rev. John Trigilio, Jr., Rev. Kenneth Brighenti "Cheat Sheet"

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/catholicism-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

More Answers on the Catholic Faith see Rev. Kenneth Brighenti - Catholicism Answer Book 
http://www.scribd.com/archive/plans?doc=48887273http://www.scribd.com/doc/48887273/Brighenti-Catholicism-Answer-Book