Diocese of Toledo Makes Novena Booklet Available: "Novena to the Holy Spirit - Pentecost in Our Time"

Pentecost
Cathedral of Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary
Toledo, Ohio
Photographer: Joette Rozanski
As Toledo Bishop Leonard Blair announced in his monthly column in the April issue of The Catholic Chronicle, the Diocese of Toledo has made available some wonderful novena booklets in preparation for Pentecost: "Novena to the Holy Spirit - Pentecost in Our Time". (Click here to download a PDF of the full Novena Booklet.)

The first day of the novena this year is this coming Friday, 2 May.

The following information on the Novena to the Holy Spirit appears in the booklet's Introduction:

The Novena to the Holy Spirit is the prototype of all novenas (nine days of prayer) because, in a sense, it was instituted by Christ himself when he sent his apostles back to Jerusalem to await in prayer the coming of the Holy Spirit. The nine days span the time between Ascension Thursday (celebrated on Sunday in the United States) and Pentecost Sunday.

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The ... novena is based on traditional prayers, and is centered on the gifts associated with the Holy Spirit (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord). These form a supernatural framework through which the Holy Spirit moves us from within, by conforming us to the very mode of his own action. Also reflected in the novena are the so-called “fruits” or perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as a pledge of eternal glory. These are charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity. Both the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit are ordered to the mission we have as baptized Christians to live and proclaim our new life in Christ.

The novena booklet, which has been distributed to parishes throughout the Toledo Diocese, is made possible through funds from the diocese's Annual Catholic Appeal. Encouraging the prayer and devotion of his flock is such a worthy way for Bishop Blair to make use of those funds. I hope that those of you in the Diocese of Toledo will prayerfully consider making a gift to the 2008 Annual Catholic Appeal so that the diocese can continue this and many other worthwhile programs that further the Gospel message of Christ.

And whether you're in the Toledo Diocese or not, I hope that you will print the novena from the PDF file linked above, and that you will join the Anderson family as we pray for the Divine blessings and gifts of the Holy Spirit in the days leading up to Pentecost.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Come Holy Spirit!


UPDATE
Para una versión española, empuje aquí.