Come Holy Ghost!

The word Paraclete signifies comforter or advocate; now both these offices imply especially the exercise of goodness, and goodness is a peculiar attribute of God the Holy Ghost, so He is said to be our Comforter in trouble and our Advocate in blessings.
- St. Thomas Aquinas

When I was younger we used to say Holy Ghost. One day Sister told us that we were now suppose to say Holy Spirit.  I never understood why we needed to change God's name.  I think they thought the word ghost might scare us or lead us to think of Casper the friendly ghost.  I still slip up sometimes and say Holy Ghost instead of Holy Spirit.

On this feast of Pentecost we are reminded of the fear of the unknown that must have caused sleepless nights for those gathered in the room.  Were they afraid that the Jews would attempt to have them put to death?  Yet, the Paraclete came!  The Paraclete was like armor that they could put on and go out without fear and proclaim the Word of God!

I sometimes forget that the Paraclete is there right beside me ready to give me voice and courage to do what is right in the eyes of God.  Today Fr. Charlie reminded us of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  I couldn't remember them.  Father must have been looking at a lot of troubled faces because he said that he couldn't remember them either and had to look them up.

They are: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Knowledge, Fortitude, Piety and Fear of the Lord (Wonder and Awe).

I know that I not only couldn't remember them.  I don't use them often enough.  Seven wonderful gifts to help make my life easier.

 So my prayer is from an ancient hymn written by Rabanus Maurus (776-856)

Come Holy Ghost, Creator blest 
and in our hearts take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heavenly aid,
To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.

O Comforter,  to Thee we cry,
Thou heavenly gift of God most high,
Thou Font of life and Fire of love,
and sweet anointing from above.

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 the Holy Spirit with them One;
and may the Son on us bestow 
the gifts that from the Spirit flow.

~Cindy

Our Lady Undoer of Knots

It was not until Pope Francis was elected Pope that I even heard of this devotion.  In fact my prayer partner brought it to my attention.

I understand the imagery of Our Blessed Mother undoing the knots in my life.  She is patient and works steadily to undo all those pesky knots that keep me from her Son.  The ones that keep me up at night and worry me throughout the day.

I just finished the Novena to Our Lady Undoer of Knots and one line out of all the meditations over the last nine days has been with me.

"The Holy Spirit was manifest on her lips."

 What a wonderful image that Our Mother never spoke in anger, or gossiped, or judged.  When she spoke she allowed the Holy Spirit to always speak!

How I wish that I was more willing to let the Holy Spirit speak through me always.  To quiet my own words and let His words flow from my mouth like milk and honey.  That my words would be an encouragement to others.  My words the words of comfort.  That always the Holy Spirit was manifest on my lips.

Dear Mother,

I come to you as your child and ask that you assist me now and always to quiet my words and let the Holy Spirit be manifest on my lips.

O Immaculate Lady - Undoer of Knots, Pray for us!
Amen

~Cindy

Novenas are Great Spiritual Life Vitamins

My prayer partner and I have been praying Novenas for about a year.  We take turns picking the one that we pray.  I feel that the Holy Spirit definitely leads us to the novena that will help us grow the most.

I went a little off the reservation and started a novena without including her.  She will find out if she is reading this blog.  Sorry, but it felt right to do this one solo.  Found a wonderful site that emails me daily with the prayer of the day.  It is great because then I don't have to remember which day I am on.  All I have to do is check my email, pray and I am on the correct day.

So this is the info on the next novena.

Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Starting on October 4th, I am joining more than 63,000 Catholics to pray the Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for a special event coming up!
Pope Francis is planning a Marian Day celebration at the Vatican and at this event he plans to consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!
This event is on October 13th and PrayMoreNovenas.com is organizing a novena as a way for us to join in unity with the Holy Father and prepare for this event.
You can sign up for handy email reminders to get the the novena prayers here:
http://www.praymorenovenas.com/novena-immaculate-heart-mary
After you sign up, maybe you can help spread the word as well. God’s Mercy is abundant and overflowing, let’s share it!

Find the Original Here: http://www.praymorenovenas.com/your-site/#ixzz2gKMu8AmE

Please consider signing up and praying the Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Let's prepare our hearts for the upcoming Consecration of the World to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

~Cindy

Day Three of my Retreat

Wow!  It has been a busy week.  I have driven to Las Vegas twice on business and that was tiring.

A Gift for my morning

The prayer for today is:

Come, Holy Spirit, living in Mary.
 Give me the grace to reject Satan and follow Christ more closely.

Yes, please give me the grace to reject Satan in all his forms.  My sharp tongue and impatience.  My quick anger.  My doubt.

How it must hurt you that I can lay down my Rosary and immediately be so angry at some small slight.  I want to offer this little things up, but I keep failing.

I again ask for your mercy and your grace.  Without them I am lost.

Petition of Frater-Soror

My Spiritual Journey has been a bumpy one to say the least.  I took myself away from the Church several years ago and during that time I married.

Of course we were not married in the Church, we were living in sin.  A little over two years ago I decided that I was being called back to the Church.  Our Lord can be persistent.  My difficulty was that my husband was not hearing the same call.

Life has changed yet again and now we both want to be in Full Communion with the Church.  Yes, he could petition of an annulment, but we do not think that we have time for that.  He has been diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer.  Currently, he is doing palliative Chemotherapy so that he can have some time.  Time to get his life in order.  Our Parish priest was most helpful in leading us in the direction that he felt would be most expeditious.  Therefore, we are petitioning for a Petition Frater-Soror.  In other words to live as Brother and Sister.

Oh, there are complications.  We live in Arizona but have chosen to go to the Parrish in Nevada.  It is only across the river a 15 minute drive. Not to worry, we live in the digital age and he could fill out the Diocesan paperwork.  He called the Arizona Diocese and got his code so that he could enter the data. Complication...the Arizona Bishop will not sign the Petition Frater-Soror unless it comes from the Parrish Priest in Arizona. Our Priest has spoken with the Arizona Priest and the Arizona Priest will meet with us today and decide if he will support our Petition.

I understand that sometimes we must deal with the business side of the Church and that it has its place.  However, I am disappointed.  I am hurting.  I am concerned for our souls.  I long with all my heart to receive the Holy Eucharist.

Lord, I have to lay this at Your feet and walk away.  Walk away in Trust that You, who can move mountains know the desires of our hearts and will send the Holy Spirit to whisper in a couple of ears.

Jesus, I Trust in You

~Cindy