Submit
Your Intentions - 9 Holy Masses, May 27th - June 4th
Dear Friend,
Ideally, when you and I give a gift, we do so
without expecting anything in return…
Because a gift is not a real gift when it includes the notion
of obligation. But still, there is engrained in us a general
confidence that the gift will be received with gratitude and even, I
might add, that it will be used well.
The same is true for you and me when the Holy Ghost imparts
to us His gifts. Without question or agreement, the Third Person of
the Blessed Trinity generously infuses in us His sublime gifts at our
Baptism. It is our Catholic duty to receive them with gratitude and to
develop these Heavenly treasures wisely. A soldier is trained to know
the instincts of his commander and follow his lead for success in
battle. So too, we as Soldiers
of Christ are given the grace through the Seven Gifts of the Holy
Spirit to recognize the inspirations of the Holy Spirit and follow
them to defeat the Devil’s base aspirations for us and
the world. Our spiritual lives are
gloriously enriched by this outpouring because it is the Holy Spirit
who incites every salutary activity in us.
We must be on our guard so we do not fall prey to the subtle
whispers of the spirit of the world, which are in stark contrast to
the Holy Spirit’s promptings. Into our own homes which should be
domiciles of virtue, an influx of temptations to the spirit of the
world has arisen. Our hearts and souls become disquieted by rampaging
materialism. Before we know it, the media and entertainment of our
secular culture sways us to believe that the moral teachings of the
Church are flexible, that perhaps Scripture is true, but does not
really apply to us in our circumstances.
My friend, we need the spiritual inspirations of the Divine
now more than ever. We must deepen our understanding of them. We must
advance them in our daily life. We must answer their gentle promptings
for sanctity in our lives.
For this reason, I want to invite you to pray with me
a Pentecost Novena to the Holy Spirit, asking for each of His Seven
Gifts to flourish in our souls, so we can respond generously to His
will!
Today, we began Day One of the Pentecost Novena:
This Novena to the Holy Spirit will be prayed from
May 27th until June 4th. Nine Holy Masses will also be offered on
those same
days. *If
you have not done so, please submit your
intentions so that you will continue
to receive the novena prayers each
day:
Upon Jesus’s command, Our Lady, the Apostles, and
disciples said the first novena by praying for nine days in the upper
room for the coming of the Holy Spirit. May God bless you
and your loved ones.
Your friend in Jesus and
Mary,
Thomas J. McKenna Founder and President
Catholic Action For Faith And Family http://www.catholicaction.org/
P.S. - We pray
during this Novena for the ordinary gifts which
help us fulfill our state in life. Lumen Gentium 12 said of the extraordinary charismatic gifts: ". . . they are not to
be rashly sought, nor should one presumptuously expect of them the
fruits of the apostolic works; but the judgment as to whether or not
they are genuine, and as to their ordered use pertains to those who
are in charge in the Church…”
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