THE FIRST NOVENA

After Jesus ascended to Heaven His Apostles, together with Mary and other members of the original Christian Church, continued to pray together until the feast of Pentecost when, in accordance with Jesus' promise, "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. "These nine days of prayer, reported in Acts 1:14 and 2:3-4, were the first Novena on which all later Novenas have been based. 

IN THE YEAR 1879

Pope Leo XIII issued an encyclical on the Holy Spirit, in which he ordains that a novena should be held throughout the Church in preparation for the feast of Pentecost. It is the desire of the Supreme Pontiff that all the faithful should unite in imploring a new abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit, since it is only through this divine Spirit that the blessings of redemption can be brought to the world. 

A Novena to the Holy Spirit is the most excellent of all novenas and most appropriate for our times, to give new impetus to devotion to the Holy Spirit. 

INTRODUCTION

No one could possibly love you more than God the Holy Spirit. You have given and received only natural love. God's love is supernatural. His love for you is unlimited. 

He created you. Just as you are. Just as He wanted you to be. He wants you to know Him. He wants you to be happy and enjoy this world and this life He gave you. 

With His gifts, He gives you all you need to accomplish this. He wants to give you unlimited WISDOM,KNOWLEDGE and ‍

UNDERSTANDING. He wants to COUNSEL you and give you FORTITUDE. He wants to make it easy for you to be close and intimate with Him through His gift to you of PIETY. He wants to create in you a love for Him that will satisfy every want and desire you have. 

When Jesus lived on the earth with His disciples, they were content to give up everything to follow Him, just to be near Him. With Him, they were safe and if they needed any COUNSEL they knew He could give them the answers. The disciples had never experienced or even heard of such a source of comfort and WISDOM on earth. So when it was time for Him to leave they were very upset. He assured them by telling them He would send the Paraclete, the Comforter to be with them and with all of His followers. 

When He lived as a man He could only be touched and seen and known by as many as humanly possible. By sending His Spirit He could be present, in Spirit, to all, at all times. 

The Holy Spirit speaks to you in your thoughts. He prompts or speaks to you in your language, using your grammar and the words you are familiar with and use daily. These thoughts or promptings that come from the Holy Spirit are so natural that unless you are sensitive to His promptings you could easily ignore them or not recognize them as important. 

During these nine days reflection on the Holy Spirit, you will pray, meditate, contemplate, ponder, concentrate, reflect, use your imagination and listen. The author has practiced this devotion from the age of five to the present day (76 years). He has explained this devotion to numerous others who have accepted the information they received from him. Many have been able to apply the devotion to their own lives and are astonished it has not been taught to a greater extent. 

Those who have been instructed personally by the author have been able to acquire the devotion in a matter of weeks, months or several years, and even surpassed what he himself has experienced. 

Each day, mull over the thought presented to you, for as long as you can. Read and re- read the day. Each time you get a thought, stop and ponder it. Exhaust it before continuing. Your goal is to listen to your thoughts, not to get through it. Imagine there is no such thing as time. Avoid advancing to the following days in an effort to get new information and ideas to fill in the time and blanks you will have. This is precisely what kills meditation. Too much information. Remember, you are not trying to find thoughts and answers from the same sources you are accustomed to using, such as reading. You are trying to hear new thoughts from a different source. This will not be information, this will be KNOWLEDGE. The Holy Spirit will be putting words in your thoughts. 

NOTE

At times the author takes the liberty to talk to you as he believes the Holy Spirit has talked to him. 

ALSO

The word "You" pertains to your soul when referring to the reader. 

To receive the full benefit of this Novena the introduction should be re-read at least once a week.

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