WEEK OF PRAYER IN PREPARATION FOR PENTECOST
In preparation for the Solemnity of Pentecost, CHARIS proposes a week of prayer to join in invoking the Holy Spirit and a new outpouring on the Church and the world. We suggest that participants in this initiative devote at least 15 minutes of personal prayer each day, in the privacy of their homes or in a chapel – according to their possibilities, – concluding their prayer with the Veni Creator Spiritus.
To help you on this path, we propose a text from the Word of God to meditate on each day with a brief commentary to help you in your prayer.
In addition, we propose that you pray every day of the week for Christian unity, simply following your inspiration as the Holy Spirit prompts you to do
Veni, creátor Spíritus,
mentes tuòrum vísita,
imple supérna grátia,
quæ tu creásti péctora.
Qui díceris Paráclitus,
altíssimi donum Dei,
fons vivus, ignis, cáritas,
et spiritális únctio.
Tu septifòrmis múnere,
dígitus patérnæ déxteræ,
tu rite promíssum Patris,
sermóne ditans gúttura.
Accénde lumen sénsibus,
infúnde amórem córdibus,
infírma nostri córporis
virtúte firmans pérpeti.
Hostem repéllas lóngius
pacémque dones prótinus;
ductóre sic te prævio
vitémus omne nóxium.
Per Te sciámus da Patrem
noscámus atque Fílium,
teque utriúsque Spíritum
credámus omni témpore.
Deo Patri sit glória,
et Fílio, qui a mórtuis
surréxit, ac Paráclito,
in sæculórum sæcula.
Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,
and in our hearts take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heav’nly aid,
To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
O Comforter, to Thee we cry,
Thou heav’nly gift of God most high,
Thou Fount of life, and Fire of love,
and sweet anointing from above.
O Finger of the hand divine,
the sevenfold gifts of grace are thine;
true promise of the Father thou,
who dost the tongue with power endow.
Thy light to every sense impart,
and shed thy love in every heart;
thine own unfailing might supply
to strengthen our infirmity.
Drive far away our ghostly foe,
and thine abiding peace bestow;
if thou be our preventing Guide,
no evil can our steps betide.
Praise we the Father and the Son
and Holy Spirit with them One;
and may the Son on us bestow
the gifts that from the Spirit flow.
Glory be to God the Father
to the Son, who is risen from the dead
and to the Holy Spirit
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Sunday
May 16
Monday
May 17
Tuesday
May 18
Wednesday
May 19
Thursday
May 20
Friday
May 21
Saturday
May 22
Sunday, May 16
___________________
Acts 1:8 and 13-14
“You will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.
All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”
Meditation
Jesus promises his apostles the coming of the Holy Spirit. This promise is also for us. In response to Jesus’ promise, everyone begins to pray with one heart / accord together with Mary. This union of hearts is essential for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to give us this communion that prepares (for) his coming and draws him to us. Let us also give him our availability for all the missions he wishes to entrust to us.
Personal Prayer for Christian Unity
Monday, May 17
___________________
Lk 3:16 and 21-22
“John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire… After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Meditation
Jesus is the One who baptizes in Holy Spirit and fire because the fullness of the Holy Spirit dwells in Him (cf. also Luke 1:15 and Luke 4:1). He is the beloved Son of the Father. Let us ask for this fire of the Spirit, this fire of love. Are we ready to let ourselves be burnt by this love and to become beloved children of the Father and brothers and sisters of Jesus?
Personal Prayer for Christian Unity
Tuesday, May 18
___________________
Lk 11:9-13
“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
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 – to those who ask him?”
Meditation
When we ask for the Holy Spirit, do we believe we will get an answer? Jesus promises that the prayer of those who ask for the Holy Spirit will always be answered if it is made in faith like a little child who turns to his Father, confident of his love. Perhaps we can also ask in faith for the Holy Spirit for others, for all our Christian friends?
Personal Prayer for Christian Unity
Wednesday , May 19
___________________
Jn 17:20-23
“I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.”
Meditation
St. John reveals the intimacy of Jesus’ prayer to us: he pleads with the Father that all who believe in him may be one, united in the same unity that exists between the Father and the Son, that is, united in the Holy Spirit. The perfection in unity for which Jesus prayed is a gift of the Holy Spirit that we can ask for powerfully in these days. Our prayer will please God because it will be united with that of his Son.
Personal Prayer for Christian Unity
Thursday, May 20
___________________
Jn 16:7-8 and 12-15
“But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason, I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”
Meditation
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. He speaks the truth about our sin, not to condemn us, but to move us to conversion and trust in the infinite mercy of the Father. Let us not be afraid of his light: let us allow ourselves to be led by him, and he will reveal to us the mystery of God’s infinite love for each of us, but also for each of our brothers and sisters.
Personal Prayer for Christian Unity
Friday, May 21
___________________
Jn 3:5-8
“Jesus answered, «Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.»”
Meditation
Jesus proposes that we be born again, born from above. Receiving the Holy Spirit is like a new birth that implies a conversion of our heart. It involves leaving behind the works of the flesh. We ask the Holy Spirit to show us the points in our lives that require this conversion, which are still too carnal. Let us agree to enter a new life, that of the Holy Spirit.
Personal Prayer for Christian Unity
Saturday, May 22
___________________
Lk 4:16-19
“He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”
Meditation
Jesus, the Christ, is the One who has the fullness of the Holy Spirit. He shows us the way forward if we too want to be filled with the Holy Spirit: are we ready to be sent in mission, to put ourselves at the service of the poor, of captives, the excluded and the oppressed? Let us ask the Lord that this Pentecost be the occasion for many Christians to put themselves together at the disposal of the Holy Spirit for the service of their brothers and sisters.
Personal Prayer for Christian Unity
Veni Creator Spiritus
___________________
Veni, creátor Spíritus,
mentes tuòrum vísita,
imple supérna grátia,
quæ tu creásti péctora.
Qui díceris Paráclitus,
altíssimi donum Dei,
fons vivus, ignis, cáritas,
et spiritális únctio.
Tu septifòrmis múnere,
dígitus patérnæ déxteræ,
tu rite promíssum Patris,
sermóne ditans gúttura.
Accénde lumen sénsibus,
infúnde amórem córdibus,
infírma nostri córporis
virtúte firmans pérpeti.
Hostem repéllas lóngius
pacémque dones prótinus;
ductóre sic te prævio
vitémus omne nóxium.
Per Te sciámus da Patrem
noscámus atque Fílium,
teque utriúsque Spíritum
credámus omni témpore.
Deo Patri sit glória,
et Fílio, qui a mórtuis
surréxit, ac Paráclito,
in sæculórum sæcula.
Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,
and in our hearts take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heav’nly aid,
To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
O Comforter, to Thee we cry,
Thou heav’nly gift of God most high,
Thou Fount of life, and Fire of love,
and sweet anointing from above.
O Finger of the hand divine,
the sevenfold gifts of grace are thine;
true promise of the Father thou,
who dost the tongue with power endow.
Thy light to every sense impart,
and shed thy love in every heart;
thine own unfailing might supply
to strengthen our infirmity.
Drive far away our ghostly foe,
and thine abiding peace bestow;
if thou be our preventing Guide,
no evil can our steps betide.
Praise we the Father and the Son
and Holy Spirit with them One;
and may the Son on us bestow
the gifts that from the Spirit flow.
Glory be to God the Father
to the Son, who is risen from the dead
and to the Holy Spirit
for ever and ever.
Amen.
