Posted on 06/03/2006 8:59:09 PM PDT by Knitting A Conundrum
After the Gradual of the Mass the ancient sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus (Come, Holy Spirit) is recited or sung on each day of Pentecost week. This hymn appeared first in liturgical books around the year 1200. It has been variously ascribed to Pope Innocent III (1216), to King Robert of France (1031), and even to Saint Gregory the Great (604). Most probably, however, its author was Cardinal Stephen Langton (1128), Archbishop of Canterbury. The poem has been known from medieval times as the "Golden Sequence" because of its richness in thought and expression. Each one of the short stanzas is a sentence in itself, thus facilitating meditation.
Come, holy Ghost, and bring from above
The splendor of thy light.
Come, father of the poor, come, giver of graces,
Come, light of our hearts.
Best of consolers, sweet guest of the soul,
And comfort of the weary.
Thou rest in labor, relief in burning toil,
Consoling us in sorrow.
O blessed light, fill the innermost hearts
Of those who trust in thee.
Without thy indwelling there is nothing in man,24
And nothing free of sin.
Cleanse what is sordid, give water in dryness,
And heal the bleeding wounds.
Bend what is proud, make warm what is cold,
Bring back the wayward soul.
Give to the faithful who trustingly beg thee
Thy seven holy gifts.
Grant virtue's reward, salvation in death,
And everlasting joy. Amen. Alleluia.
Endnote
24. The original poem had Sine tuo numine nihil est in lumine. The last word was later changed into homine, thus spoiling the rhyme and weakening the powerful meaning of the original.
Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
I Corinthians 12: 3-7
Holy Spirit of light and love, you are the substantial love of the Father and the Son; hear my prayer. Bounteous bestower of most precious gifts, grant me a strong and living faith which makes me accept all revealed truths and shape my conduct in accord with them. Give me a most confident hope in all divine promises which prompts me to abandon myself unreservedly to you and your guidance. Infuse into me a love of perfect goodwill, and act according to God's least desires. Make me love not only my friends but my enemies as well, in imitation of Jesus Christ who through you offered himself on the Cross for all people. Holy Spirit, animate, inspire, and guide me, and help me to be always a true follower of you. Amen.
O Fire! O Light! O God!
What words do I have
to talk about you,
O living fire,
dancing flame within my heart,
dancing light
filling the spaces
between spaces.
You are the light
echoing in the angst of a father
whose child has turned her back
for sins of the past,
unknown,
unexpressed.
Fire shining in the heart
filled with grief,
cradling the body
of a beloved
never more to walk,
growing cold.
Light shining out in the joy
of children playing
on a spring afternoon.
Fire in the promise
of love pledged
between two chosing to become one.
Light in the hands
twisted with age,
clasping prayer beads,
letting them slip,
one after another,
as a heart
reaching out
to the infinity
that is you.
O God!
each breath we take,
breathing in the breath you give,
spirit,
holy wind,
Ruach.
In you we live,
and breathe
and have our being,
You, the living flame,
unseen perhaps,
but not unfelt.
Dance in my heart,
O light,
o living flame of love,
and quicken
each breathe I take,
for good or ill,
until
you are the light I see
shining in the heart of sorrow,
you are the voice I hear
calling out in need,
you are the smile I see
in the eyes of the hope filled,
yours is the cry I hear
in the voice of the child.
Holy Spirit, divine Consoler, I adore You as my true God, with God the Father and God the Son. I adore You and unite myself to the adoration You receive from the angels and saints.
I give You my heart and I offer my ardent thanksgiving for all the grace which You never cease to bestow on me.
O Giver of all supernatural gifts, who filled the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with such immense favors, I beg You to visit me with Your grace and Your love and to grant me the gift of holy fear, so that it may act on me as a check to prevent me from falling back into my past sins, for which I beg pardon.
Grant me the gift of piety, so that I may serve You for the future with increased fervor, follow with more promptness Your holy inspirations, and observe your divine precepts with greater fidelity.
Grant me the gift of knowledge, so that I may know the things of God and, enlightened by Your holy teaching, may walk, without deviation, in the path of eternal salvation.
Grant me the gift of fortitude, so that I may overcome courageously all the assaults of the devil, and all the dangers of this world which threaten the salvation of my soul.
Grant me the gift of counsel, so that I may choose what is more conducive to my spiritual advancement and may discover the wiles and snares of the tempter.
Grant me the gift of understanding, so that I may apprehend the divine mysteries and by contemplation of heavenly things detach my thoughts and affections from the vain things of this miserable world.
Grant me the gift of wisdom, so that I may rightly direct all my actions, referring them to God as my last end; so that, having loved Him and served Him in this life, I may have the happiness of possessing Him eternally in the next.
Amen.
St. Alphonsus Liguori
Thank you for this beautiful meditation!
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