The Catholic Defender: Novena To The Holy Spirit through Pentecost

The Mass is the source of the Purpose, the Passion, and the Power:
God the Father is the Purpose, God the Son is the Passion, God the Holy Spirit is the Power. The God of Heaven comes to us in His Eucharistic Presence. Jesus is truly Present Body, Blood, Soul, Divinity.
Holy Spirit! Lord of Light! From Your clear celestial height, Your pure beaming radiance give!
The Holy Spirit
Only one thing is important -- eternal salvation. Only one thing, therefore, is to be feared--sin! Sin is the result of ignorance, weakness, and indifference. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Light, of Strength, and of Love. With His sevenfold gifts He enlightens the mind, strengthens the will, and inflames the heart with love of God. To ensure our salvation we ought to invoke the Divine Spirit daily, for 'The Spirit helpeth our infirmity. We know not what we should pray for as we ought. But the Spirit Himself asketh for us.'
Prayer
Almighty and eternal God, Who hast vouchsafed to regenerate us by water and the Holy Spirit, and hast given us forgiveness of all sins, vouchsafe to send forth from heaven upon us your sevenfold Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and Fortitude, the Spirit of Knowledge and Piety, and fill us with the Spirit of Holy Fear. Amen.
Our Father and Hail Mary once Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES
ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
On my knees before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses,
I offer myself, soul and body to You, Eternal Spirit of God.
I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your justice, and the might of Your love.
You are the Strength and Light of my soul. In You I live and move and am.
I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against You. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Your light, and listen to Your voice, and follow Your gracious inspirations.
I cling to You and give myself to You and ask You, by Your compassion to watch over me in my weakness.
Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His Five Wounds, and trusting in His Precious Blood and adoring His opened Side and stricken Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace,
O Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Father and the Son to say to You always and everywhere, 'Speak Lord for Your servant heareth.' Amen.
PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, before ascending into heaven, did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul, the work of Your grace and Your love. Grant me the
Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal,
the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth,
the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven,
the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints,
the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, and the
Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples and animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.

O Most Holy Virgin Mary, you came to Fatima to reveal the graces that come from praying the Holy Rosary to three little shepherd children. Inspire us with a sincere love of this devotion so that, like the shepherd children, it is not a burdensome task but a life-giving prayer. May our prayers and meditations on the mysteries of our redemption bring us closer to your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Like the children of Fatima, we want to bring God’s word to others. Give us the strength, O Lord, to overcome our doubts so that we may be messengers of the Gospel. We know that Jesus lives in our hearts and we receive Him in the Eucharist.
Lord Jesus, the miracles, prophecies and prayers that Your Mother brought to us at Fatima amazed the whole world. We are certain of her closeness to You. We ask through the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima that you graciously hear and answer our prayers.
We pray for America, for our constitution, for those suffering addictions and those in bondage. For those who need Deliverence. We Pray for the Catholic Church, for Pope Francis and all the Clergy.
Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us!
Eucharistic Miracle of Glotowo, Poland 1290

We believe because we have believed in the preaching (see Gal. 3:5; also in Rom 10:17): “Faith depends on hearing and hearing by the word of Christ; and, in turn, preaching depends on the word of Christ.” “Believing is an act of the intellect, which under the influence of the will moved by God through grace, gives its consent to divine truth.” St. Thomas, Summa Theologiae.
Our faith in the Eucharist has as it center Christ. A Christian is not obliged to believe in Eucharistic miracles or any Private Revelations. In principle, however, the believer must not exclude the possibility that God may intervene in the extraordinary way in any given moment, place, event or person. The prudence of the Church is fully justified, since some may think God forgot to tell us something, attributing excessive importance to the miraculous and extraordinary, and easily and excessively believing suggestions or illusions.
Eucharistic Miracles can be useful and fruitful aids to our faith. For example: They help us go beyond the visible and the perceptible and admit the existence of something beyond.
Also, they can give us an opportunity, to speak of public Revelation and of its importance to the Church and to Christians.
In 1290, due to the invasion of the Lithuanians, a priest from the village of Glotowo buried in a field a silver ciborium plated in gold, with a consecrated Host still in it which he missed by mistake. The Lithuanian’s troops destroyed the village and the church. None of the survivors knew about the hidden Host. Only a number of years later, while plowing the field in the spring, a farmer found it by chance, thanks to the strange behavior of his oxen. They had bowed to the ground in adoration of the Host which was emanating a very bright light.
The most ancient documents describe how the miracle happened. The oxen were pulling the plow, behind which the farmer was walking.
The sun was setting at the horizon, creating long shadows. The man lifted his eyes and prodded the animals which were going slowly up the hill. All of sudden, the plow got stuck, the oxen pulled harder and on the side they turned over a big clod of earth.
The animals stopped as if frozen. At first the farmer scolded the beasts, yet paused surprised at the sudden change around him.
The light on the field was as if it were noon and a very intense light was coming from the ground shining on the kneeling oxen.
The farmer began to dig and noticed that the bright light was coming from a little ciborium covered with dirt. It contained a perfect Host as white as snow.
The news of the extraordinary event spread rapidly among the people, who rushed immediately to the site.
The local authorities organized a solemn procession to bring the Host to the Church of Dobre Miasto, though according to an ancient chronicle, inexplicably, the Host disappeared and was found at the same spot as the first time.
The event was interpreted as a sign from above and a little church dedicated to the Corpus Christi was built on that location.
The popularity of Glotowo grew through the centuries and in the eighteenth century the old medieval church was enlarged and consecrated by the bishop Krzysztof Potocki, on July 24, 1726. Even today, every year, the shrine of Glotowo attracts numerous pilgrims who come to venerate the relic.
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Reading 1 Acts 13:13-25 From Paphos, Paul and his companions set sail and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. But John left them and returned to Jerusalem. They continued on from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia. On the sabbath they entered into the synagogue and took their seats. After the reading of the law and the prophets, the synagogue officials sent word to them, "My brothers, if one of you has a word of exhortation for the people, please speak." So Paul got up, motioned with his hand, and said, "Fellow children of Israel and you others who are God-fearing, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt. With uplifted arm he led them out, and for about forty years he put up with them in the desert. When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance at the end of about four hundred and fifty years. After these things he provided judges up to Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king. God gave them Saul, son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. Then he removed him and raised up David as their king; of him he testified, I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish. From this man's descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus. John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel; and as John was completing his course, he would say, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'"

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 89:2-3, 21-22, 25 and 27
R.(2) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The favors of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, "My kindness is established forever";
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him,
and that my arm may make him strong."
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him,
and through my name shall his horn be exalted.
He shall say of me, 'You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.'"
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia See Rv 1:5ab R. Alleluia, alleluia. Jesus Christ, you are the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, you have loved us and freed us from our sins by your Blood. R. Alleluia, alleluia

Gospel Jn 13:16-20 When Jesus had washed the disciples' feet, he said to them: "Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. I am not speaking of all of you. I know those whom I have chosen. But so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me. From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me."
Saint of the Day: Blessed Michael Giedroyc

A life of physical pain and mental torment didn’t prevent Michael Giedroyc from achieving holiness.
Born near Vilnius, Lithuania, Michael suffered from physical and permanent handicaps from birth. He was a dwarf who had the use of only one foot. Because of his delicate physical condition, his formal education was frequently interrupted. But over time, Michael showed special skills at metalwork. Working with bronze and silver, he created sacred vessels, including chalices.
He traveled to Kraków, Poland, where he joined the Augustinians. He received permission to live the life of a hermit in a cell adjoining the monastery. There Michael spent his days in prayer, fasted and abstained from all meat and lived to an old age. Though he knew the meaning of suffering throughout his years, his rich spiritual life brought him consolation. Michael’s long life ended in 1485 in Kraków.
Five hundred years later, Pope John Paul II visited the city and spoke to the faculty of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. The 15th century in Kraków, the pope said, was “the century of saints.” Among those he cited was Blessed Michael Giedroyc.
He was said to have received a vision from Jesus Christ and to have the gift of prophesy.
"The church was his home by day and by night, to pray there, to keep watch, to bend the knee." He was particularly drawn to pray before a crucifix in the middle of the church, from which on one occasion he heard Christ speaking to him. It was while kneeling in prayer that Michael died after receiving absolution and extreme unction.
saving two young boys from drowning (a son of a Hungarian merchant who drowned in the Danube and a boy in the village of Spytkowice), and reviving a stillborn child.
in 2001 he was recognized as a Servant of God. On 7 November 2018, Pope Francis authorized his equipollent beatification
Though he knew the meaning of suffering throughout his years, his rich spiritual life brought him consolation. Michael’s long life ended in 1485 in Kracow. Five hundred years later, Pope John Paul II visited the city and spoke to the faculty of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. The 15th century in Kracow, the pope said, was “the century of saints.”
Many people today face a life of suffering and discrimination due to physical handicaps. Let’s ask Blessed Michael Giedroyc to pray for them that their situation might be addressed by society at large.
Please watch over all of those with physical and mental handicaps Blessed Michael Giedroyc. May they take strength in your example to persevere through their difficulties. May we who are blessed with good health come to assist these individuals and act as Christ’s light to them. Amen
Comments