Novena To The Holy Spirit – Day 7 – Knowledge

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep.” (John: 10, 14-15)

Reflection
God, who is eternal and invisible, nevertheless wants to make Himself known to us in ways that we can understand. God wants us to seek the face behind all faces, to listen for the Word behind all words. To know and be known by another is to enter into the deepest core of their being, to be in an intimate personal relationship with them. Do I really hunger for a deeper intimacy with God? Am I content to stay in by the shore and in the shallows or do I want to be led further and further out onto the lake, exploring the depths of God’s mystery? The gift of knowledge allows us to enter into this developing relationship with God, and so, in turn, to see our lives ever more as He sees them. As we come to know God more clearly, we are able to follow him more faithfully as we can better discern between the impulses of temptation and the inspirations of grace, between the dead-end streets of illusion and the sacred paths which lead us back to the Father.

Prayer
Come, O Spirit of Knowledge! Give us a new heart Fill us with a longing to know You more clearly, to follow You more nearly, and to love You more dearly day by day. Amen.

PRAYER OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
On my knees before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses, I offer myself, body and soul 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. 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 is listening.” Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Lord Jesus Christ, before ascending into heaven You promised to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples. 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 only desire 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 always choose the way of pleasing God and gaining heaven; the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with You and overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation; the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and myself and grow perfect on the path to holiness; the Spirit of Piety that I may seek to serve God and His Church; and the Spirit of Fear and Awe 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 inspire me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.